A pedestrian crossing Church and Market last night — with a walk signal, doing everything right — nearly got killed by a beat-up silver Civic that blew through a red light at roughly 45 miles per hour. The driver, with only one working headlight, reportedly smiled as they screamed past.

Let that sink in. A person following every rule nearly died because someone in a busted car with illegal equipment decided traffic lights were optional. And there were zero consequences.

This isn't a freak occurrence. That intersection is notoriously dangerous, and residents know it. As one local put it bluntly: "If you are on foot you have to understand that we do not live in a reasonable society or place — it is your life on the line every time."

They're not wrong, and that's the problem.

San Francisco has spent years and millions on its Vision Zero initiative — the city's pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024. That deadline came and went. We got painted curbs, bollards, and press conferences. What we didn't get is the one thing that actually changes driver behavior: enforcement. One SF resident summed up the reality perfectly: "There is NO meaningful traffic enforcement so assholes break the law with impunity. The graveyard and ICU is full of people who had the right of way."

Harsh? Sure. Also completely accurate.

You can redesign every intersection in the city, but if someone can blow a red at 45 mph in a one-headlight junker and face absolutely no consequences, none of it matters. Infrastructure without enforcement is just expensive decoration.

Another resident described walking around at night with a bright flashlight pointed at their feet — and still nearly getting hit half the time. Think about that. People are literally carrying survival gear to cross the street in a major American city.

We don't need another awareness campaign. We don't need another protected bike lane ribbon-cutting. We need cops pulling over drivers who run red lights. We need consequences. The city's refusal to meaningfully enforce traffic laws isn't progressive — it's negligent. And until that changes, "having the right of way" in San Francisco is just a comforting thought you can take with you to the emergency room.