Last week, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition staff taught 75 Genentech shuttle bus operators a course in how to safely share the streets with people biking.
The training — created by the SF Bicycle Coalition and funded by Genentech — covered key issues for large vehicle operators, including: How to make a right turn across a bike lane, how to safely drop off and pick up passengers on a street with a bike lane, understanding bicycle infrastructure and merging lines, and other ways to ensure the safety of people biking. Recognizing the importance of this issue, Genentech safety staff reached out directly to the SF Bicycle Coalition and asked us to present at their quarterly safety meeting.
“We want to raise awareness with our drivers regarding sharing the roads and the laws applicable to bicyclists. Genentech has over 800 active members in the Bike club, some commute to work, others are active in leading rides and getting involved in local cycling issues and advocacy. This was a win-win situation for all,” said Ken Ackermann, Compass Transportation Account Manager, the company who operates Genentech’s shuttle program.
The Genentech course is just one of the professional driver education programs the SF Bicycle Coalition teaches. Through funding from the SFMTA, we teach all new and renewing taxi drivers a course in sharing the streets with bikes. This year, we launched a video for Muni operators on safe practices for navigating people on bike. And we’re currently working on a video that will be shown to all SF Police Department officers about the rights and responsibilities of people on bike.
The SF Bicycle Coalition’s expanding professional driver education is part of our Vision Zero work to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries in San Francisco in the next ten years. Of the four people killed on bikes in our city last year, all of the fatal crashes involved large vehicles with professional drivers. We hope this work continues to make our streets safer and more comfortable for the huge and growing number of people who bike. To support this ongoing work, become a member of the SF Bicycle Coalition and give a donation today. If you work for a company that has a large vehicle fleet and would like us to teach a class, please fill out this form.
