Freeway Phones: Worth the Cost

Government is filled with missed opportunities, problems that could have been--and should have been--taken care of years ago when solutions were much easier and less expensive.

One such missed opportunity was the installation of emergency telephones on Orange County freeways to bring help to stranded motorists and accident victims. Fortunately, it’s not too late to put them in. Their installation is within financial reach, and we have heard of no opposition to them.

To the contrary, all that we have been hearing is support for their becoming part of the freeways in Orange County, as they have been for the last two decades in Los Angeles, where Supervisor Kenneth Hahn championed their use.

The Orange County Grand Jury last week, estimating the total installation cost at $2 million, recommended that telephones be placed on all freeways in the county. The jury contends that the safety and convenience that the phones would provide are worth their cost. We agree.

Other Southern California urban counties that are now showing renewed interest in freeway telephones are San Diego and Ventura.

And state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), responding to calls from people who have been stranded on freeways with no way to seek help, has introduced legislation to have the state install freeway telephones throughout California.

Bergeson’s approach makes sense. The state builds, maintains and polices the freeways. It ought to install and maintain the freeway call boxes that are hooked up directly to the California Highway Patrol.

In Los Angeles County last year the patrol reported receiving 52,800 calls each month from motorists involved in accidents or needing some kind of help. Based on that use, the Grand Jury estimates that 16,000 motorists each month would use call boxes placed at half-mile intervals on Orange County’s 133-mile freeway network.

That’s a lot of security and dependable help that could keep motorists from the dangerous practice of becoming freeway pedestrians hiking off in search of assistance. The phones could also save lives by cutting the response time of emergency vehicles. As the Grand Jury noted, they are well worth the cost.