Study of RTD Driver Safety Yields Mixed Conclusions

The accident rate of Southern California Rapid Transit District bus drivers is considerably higher than the rate of other motorists--including other professional bus drivers--a study by The Times has found.

Over a three-year period, RTD bus drivers on- and off-duty averaged three times the accident rate of the state’s 17.5 million licensed drivers and twice the rate of other bus drivers.

However, the accident tally includes mishaps in which RTD drivers are not at fault, and RTD drivers’ records, as measured by convictions for traffic violations, compare favorably with the public’s at large.

In its study, The Times analyzed the driving records of 4,853 of the more than 5,000 RTD drivers. For a variety of technical reasons--and lack of comparative data on drivers in other large urban transit systems--the records do not provide the basis for a definitive analysis of RTD driver safety.

The records do not, for example, confirm or contradict assertions by RTD officials that there has been no significant change in the district’s accident record during the past several months. It has been during this period that public concern over RTD safety grew, prompted by a series of heavily publicized crashes and reports of drug and licensing problems among drivers.

Records Supplied

Nonetheless, the data, supplied by the district and based on Department of Motor Vehicle records over the past three years, provides a better perspective than has previously been available on RTD driver performance. The records, with driver names omitted, were supplied at the request of The Times and other newspapers.

The data on accidents, for example, shows that RTD drivers averaged about 19 accidents per 100 drivers per year, while all licensed bus drivers in the state averaged 9.2 accidents per 100 drivers per year. The accident rate among passenger vehicle drivers is 5.8 per 100 drivers. A check with several other large transit systems found none had compiled comparable data on the accident rates of their drivers.

In the past year, more than half of the RTD drivers’ accidents have occurred on-duty.

DMV officials note that professional truck and bus drivers have substantially higher accident rates in part because they are behind the wheel much more than the typical driver.

Also, while RTD drivers appear to be more accident-prone than other professional bus drivers, urban transit drivers contend with some special problems, making a fair comparison questionable. Included in the professional bus driver data studied are tour, charter and school bus drivers. As RTD drivers note, only city bus drivers have to maneuver standing-room-only, 40-foot buses through congested, rush-hour traffic.

Suspensions, Retraining

Although DMV records do not indicate blame for the bus accidents, the RTD contends that, on the basis of its own investigations, only about one out of six on-duty bus accidents last year could have been “avoided” by the driver. When drivers are involved in accidents considered avoidable by the district, they are subject to brief suspensions and retraining programs. A pattern of such accidents can lead to discharge. RTD officials say five drivers were fired in the fiscal year that ended last July 1 for too many accidents.

While the accident rate may raise questions about RTD driver safety, the overall rate of convictions for traffic violations among RTD drivers is slightly less than the general public’s average of about 24 violations per 100 drivers.

However, based on the violation records, the drivers appear to be more cautious on-duty. About 20% of the more than 3,000 violations they received over the past three years were while driving an RTD bus.

While most of the tickets RTD drivers received while off-duty were for speeding--which is true of drivers statewide--the largest number of on-duty violations were for running red lights. That may reflect the chronic complaint of drivers that they must rush to keep tight schedules.

Based on contacts with several other transit systems, it appears that the RTD’s disciplinary procedures for drivers who receive on-duty tickets are at least comparable and, in some cases, stronger than exist elsewhere.

The RTD requires drivers to report all on-duty and off-duty traffic violations. When tickets are received on-duty, they are treated as rule violations and drivers are given demerits that can add up, and can lead to disciplinary actions, including discharge. The penalties are increased only if a second on-duty traffic ticket occurs within a six-month period. There is no specific disciplinary procedure for a driver who, over several years, accumulates a poor driving record.

Transit systems in Chicago, Washington and San Diego have no clearly defined disciplinary procedures for on-duty violations. Like the RTD, none of the systems disciplines drivers for off-duty infractions.

One of the more aggressive agencies is the Orange County Transit District, which has a demerit system similar to RTD’s, but also requires drivers to undergo counseling and retraining after every violation, whether it occurs on- or off-duty.

The Times study also showed that overall about 3% of the current RTD drivers had been convicted of major violations--driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, reckless driving or hit-and-run during the three-year period. That is the same rate as the state’s drivers overall, according to the DMV.

There has been alarm about drug use among the transit system’s drivers and the record shows there is a continuing problem, despite the RTD’s efforts.

An average of about 11% of the drivers tested in the first year of a new program launched in September, 1985, were found to have drugs in their systems. About 60 drivers have been fired because of drug use since the program began.

Initially, about 21% of those tested were found to have used drugs. When that dropped to 4.5% in August, RTD officials claimed that the problem was being controlled and predicted that the combination of intense media attention and new, tougher policies would help push the rate even lower.

But, at least in September, the decline in drug use didn’t materialize. The rate climbed back to 6.26%.