San Francisco, the beautiful city by the bay, is one of the most popular destinations in the world. To me it is like Las Vegas. Two or three nights in San Fran is the perfect mini vacation. My wife and I like to hop on the famed cable cars and take a spin over to Ghiradelli Square and to Buena Vista for Irish Coffee. It is always fun, a little surreal, overcrowded and a bit of a rough commute.
I never really thought much more about it, until I saw a recent AP story about how the cable cars of San Francisco are lawsuit magnets. It stated that the cable cars average about one accident a month and routinely rank among the most accident-prone mass transportation modes in the nation per vehicle mile traveled annually. According to the U.S Department of Transportation, city officials have reported 126 accidents injuring 151 people over the last 10 years.
The Associated Press obtained a list of cable car-related legal settlements over the last three years. Those figures show that San Francisco paid nearly $8 million to settle about four dozen legal claims. In comparison, the city has paid on average $12 million annually to settle all claims connected to its mass transportation system, which includes cable cars, electric street cars and buses, which travel many more miles and carry many more passengers.
Legal claims are expected on mass transit, and the cable car system has been operating since 1893. While there have been some very serious accidents, the AP found one rather entertaining lawsuit from 1970. A woman won a jury verdict of $50,000 after she claimed that a minor accident on a cable car she was riding turned her into a nymphomaniac. Yes, you read that correctly.
So the next time you are in City by the Bay, humming “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” and you are thinking about hopping on a cable car, pay attention when they say to keep arms and legs in the vehicle at all times. It might just save you from injury and preserve San Francisco’s tax dollars for public services.