Police crack down on L.A. Blue Line traffic violations

On Monday, as part of an ongoing safety and educational campaign focusing on reducing accidents along the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) Blue Line alignment, more than a dozen Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) and Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) motorcycle officers issued 106 citations, which included 43 people for using their cell phone while driving in the Long Beach area.

For several hours the team of officers concentrated on enforcing traffic laws, jaywalking, running red lights, illegal left turns, and using cell phones or texting while driving between Willow Station and downtown Long Beach.

While there has been a steady decline in train versus vehicle accidents on the Metro Blue Line, which connects downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach, the rate of pedestrian accidents has remained stagnant.

Metro has an active program of "Education, Engineering and Enforcement" to reduce incidents. Illegal left turns and running red lights are the primary causes of train-vehicle accidents with the Metro Blue Line. With pedestrians, the issues are illegally crossing the tracks against active warning signs, including flashing lights, bells and lowered gate arms that warn of approaching trains.