Motorists Do Number on Freeway Call Boxes

Two of Orange County’s 1,154 freeway emergency call boxes won’t be reaching out and touching anyone any more.

Authorities have decided to remove both call boxes because motorists have decked them three times each in recent months.

“We figure that if they’re knocked down that often then they must be in an unsafe area,” said Todd Murphy, project manager for the county’s Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies.

The first call box was removed last October. Known as 5-348T, it was at the connector ramp from the southbound Santa Ana Freeway to the northbound Orange Freeway. The second call box, 5-299T, was removed in January from the connector ramp from the northbound Santa Ana Freeway to the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway.

The cost of resurrecting a call box averages $1,135.41, Murphy said. The solar-powered devices, which cost about $3,500, connect callers to the California Highway Patrol.

The two call boxes removed were not heavily used--stranded motorists placed calls on them only about four or five times per month, Murphy said.

About 250 of the county’s call boxes have been knocked down once or twice, he added.

Current policy is to remove a call box if it has been hit three times within a short period, such as six months. Motorists must pay for call-box damage or face lawsuits filed in small claims court, officials said.