Review of RTD Drivers’ Records Reveals Few Violations

About one in 10 current Southern California Rapid Transit District bus drivers has been convicted of a moving violation while on duty in the past three years, a review of driving records on more than 4,800 drivers shows.

None of those has been convicted of reckless driving or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol while on duty and only about 3% have such convictions off-duty, the records show.

The records do not include former drivers who were fired for drug or alcohol violations or poor driving records. About 60 drivers have been fired in the past year by the RTD for drug or alcohol problems.

Computer Records

The new analysis is based on a 143-page computer printout of drivers’ records over a three-year period ending Sept. 17 and released Wednesday by the RTD. The report includes all of the bus operators’ records available in the state Department of Motor Vehicles central computer files, RTD officials said.

Despite controversy about driver safety arising from several highly publicized accidents in recent months, RTD officials previously had declined to release the records, citing the privacy rights of drivers and threats of legal action by the bus drivers’ union.

The 143-page computerized summary released to newspapers Wednesday did not include drivers’ names.

A preliminary analysis of the data showed operators had received more than 600 violations while driving RTD buses in the past three years--well over half of them for for speeding, failing to544437359on duty.

The records show RTD operators had about 1,270 accidents while driving buses in the three-year period. But there were only eight cases in which the drivers were convicted of violations in connection with those accidents.

While they still involved small percentages of drivers, the most common problems are speeding and running red lights. Records show 165 drivers were convicted for failure to stop at signals or stop signs and 98 for unsafe speed. Eighty drivers received tickets for exceeding the 55-m.p.h. speed limit, presumably on freeways. Fifty-six drivers were convicted for unsafe lane changes.

A Different Picture

When both on- and off-duty records of RTD drivers are included, the picture is not as good. A recent analysis of the same data by the state Assembly Transportation Committee found that 42% of the drivers have at least one “point” or black mark against their records.

Professional bus operators may accumulate 6 points before their licenses are suspended. The committee’s analysis found 295 drivers--about 6%--had three or more points on- and off-duty.

Concern about driver safety has prompted the RTD board to consider extending disciplinary action to include major off-duty offenses, particularly drunk driving convictions.

The records show that a little more than 100 drivers--about 2%--have an off-duty conviction for driving under the influence.

It was not immediately clear from the report how many bus operators may have had suspended or revoked licenses. But the Assembly committee analysis found that about 2% of the drivers fell in that category, although most of those involved the drivers’ failure to carry insurance on their private automobiles. Under current law, they may still drive an RTD bus, which is insured by the district.

Neither the RTD report released Wednesday nor the Assembly committee report included all RTD drivers. About 170 drivers’ records are “missing” in the DMV computer files, apparently because names were misspelled, driver’s license numbers do not match or other errors.