Even in areas where drivers know to expect bicyclists, unexpected dangers can rear up at any moment. This was the case for Nob Hill resident Laila Brenner, who was cycling home from work when a double-parked car forced her to change lanes. The adjustment caused her to contact an 8X-Bayshore Express bus traveling in the same direction. After falling to the ground, Brenner’s arm was crushed by the back wheel of the bus, which then continued its route without stopping.

The traumatic incident, which occurred by the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Broadway in North Beach, is under investigation; Muni official Paul Rose said that the footage taken at a nearby club is inconclusive.

Regardless of the cause of the accident—whether the illegally parked car or negligence on the part of the bus driver or cyclist—the event raises serious questions about the driver’s reaction. Rose did offer that an operator may not feel such a collision if it involved only the second half of an articulating bus.

Though police are still trying to determine whether Brenner, whose arm was so badly crushed that doctors had to wait days before addressing the multiple fractures, changed lanes illegally and why the bus operator failed to stop, the story is yet another ugly incident for the Muni system. Only last month, a woman was killed crossing the street in San Francisco’s Castro district.

Brenner’s attorney said that he plans to bring a civil case against the city. If earlier cases are any indication, the city could end up paying upwards of $6 million to settle the Brenner case.

The relationship between San Francisco’s cyclists and Muni operators continues to be an troubled one. Executive Director Leah Shahum of the San Francisco Bike Coalition said she is unsatisfied with how Muni has trained its operators to deal with the city’s growing number of cyclists. “We haven’t seen much improvement in the way of operators in a long time,” said Shahum.

The problem certainly isn’t going away. There is growing movement from legislative bodies to encourage more Bay Area workers to commute on their bikes. So far, it seems the only thing that the Muni system has done to account for the extra cyclists is devote large sums of money to accident victims. In the last five years, Muni has paid more than $91 million in injury claims and settlements.

It’s unclear exactly how much can Muni operator training compensate for the inherent vulnerability of city cyclists navigating automobile and pedestrian traffic. Bike lanes and bike-only areas remain the surest way to avoid these unfortunate incidents. But clearly, reserving massive amounts of money ($22 million this year) for injury settlements instead of investing in more effective operator training is a choice that is both costly and dangerous.

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