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ChineseOrange Line Bus Collides With Truck
Image Courtesy of CBS2.COM
Terrible news. According to the LAFD News & Information Blog, an Orange Line Metro Liner bus collided with delivery truck that ran a red light today at Woodman Ave. and Oxnard St. Apparently 17 out of the 125 people on the bus were injured. Most injuries were minor, but the blog reports that one passenger suffered “serious” injuries. CBS2.COM has a video of the aftermath here.
Unfortunately, for those have followed the Orange Line, we know that this is not the first time an accident has happened. This is unfortunate, because the Orange Line has been been steadily gaining popularity since its inception (and initial string of accidents) and this frightening event might stifle the popularity a bit.
I’ve ridden the Orange Line a number of times, and while I enjoy the ride and the service, I have to admit the intersections have always been scary to me, and this accident isn’t doing much to silence those fears. I just don’t trust LA drivers enough to think that a red light and a sign flashing “BUS!” is going to stop them from running the intersections. I’ve always felt that one of the advantages of choosing the public transit lifestyle is the hope that you can avoid the often deadly car crashes that automobile drivers have to live with every day, and especially with a dedicated busway or train route you just expect safety. Maybe that’s naiveity, but I don’t think safety is too much to ask for. In fact it should be the number one priority. And by number one priority, I don’t mean scrambling after the first accident has taken place, but implementing safety in the planning stages of the transitway. If we must have transitways (whether they be bus or rail) that are at grade, then all precautions must be taken, no matter the costs, to make them as safe as humanly possible. And if those costs are too high, consider building a grade-seperated transitway. Safety at all costs.
Fear of collision should not be part of the public transit lifestyle.
Discussion
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Here are a few facts about the Orange Line and Accidents from the Daily News:
In a year, Orange Line buses have traveled 1.4 million miles, equal to 57 times around the globe.
The MTA operates some 254 hours of Orange Line service each weekday and 173 hours each Saturday and Sunday.
The Orange Line averages 1.64 crashes per 100,000 miles traveled. Regular lines average 3.51 crashes per 100,000 miles traveled.
The MTA logged 200 near-misses in its second week of service, a number that had declined to 50 near-misses by late September.
the link to the article: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_4539810
So, what’s the solution to this? Should you avoid the Orange Line? What should you do?
Drive your own car? Sorry, you’re more likely to get into a crash there. Ride only the buses that run on the street? Sorry, again, morely likely to have a crash there. Walk on the sidewalks? Gee, cars never hit pedestrians. Ride a bicycle? Are you kidding me?
The only crash proof lines are The Red Line and the Green Line. Both are totally grade separated. Too bad we don’t have more of those…we may get the Purple Line but that’s about it. Look, life is risky. Get over it.
By the way, your headline is wrong. Should be “Truck Collides with Orange Line Bus.” Some eyewitnesses indicated that the truck ran a red light and t-boned the Metroliner.
Hehe, I don’t think you read my post Scott.
And I never implied that it’s possible for anything to be accident free, especially not a car or traditional bus:
My point was that I think all precautions should be taken… including installing gates at intersections if a transit way is built at grade. Now do gates stop all accidents? Of course not, but I think they are more effective than no gates at all. And plus, with precautions like that in place, or better yet, when a transit way is built grade seperated, the bus/train/whatever can move faster. I don’t know if you’ve ever ridden the Orange Line, but that thing crawls when it gets to areas with lots of intersections. Same for the Gold Line.
I am not an angry man, really, just a little frustrated. Don’t get me wrong. I would PREFER that the Orange Line be elevated in some sections. That would definitely speed up the line and get it almost to train-like speeds. I know that’s not going to happen. So we’re stuck with the Orange Line as it is. Could we afford gates? They’re sure cheaper than elevating the line, but nobody at MTA seems to be in any rush to spend money on them, especially with the safety figures they’re touting.
I think over the past year the Orange Line has shown that it’s just as safe any other bus, or actually safer, as it is. So why these media stories (which I perceive as breathless and emotion-filled) when the Orange Line has an accident?
I’m not talking about this website, it’s all about transit, so that’s within your subject matter. But it seems like the local TV stations and the Daily News bring up all these questions about the Orange Line’s supposed safety whenever there’s an occasional crash. Is the media coverage that intense when plain old Number 254 bus smashes into a light post?
Yes. It’s safe. Just look at the figures on a per mile basis.
I’m a fan of the Orange Line. And I know where you’re coming from. Obviously I’m a transit advocate and don’t appreciate the spin that is sometimes put on these stories by the media. But at the same time, I’m not going to spin my stories either… whenever I ride the Orange Line I do honestly feel apprehension whenever the bus crosses the interesections, and that fact that accidents like this happen (however rarely) DO in fact affect my desire to ride. If only because I know it could be safer, and I know that all those accidents happened at the beginning because of what I might call poor planning. But in the end I would much rather ride a bus on a transitway like the Orange Line over a bus that drives on the streets with other cars. I just feel that the transit planners should take full advantage of the potential of safety that a transitway offers over street driving… and that’s complete seperation from cars at all times, including at intersections.
But yeah, if you look at those figures I posted in the first comment, you see that the Orange Line is safe… I just think it could be SAFER.
i have never felt, still don’t, feel any apprehension or fear of riding any bus or rail here in l.a. and whats all this media talk about anyways? of course it’s going to be covered, that’s what those morons do. cover shit, and usually cover it with some over hyped bs they do for everything because there’s nothing else to report. we all know that. it’s been that way since i knew what local news was. producers were probably freaking out about having to cover another story about a 60 year old woman that makes earings for cats, so when something like this happens, albeit not the biggest deal in world, the same producers/reporters go crazy and all of a sudden the orange line has “safety issues”. completely moronic, but nothing new.
covered by the news or not, i still wouldn’t think twice about getting on the orange line or any other line, and i wish they would sell that story not the opposite.
Thanks your post is amazing. I will definitely read your diary.. thank you again