Sixth Crash Prompts New Safety Measures

The Orange Line has suffered six accidents and caused almost two-dozen injuries in its first seven weeks of operation.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority has slowed the intersection crossing speed to 10 mph, added strobe lights on the buses, put up extra signal lights and even taken some down. And accidents are still common.

Six people were injured Wednesday Dec. 7 after a sports utility vehicle ran a red light and crashed into the side of an Orange Line bus in Van Nuys.

The crash occurred around 11 a. m. in the 6300 block of Balboa Boulevard and caused two passengers and the bus operator to be taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

The collision was the sixth involving the 7-week-old busway which runs from Woodland Hills to North Hollywood crossing 36 intersections.

"I ride the Orange Line because I have to," said 20-year-old Valley student Arturo Felix. "The 156 bus route would take me from Van Nuys to the North Hollywood station faster, but I have to take the Orange Line there because the 156 doesn't run the same route anymore."

The commute is slower because the buses have to slow down to 10 mph at each intersection crossing; a precaution taken after a Dec. 2 crash that left 14 passengers injured and prompted community activist John Walsh to call for the MTA to temporarily shut down the Orange Line and conduct a safety review.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the chair of the MTA's Board of Directors, was skeptical that the 72-hour safety audit proposed by United Riders of Los Angeles would improve conditions.

According to the MTA, all six accidents have been caused by motorists making illegal turns or running red lights.

"People run red lights all over town, unfortunately, every day," said member of the MTA board of directors and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. "If somebody runs a red light, it's their fault. It's not the MTA's fault. It's not the Orange Line's fault. It's not the bus driver's fault.

But it wasn't until last week's crash that the MTA asked the city for help installing cameras at 12 busway crossings.

The MTA also plans to install cameras that monitor sudden breaking and speed changes on the buses, while city engineers reduce traffic signs in hopes of lessening motorists' confusion.

Some buses are already equipped with strobe lights to draw attention, however Sean Skehan, a senior transportation engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation said, "We really felt those lights were not that effective. They're being replaced with flashing bus-crossing signs."

The MTA has done so much to prevent accidents and it seems the new issue is inconvenience, but riders still get on because they have to.

"They should put padding in the bus, I'd feel safer that way," said anthropology major Aram Danakian. "It was easier before this, I used to just take the 156 now I have to walk 15 minutes to the Woodley stop, but it's the fastest way home for me."