L.A. Bus Drivers Resist Seat Belts

Rebelling against wearing seat belts, bus drivers throughout Los Angeles County are being warned to buckle up or else.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority could start disciplining or even firing drivers as early as March for refusing to use their lap belts while behind the wheels of buses. In the past, the agency says, deaths and injuries occurred after unbelted employees fell from their seats and their buses became runaways.

“It’s important from the perspective of safety,” said John Catoe, deputy chief executive of the MTA, which employs nearly 5,000 bus drivers in Los Angeles County. “It’s safety for our employees and the safety of our customers.”

But the mere thought of being strapped in makes so many drivers chafe that their union has taken the issue to court.

Some view the lap belt -- the use of which is not required by state or federal law -- as a trap.

“It’s not good for us,” said Alfredo Gonzales, recounting how, during his 31-year bus-driving career, a woman hit him with her cane and a boy spit on him. Each time, Gonzales said, he felt free to jump out of his seat to defend himself against further assault. “None of us like the idea of wearing a seat belt. We’re sitting ducks. If someone’s attacking us, we can’t get out.”

Others complain that the nylon harnesses prevent them from adjusting mirrors, feel uncomfortable or just don’t fit very well.

“If you’re heavy, forget it,” groused one 21-year veteran driver of a downtown route, whose ample girth would make Santa Claus look svelte. “I can’t even get it on!”

Bus drivers’ seats have been equipped with lap belts since at least the 1980s. But it wasn’t until recently that MTA officials announced that drivers who failed to buckle up after Jan. 1, 2005, would be disciplined. The violation could be a firing offense if coupled with other infractions.

Drivers and their union did not take the order sitting down.

“This unilateral action by the MTA constitutes a violation of our contract,” said Goldy Norton, spokesman for the United Transportation Union, which has filed legal action to temporarily bar the agency from enforcing the seat belt mandate. “Our members don’t believe it’ll make our buses any safer.”

But before a judge could rule, MTA officials temporarily backed down last week from its January enforcement plans. The two sides now plan to duke it out before an arbitrator in March.

Accidents Reviewed

MTA officials say about half of their drivers used to buckle up regularly and that the majority do now as a result of a training campaign.

But a reporter’s informal survey of more than two dozen bus drivers suggests that the majority drive around with unused straps and buckles when supervisors aren’t looking.

MTA officials began noting the absence of seat belt use after reviewing accidents in which drivers lost control of their 15-ton buses. They grew concerned in part because the agency has a $4-million deductible on its liability insurance and self-insures for workers’ compensation.

In September 1996, an MTA bus on the Hollywood Freeway was hit by a Honda, knocking the unbuckled driver out of his seat. The bus hurtled over the center divider and crashed into oncoming traffic, killing two people and injuring seven. That accident cost the MTA $2.3 million in legal settlements, according to court documents.

More recently, three less serious incidents renewed the MTA’s interest in pressing for seat belt use.

In January, a driver straining to turn a corner in Pasadena fell onto the floor of the bus. The runaway bus crashed into several cars and damaged a building before a passenger seized the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes. The driver was injured, and damages and medical claims exceeded $60,000.

A month later, an MTA bus on Foothill Boulevard in Sylmar rolled over something hard, jostling the driver from his seat. The bus operator lost control and barely missed a telephone pole.

In March, a bus driver swerved in the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Vermont Avenue to avoid a collision in the rain; she slid out of her seat but kept her foot on the brake.

In an internal study, the agency found that bus drivers last year were 11.6 times more likely to be injured in a traffic collision than in an assault.

But the MTA did not try implementing a seat belt policy right away because the straps were too small for some drivers, Catoe said.

Instead, the agency spent several months this year retrofitting its 2,486 buses with 72-inch belts, which officials say can comfortably wrap around employees of the heftiest dimensions.

The Santa-like driver of the downtown bus disagrees.

Stopping at a red light, the driver -- who asked not to be identified because speaking to a reporter while driving could constitute a safety violation -- struggled to pull out the lap belt to its full extension for buckling. Then, despite repeated yanks, it refused to retract for a proper fit.

“It doesn’t tighten,” sighed the driver, unbuckling the too-slack belt as passengers stepped onto the bus. “First it’s too small. Now, too big.”

Other drivers, interviewed during their rest breaks, say they believe lap belts are dangerous.

“A lap belt will hurt more in an accident,” said Kamal Sohal, a driver for 11 years, snapping his torso forward with his hand inches from his nose, to mimic smashing his face into a steering wheel. “There should be an air bag and a shoulder belt.”

Hoang Pham, a driver for 16 years, said using a seat belt would interfere with his job. When restrained, he can’t reach the dispatch phone or adjust mirrors. He also might feel less inclined to rise up to help elderly passengers on and off the bus, he said, if he has to keep buckling and unbuckling a seat belt.

Belts for Passengers

If the MTA were truly concerned about improving safety, Pham and others said, the agency would provide seat belts for passengers and more buses to alleviate overcrowding so that riders don’t have to stand.

Though California law requires auto drivers and passengers to wear seat belts, there is no similar edict for bus drivers, state officials note.

Federal rules require drivers of “commercial motor vehicles” -- including intercity buses, such as Greyhound, and big-rig trucks -- to buckle up. The regulations do not apply to local transit bus systems.

In California, many transit operators -- including those in Orange County, the Antelope Valley, Riverside, San Bernardino and Sacramento -- require buckling up, saying the practice is a no-brainer as far as safety is concerned.

San Francisco is among those that don’t require bus drivers to wear seat belts.

“If you talk to a bus driver, they’ll tell you the seat’s not very comfortable,” said Maggie Lynch, spokeswoman for San Francisco Muni. “Driving a bus is very stressful.... [Wearing a seat belt] could interfere with their ability to do their jobs.”

Some Los Angeles drivers say they don’t mind the new rule, though they admit it remains a challenge to remember to buckle up.

“We’re so used to not wearing them,” said Fernando Calderon, a driver for 11 years who tries to remember to belt himself in now. “It might take some time to get used to.”

A colleague, Josie Lenoir, used to drive a bus for the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she was required to wear a seat belt. And she can’t see what the fuss among MTA drivers is all about.

“You get in your car, what’s the first thing you do? You put on your seat belt. It’s not a major thing,” Lenoir said with a chuckle. “Maybe a lot of them, they need to trim down.”