SFPD traffic unit credits Vision Zero enforcement with drop in injury collisions; reports new speed-detection gear

Commander Robert O'Sullivan presented the Police Department's second-quarter Safe Streets report to the San Francisco Police Commission on matters of traffic enforcement and Vision Zero progress. He said the department uses data-driven enforcement on a city "high injury network" and emphasized a goal "to eliminate all traffic related fatalities."

O'Sullivan told commissioners the department conducted 31 LIDAR operations in the quarter and credited a public-health grant with enabling the purchase of 46 LIDAR guns, which he said allow officers to "be at some distance, work in a collaborative team environment, and actually capture the speed of the driver." He said the traffic company and district stations focused citations on five primary collision factors — speed, stop-sign violations, failure to yield to pedestrians, unsafe turns and red-light violations — and that the department reached roughly 52% of citations aimed at those factors for the first half of 2017.

The commander reported a 6% reduction in overall injury collisions for the first six months of the year and noted a decrease in nonfatal shooting victims (110 this year versus 127 last year). At the same time, the city was at 51 homicides year-to-date, up from 40 at the same point the prior year. "We want people to see officers out in the streets, and people to feel safe," O'Sullivan said.

Commissioners asked about downtown congestion and whether enforcement is coordinated with SFMTA engineering. O'Sullivan said the department repurposed taxi-and-limo enforcement funds to target transit-only and bicycle lanes downtown, running operations in South of Market and Union Square that led to approximately 2,600 citations, and that more than 60% of citations in those operations went to TNC drivers. He said the department is working with SFMTA and the city attorney on an education and regulatory response for TNC drivers.

The presentation also described an interagency protocol to improve communication with surviving family members following traffic fatalities; under the protocol, agencies convene by phone within 72 hours after a traffic fatality to coordinate services and information.

The department framed the enforcement and education work as one element of a broader strategy, with further engineering and community engagement efforts led by SFMTA and other city agencies. The commission had no formal vote on the presentation; next steps noted were continued enforcement, interagency coordination and public outreach.