[IMAGE]L-A-Metro-police-crackdown-full.jpg[/IMAGE]As part of an intensive safety campaign focusing on reducing accidents along the 22-mile Los Angeles Metro Blue Line, dozens of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle officers today issued 295 citations and impounded 34 vehicles in an operation to enforce traffic laws along the streets of downtown Los Angeles.

Wednesday’s law enforcement efforts focus on enforcing traffic laws, jaywalking, running red lights, illegal left turns, and using cell phones or texting while driving between 7th/Metro Center and Washington stations.

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 indicating approaching trains. These are the top causes of pedestrian accidents in the gated segment of the Metro Blue Line alignment.