JUNE, 1961

• The "Backbone Route"• New Pension Plan Starts• "Improve Your Record" Safety Contest

Cover story, p(

3

SOUTH PASADENA

MONTEREY PARK

LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES

METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY

"BACKBONE ROUTE"enaaamtwamus■ SUBWAY

FREEWAY RIGHT OF WAY■ STATIONS

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KAYA DEE REY

(See story below)

What Is the "Backbone Route"? •THE "BACKBONE ROUTE," as shown in dotted black (for

subway) and solid black (for surface) lines in the map above,is 22.7 miles in length, extending from Century City on the westto El Monte on the east, according to Chief Engineer Ernest R.Gerlach. It includes 12.1 miles of subway, of which the entirewestern section of the route is composed; and 10.6 miles ofgrade-separated right of way, of which the entire eastern sectionis composed.

There are 25 stations (black squares on map) of which 16are in subway.

DESCRIPTION OF ROUTE

The west terminal is under Santa Monica Blvd., at the northentrance to the Century City development. The route followsSanta Monica Blvd. to Wilshire Blvd., and continues east underWilshire to Vermont, with stations at Beverly Drive, RobertsonBlvd., a point just west of Fairfax Ave., Masselin Ave., La BreaAve., Crenshaw Blvd., Western Ave., Normandie Ave., andVermont Ave.

East of Vermont, the route swings north of MacArthur Park,and the Alvarado St. station would be at Sixth and AlvaradoSts. The Lucas St. station would again be at Wilshire Blvd.,and the subway then swings a little to the south to enter theCentral City under Seventh St.—the next station being atSeventh and Hope Sts.

The subway continues east under Seventh St. to Broadway,0.) and then turns north under Broadway, with stations between

Fifth and Sixth Sts. and at First St. to serve the Civic Center.From the Civic Center, the subway swings east, with a stop atUnion Station.

After pas,ing under the Los Angeles River, the route emergesfrom subway alongside the San Bernardino Freeway, at whichpoint it runs on the surface, sharing the grade-separated rightof way of the Pacific Electric Railway north of the freeway.Stops in this area would be at State St., Soto St., and EasternAve. East of this point, the route follows the railroad right ofway down the center of the freeway, with stops at FremontAve., Atlantic Ave., New Ave., San Gabriel Blvd., and RosemeadBlvd. East of Rosemead Blvd., the route leaves the freewaymedian strip and follows the railroad right of way to a terminalat Hoyt Ave., El Monte.

The plan includes provision for parking automobiles at out-lying stations, particularly on the east side, where stations arefarther apart.

CARS AND TRACKAGE

The system proposed would employ electrically propelledtrains operating on standard-gauge steel rail cushioned in rubberand welded between joints. Train design would permit maximumspeeds of over 70 miles an hour, and would provide scheduledspeed of 34 miles an hour. Travel time between either end ofthe line and the Central City would be about 20 minutes.

The design of the 85-seat cars includes wide aisle space,(Continued an next page)

"Traditional open-cut methods ofconstruction are not proposed for con-struction of the subway along thisimportant thoroughfare," the AuthorityChairman stated.

"Station platforms and stairways ator near the curbs would be the onlyparts of the project which would bedone from the street surface."

The tunneling method, with die topof the tunnel about 10 feet belowstreet level at stations, and as muchas 50 feet below between stations,would enable construction crews topass under utilities, which are locatednear the street surface.

Mr. Gerlach pointed out that thesubway "could become an importanfactor in the development of the area.civil defense program, serving as afall-out shelter, and through under-ground links with shelter areas inmajor buildings adjoining the route,a means of equalizing the loads onemergency facilities and of movingpersonnel under shelter for the Per-formance of critical duties."ENABLING LEGISLATION

Legislation to enable MTA to goahead with rapid transit plans wasstill pending before the State Legis-lature as THE EMBLEM went to pressJune 8.

Backbone Route(Continued from page 3)

air conditioning, excellent lighting,and other comfort features. Cars areplanned for single-end Operation intwo-car units placed "back to back."Trains of one, two, or three two-carunits will be used.

COST OF "BACKBONE ROUTE"

Basing their figure on the routewhich MTA has selected, Daniel,Mann, Johnson, and Mendenhall ad-vises that its estimate of costs for thesystem proposed would be $192,000,-000. Kaiser Industries, as the result ofan independent study, report their con-clusion that the line can be built andcompletely equipped today for thatamount."BACKBONE ROUTE" FIRST STEP

The proposed route would be thefirst step in the Tour-corridor, 75-milerapid transit system.

The new plan was first unveiled ata press conference May 15 by theAuthority with Chairman A. J. Eyraudand Chief Engineer Gerlach as spokes-men. Both men pointed out that theBackbone Route could be financed bya low-interest loan which could beretired out of farebox revenues.

"Basing figures on an interest rateof 3% and a loan available in incre-ments as needed, first to retire ourpresent bonds and then to pay for thecost of building the Backbone Route,the MTA could repay the $192,000,-000 cost for the new route and die$40,000,000 cost of retiring presentbonds in 30 to 35 years after the newroute is placed in service," they stated.

Subsidy or taxing powers are notasked for in the current MTA legis-lative program.

SUBWAY ADVANTAGES

Traffic along Wilshire Blvd. wouldflow uninterrupted during subway con-struction, according to Mr. Eyraud,because the subway would be built bytunneling under the street.

ACME Gift to Heart FundBrings Award of Merit

AN AWARD OF MERIT has re-cently been sent by the Los Angel(County Heart Association to MTemployees in appreciation of theircontribution through ACME of $1200toward the fight against heart disease.

Credit Union MovesEFFECTIVE July 1, the Lam-

ta Employees Federal CreditUnion will move from its pres-ent quarters to Room 302Transit Authority Building,1060 S. Broadway, Los Angeles.

Telephone number will bechanged to Richmond 7-5208.

4

Greater Benefits ProvidedIn New MTA Pension Plans

Authority Adopts New Plans at May 24 Meeting;Cover BRT, BRC, and Many Non-Contract Employees;Normal Pension Upped 16 2/3% over Old Plan

1NCREASED BENEFITS are pro-vided for employees represented bythe BRT and the BRC and for manynon-contract employees by pensionplans approved by the Authority at itsMay 24 meeting.

Officially known as the BRT-BRCRetirement Income Plan, the plan forperating and clerical employees had

earlier been approved by the unionsinvolved. The detail:, of the plan arealmost identical with those of theformer Los Angeles Transit Lines Re-tirement Income Plan, but benefits areextended to former MCL and Asburyemployees.

The non-contract employees in-cluded at the present time are thosewho have been participants in the LosAngeles Transit Lines Retirement In-come Plan, and those hired by LATL,MCL, or Asbury on or after June 1,1957, but before June 2, 1958. Nochange has so far been made in theold pension plan for other non-contractemployees hired before June 1, 1957,by MCL, Asbury, or their predecessors.

ah All funds accumulated from theontributions of both employees and

employers under the former LATLplan are transferred to the new plansfor the exclusive benefit of the respec-tive employees who were participatingin the LATL plan on May 31, 1960.

The rate of contributions to thenew plans will not be increased overthat of the LATL plan.

SUMMARY AND APPLICATION GIVEN OUT

A summary of the contract em-ployees' plan was prepared by theauthority's pension consultants andplaced, early in June, in the hands ofeach eligible employee represented by

the BRT or BRC, along with an appli-cation for enrollment. Eligible non-contract employees also received anapplication for enrollment.BENEFITS OF NEW PLAN

According to the introduction tothe summary:

"The several areas in which the newplan represents substantial improve-ments over the plans heretofore main-tained by the Authority include:

"1: An increase of 163/4% in theamounts of normal monthly retirementincome benefits under the formerLATL plan. (Group "a" employees)

"2: Increased monthly retirementincome benefits, computed on prevail-ing wage levels, for employees bornafter Jan. 1, 1905, and previouslyable to qualify for pensions underthe former MCL plan; plus additionalcollateral benefits. (Group "b" em-ployees)

"3: Increased minimum normalmonthly retirement income benefits,after offsetting Social Security benefits,for employees born on or before Jan.1, 1905, and previously able to qualifyfor pensions under the MCL plan.(Group "c" employees)

"4: Normal monthly retirement in-come benefits for certain former MCLand Asbury employees hired after at-taining the age of 45 and previouslyunable to qualify for pensions underthe former MCL plan. (Group "d"employees)

"5: The creation of retirement re-serves, by periodic contributions whichthe Authority intends to make to atrust fund, to provide for retirementincome benefits for qualified former

5

Prizes to Be Awarded DivisionsWith Most Irnproved Safety Records

MANY PRIZES will be given in anew "Improve Your Record" safetycontest scheduled to begin July 1 ateach transportation division, accordingto a joint announcement early in Juneby George F. Goehler, General Super-intendent of Transportation, and J. W.Prutsman, Chief Safety Engineer.

On that date, every division willbegin to compete, month by month,for the remainder of 1961, against itsrecord for the same months of 1960,in the following categories:

1. Traffic accident frequency.2. Passenger accident frequency.3. Type 23 accidents—rear-end col-

lisions.4. Type 63 accidents—on board ac-

cidents due to quick stops.mareefflea:gleMeMA::ffluneejam.>.%

Pension Plan(Continned from page 5)

MCL and Asbury employees in thesame manner as for former LATLemployees."

In connection with Item 5, Directorof Personnel W. C. Scholl also pointedout that "MTA will also pay the entirecost of the life insurance coveringpre-retirement death benefits.

MEMBERSHIP 15 REQUIRED

"All enrollment applications mustbe filled out and returned to the Per-sonnel Department, because participa-tion in the new plans is a conditionof employment under section 5.04 ofthe plan," stated Mr. Scholl.

PAY-ROLL DEDUCTIONS

"Because the new plans are retro-active to June 1, 1960, it is necessaryfor all members except those currentlyparticipating in the former LATL Re-tirement Income Plan to make addi-tional contributions in order to bringtheir contributions up to date.

"Members of the LATL Retirement

5. Average number of witnesses perreport.

6. Ratio of accident reports with nowitnesses.

Improvement in each category isscored an a point basis. Each month,the two divisions having the largestnumber of points ( showing the mostimprovement) will have a free coffee-and-doughnut day. Moreover, the win-ning division each month will receivea loving cup—which it must pass anthe next month to any division thatsurpasses it in points.

The contest is also cumulative; thatis, the Operators at the division show-ing the greatest improvement (greatestaccumulation of points) over last year

(Conlinued 00 Hext page)

MEME::;::::2MEMWMAS

Income Plan will continue to makepay-roll deductions once each month.

"Employees who were originallyhired by MTA or a predecessor com-pany between June 2, 1957, and June1, 1958, inclusive, and who becameeligible for the new plans June 1,1961, will have two pay-roll deduc-tion made in July to cover both theJune and July contributions.

"Former MCL or Asbury employeeswho became eligible to participate inthe new plans as of June 1, 1960,will have contributions by pay-rolldeduction made each pay-roll perioduntil they are brought up to date.

"It is estimated that by June 1,1962 , all retroactive contributions willhave been made up.

"Employees who have no earningsfor pay-roll periods in which deduc-tions for pension plan contributions-current or retroactive—are made, arerequired to remit contributions toMTA an the same dates that deduc-tions would have been made if theseemployees had been working," Mr.Scholl concluded.

6

C. L. Carmichael

in the Los Angeles

CommendationsDivision 8 Man SelectedFor May Courtesy Award

FOR his unvarying courtesy towardhis passengers, Division 8's C. L. Car-michael was selected Operator of theMonth for May.

`Tor extremeconsi deration,courtesy and tacthe has no equal,"wrote a womanpassenger, who al-so stated that inher travels in

any cities of theWnited States and

Canada she hadfound no busdrivers equal incourtesy to thosearea.

"I have observed him every day formany months and he doesn't deviateone iota from this pattern I havernentioned," she continued.

Prizes for Safety(Contimted from page 6)

for the six-month period, July 1through Dec. 31, will be declared ton-test winners. They will have an op-portunity to draw for $200 worth ofprizes.

*ULI DETAILS AT DIVISION MEETINGS

Full details of the tontest will beexplained in a series of divisionalmeetings beginning July 11, withSafety Engineers and MTA executivesas speakers. ''Code 1179," an absorbingmotion picture showing the CaliforniaHighway Patrol in action, will also beshown. Watch your bulletin board fordates.

Door prizes ( cigarette lighters andwallets) will be drawn for at eachmeeting. Those who attend divisionalmeetings will also be eligible for agrand prize to be awarded after theseries of meetings is over.

186 Operators HonoredIn April for Courtesy

CONGRATULATIONS to the fol-lowing 186 Operators, who receivedcommendations during the month ofApril:

E. A. Abbott, Division 3; V. V. Adams, 7;S. M. Alexander, 3; H. E. Anderson, 5; K. C.Anderson, 5; D. R. Armack, 8; A. J. Arone, 3;E. R. Austin, 5; Louis Baca, 7; E. W. Barnett,9; D. W. Bartholio, 3; Joseph Baumwoll, 2; E.N. Beezley, 12; T. F. Benedict, 2; W. H. Bent-ley, 20; F. A. Bergeron, 7; L. C. Birdwell, 20;A. E. Bliss, 5; H. A. Brown, 2; J. W. Brown, 8;F. C. Brune, 20; 0. C. Buckner, 5; L. L. Bar-dick, 7; C. T. Burris, 7; D. H. Bogenbergh, 7;Willie Bradford, Jr., 5; C. R. Brenner, 12; E. L.Brentham, 7; G. A. Briggs, 6; S. H. Brody, 20;N. B. Brooks, 5; A. R. Brown, 7; Odrey Bush, 1.

R. A. Capehart, 6; E. E. Capek, 3; P. W.Cole, 12; E. J. Constantine, 20; Marvin Crop-per, 5; F. J. Chapman, 5; E. P. Cure, 2; F. E.Dahlstrom, 7; A. A. Davison, 5; Roscoe Daw-kins, 5; J. A. Deal, 3; J. R. Decoste, 11; Theo-dore DeLora, 7; C. H. Donahue, 2; N. J. Eller,3; Leonard Elmore, 8; Lula E. Epp, 20; W. K.Erdman, 2; G. C. Esposito, 3; Ermal Fain, 7;E. J. Filek, 11; M. H. Fisher, 2; G. T. Filz-patrick, 5; H. H. Foster, 9; Roger Fowlston, 7;H. G. Gardner, 1; Joseph Giulietti, 12; 0. L.Gladwell, 11; G. E. Goodman, 7; F. E. Gordon,7; 0. V. Gray, 20; M. M. Gross, 8.

R. D. Hamilton, 12; H. J. Harrigan, 2; J. S.Harris, 5; V. E. Harris, 7; Charles Hatfield, 6;S. R. Hawks, 5; Charles Hayes, 5; Orvil Flazel-ton, 3; Lawrence Hill, 7; C. L. Hobby, 12; C.E. Holcomb, 3; J. G. Holland, 7; W. K. Hols-berry, 7; R. H. Howard, 3; J. A. lnkerbrandt,10; L. D. Jensen, 6; J. M. Jernigan, 6; J. P.Jones, 3; W. B. Jones, 5; J. C. Jordan, 9;Thomas Kane, 3; W. E. Kelly, 2; H. R. Kerley,6; M. E. Kittinger, 12; F. W. Koening, 6; R. D.Kornell, 20; J. H. Kosman, 2; S. A. Knight, 5.

V. L. LaFrance, 3; E. D. Lee, 2; Joe Lis-cano, 7; M. L. Levin, 7; F. K. Lilley, 7; H. L.Lovato, 3; Fred Martinez, 10; L. R. Mas-pero, 20; H. A. Mathews, 1; G. S. Mattem, 2;M. W. McBrayer, 9; S. P. McGee, 7; L. W.McWatters, 3; G. H. Melcher, 3; J. L. Melton,1; R. M. Melton, 8; F. C. Mohawk, 3; J. F.Montoya, 3; Howard Morris, 20; Nicholas Mos-tronsky, 7; L. L. Murdock, 5; George Nahra, 1;J. L. Neander, 2; H. C. Nields, 20; H. G.Norie, 5; A. L. Norris, 9; 0. A. Ortega, 20;L. E. Osborne, 7; S. J. Paproski, 20; C. A.Paramo, 5; S. 0. Parker, 2; J. C. Patter-son, 2; R. J. Patterson, 7; F. A. Payrow, 2;T. R. A. Perry, 20; E. E. Peters, 20; F. A.Peters, 7; D. E. Pickett, 8; E. G. Pike, 20;C. G. Pollok, 11; AunFrance Reed, 7; Creigh-ton Rinderknecht, D. S. Rocha, 1; R. J.Romaine, 7; Seymour Rona, 6; W. T. Rouse, 3.

M. J. Saniga, 7; M. F. Saylor, 12; J. A.Schmidt. 8; E. L. Schonbachler, 5; W. F.Scott, 20; J. W. Segger, 12; Leonard Schick,5; C. R. Sharrock, 2; R. V. Simmons, 3; Al-vin Sims, 10; M. J. Smith, 11; M. M. Smith,5; 0. H. Smith, 8; W. L. Soloman, 3; DanStasi, 20; K. T. Stock, 7; J. E. Story, 8; EdithP. Swanson, 20; S. C. Swanson, 7; P. C.Swayze, 7; L. B. Taylor, 8; J. C. Thornpson,20; Marie Thornpson, 3; R. A. Thompson, 6;H. M. Tooley, 10; C. C. Townsend, 9; J. E.Truett, 7; Bennie Varon, 7; Artra Virden, 5;G. F. Vogel, Jr. 2.

W. J. Walsh, 2; J. E. Ward, 5; W. S. A.Weary, 2; Raymond Weatherly, 6; J. E. Whar-ton, 7; 0. E. Wheeler, 9; D. B. White, 7; P. B.White, 20; Roosevelt White, Jr. 20; C. E. Wil-son, 8; L. G. Wilson, 8; J. W. Winston, 5; B.E. Williams, 7; Sam Williams, 2; S. S. Wollan,3; H. V. Wright, 8; L. A. Yantis, 7

7

REFRESHER CLASSES

Safety and the MTA Operator(The second of three installments)

Important Facts about Time, Distance, and SpeedAnd Their Meaning for Everyone Who Drives

"IF YOU CAN CATCH this dollarbill between your thumb and forefin-ger after I let go the greenback, themoney's yours!"

The speaker was William B. Win-ters, one of Transit Casualty's SafetyEngineers. He was dangling a dollarbill between the outstretched fingersof Operator C. B. Spackman, who hadvolunteered to help in a demonstra-tion of reaction time before a seatedgroup of Operators who had gatheredat Division 11 to attend a refreshercourse put on for the stated purposesof teaching defensive driving, pre-venting accidents, and reducing claimcosts.

It was one of many such Basses nowbeing held from time to time at thedivisions by the Safety Engineers. Allmeetings last exactly one hour, and thecontent of the instruction of onemeeting is practically—and purposely—identical with that of any other.

Without further warning, Mr. Win-ter let go the bill. It fell flutteringto the floor.

"I've lost very few bills this way,"the speaker said, casually recoveringthe money and putting it back in hispocket.WHAT IS "REACTION TIME"?

"The reason is that a period of timealways elapses between the momentone perceives a need for action and theaction itself. In this experiment, theelapsed time is about two-tenths of asecond. This, as you know from yourtests with the transitometer on thesafety coach or the detonator tests onthe bus down in the river bed, iscalled reaction time. In your driving,

it's the time that elapses from themoment you get a warning of dangerto the time you can start applying thebrakes. For the average driver thisreaction time is about three-quartersof a second."

DISTANCE FORMULAS

"Now let's turn these different timesinto distances traveled," said Mr. Win-ters. "A universally accepted formula,and one you will find easy to remem-ber, is that 11/2 times the Speed inmiles per hour equals feet travelled

OTHER DEMONSTRATIONS

"Let's have a couple of other dem-eronstrations to illustrate reaction time,"Mr. Winters continued.

He asked another member of thedass, Operator D. L. Correll, to sep-arate a deck of cards, first, into blackand red piles, and then into the foursuits. The first separation required 24seconds by a stop watch in the handof the speaker; the second, 48 seconds.

"This demonstration illustrates theslowing effect of multiple choice ordistraction on reaction time," Mr.Winters commented. "Perhaps whileyou're driving your bus a signal ischanging to red while a passenger isasking you a question. You mighthave stopped sooner but for thequestion."

The third experiment was to as.a volunteer (Operator William H.Miller) seated in a chair (as thoughin the driver's seat) to pick up a coindropped on the floor near his chair.The stop watch showed that the Oper-ator would have had to take his eyesoff the road for at least two seconds.

8

MONEY SLIPS THROUGH HIS FINGERS—Operator C. B. Spackman, right, tries—and fas ,—

to catch a dollar bill that Instructor William B. Winters drops at an unexpected moment

to illustrate reaction time to a grcup of operators in a safety refresher dass. "Whetheryou're driving a bus or trying to catch a dollar bill, there's always a delay between the

•re you perceive a need for action and the moment you act," points out Mr. Winters.

per second. Hence, if you're traveling20 miles an hour, you're going 30 feeteach second. In a tenth of a second,you go 3 feet.

"So if it took two-tenths of a secondfor Mr. Sparkman to react to thedollar bill, his bus, at 20 miles anhour, would have traveled six feet.Under similar conditions, Mr. Miller'sbus would have traveled at least 60feet in the two seconds he took hiseyes off the road in order to pick upthe dime from the floor.

"And, of course, the greater the

speed, the greater rhe distance traveledin a given time.

"Here's another simple formula thatwill help you to determine the dis-tance you travel while reacting to dan-ger. It's based an the average reactiontime of three-fourths of a second:The distance in feet that you travelwhile reacting is approximately equalto your speed in miles per hour.

"Thus, if you're going 30 miles anhour when you receive a danger signal,you'll actually travel about 30 feet be-fore you can starr applying the brakes;

9

Refresher Classesat 25 miles an hour, about 25 feet.

"It's quite obvious that the less thetime needed for reaction, the morechance there is of avoiding an acci-dent. A tenth of a second may meanthe differente between an accidentthat happened and one that didn't. Bythese statements I don't mean that theOperator with a faster reaction thananother is necessarily a safer driver.If he depends on his fast reaction, hemay become careless where the slowerOperator exercises caution.

"What I'm getting at is that thereare ways to reduce reaction time. Forinstance, when you're approaching anintersection, keep your foot ready onthe brake pedal instead of on the ac-celerator. If an emergency shouldarise, you'd be able to apply the brakessooner because you wouldn't have totake time to move your foot off theaccelerator and to the brake pedal.

"And let's not forget the passengers;they have reaction times, too. Givethem warning—most of you do—ofa possible quick stop by touching yourbrake pedal lightly so they'll have timeto grab a hand rail.HOW TO ESTIMATE TIME

"We've been talking about reactiontime. Now let's consider time inanother respect. How do you estimatethe passage of time?"

Mr. Winters held up a stop watch."I'd like to have each of you raise

his hand when he thinks ten secondshave passed. count them by thisstop watch.

"Go!"Hands came up at a great variety of

different times—almost all before theten-second period was actually over.

"This experiment illustrates thedifficulty people have in correctly esti-mating time," commented Mr. Win-ters.

"An easy way to arrive at a fairlyaccurate idea of time in seconds is tocount the seconds by thousands.Counting 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004 for

example, is a pretty accurate way tomeasure the passage of four seconds.

"Now, using this method, let's trycounting ten seconds again."

This time a majority of hands wentup at almost exactly the time mea-sured by the stop watch.

"Let's leave the subject of time nowand go to the important factor of dis-tance," Mr. Winters went on.STOPPING DISTANCE

"The total overall stopping distanceof your bus is governed by two fac-tors: (1) the distance the bus goeswhile you are reacting to danger(reaction distance); (2) the distanceyour bus travels from the time thebrake is applied to the time a comeplete stop is effected (braking dis-tance). The reaction distance and thebraking distance added together makeup the total stopping distance.

"How far do you think you wouldtravel in making an emergency busstop from, say, 30 miles an hour?"

Again, answers were various: "95feet"—"120 feet"—"130 feet." An-swers for total stopping distance atspeeds of 10 and 20 miles an hourwere equally varied.

"Your answers were mostlyguesses," the lecturer remarked. "Ifyou had known another simple for-mula, based on the average reactiontime of three-fourths of a second,you'd have been able to give reason-ably correct stopping distances for 0three of the speeds.STOPPING DISTANCE FORMULA

"This formula—a standard one, ac-cepted in all courts of law, like theother formulas I've given you—is that3 or 4 times the speed in miles perhour equals the total emergency stop-ping distance in feet, where buses ortrolley coachen are concerned. Multi-ply by 3 for speeds up to 20 miles anhour and by 4 speeds between 20 and30 miles an hour.

"Thus, the approximate stoppingdistance at 30 miles an hour would be30 x 4, or 120 feet; at 20 miles an

10

PIE CRITICAL DISTÄNCESDI;TRAC7iA

TION 8 Itih.G

THERES

DISTI,NCE

AST DEAL—It takes twice as long for Operator D. L. Correll to separate a deck of cardsinto two piles (red and black, picture at left) as it does for him to separate them intothe four suits (picture at right) because there are twice as many choices to make. "Indriving or dealing, the more choices you must make (distractions), the longer it takesto decide what to do, and the longer your reaction time," Mr. Winters told the dass.

hour, 20 x 3, or 60 feet; at 10 milesan hour, 10 x 3, or 30 feet.

"I should add that where PCC carsare concerned, the formula for stop-ping distance is 4 or 5 times thespeed in miles per hour; again, using4 for speeds up to 20 miles an hour,and 5 for speeds between 20 and 30miles per hour.QUOTE FIGURES CAUTIOUSLY

"Notice that I've used the word'approximate' or 'about' wherever I'vegiven a figure derived from one ofthe formulas. The reason is that the

liormulas are simplified for easy re-call. Moreover, you are well aware thatmany factors may change the figures.Reaction distance may be slowed bydistractions; braking distance may bealtered by slippery streets, grades, loadcarried, condition of brakes, and so on.

"For these reasons, learn to use thewords `approximately,' `about,"nearly;and other similar expressions whenstating figures, unless you have abso-lute proof that you are correct.HOW TO ESTIMATE DISTANCE

"Let`s talk for a moment about es-timating distances. Suppose you areinvolved in an accident and the ques-

tion comes up as to how far awayyou were when you first saw thedanger. How would you know?"

The dass supplied a number ofmethods: "Pate off the distance be-tween the point of impact and theplace where you saw the danger."—"Estimate the number of bus lengthsfiguring die average bus at 35 feet."—"Remember the landmarks."—"Acity block is about 300 feet."

Mr. Winters nodded his approvalof all of these methods. "Any way isgood, so long as you can arrive at areasonable estimate of the distance,"he continued.

"Now let's talk about the thirdmajor factor in accidents—speed," hesaid.SPEED FACTOR IN ACCIDENTS

"What speed is safe?" he asked hisaudience.

There was silence for a momentbefore one man volunteered, "It de-pends on traffic conditions."

"Right! There is no such thing asa safe speed until you know and eval-uate the existing conditions. Postedspeeds may be safe at one time ofday and dangerous at another.

11

Refresher Classes'Jr is as important to be able to

estimate speed with reasonable ac-curacy as it is to estimate time anddistance. Can you men think of waysto estimate speed other than by thespeedometer?"

Answers came slowly and cautious-ly: "Buses go from fluid to directdrive at about 23-24 miles an hour,and from direct into fluid drive atabout 17 miles an hour."—"A manwalks about 4 miles an hour."—"Youcan figure speed if you know stop-ping distance."

"Good!" said Mr. Winters. "Howdo you figure speed from stoppingdistance?"SPEED AND STOPPING DISTANCE

"You divide your total stoppingdistance by 3 to get speed up to 20miles per hour, and by 4 if you weregoing between 20 and 30 miles anhour," came the reply from a mem-ber of the dass.

"Right! You must have taken thiscourse before," Mr. Winters saidwith a smiie. Turning to the dass, hesaid, "Do you remember the formulathat, for buses and trolley coachen,3 to 4 times the speed in miles perhour equals the approximate stoppingdistance in feet? If you express it asa simple equation:

3 to 4 x mph -= SD in feet( where SD means stopping distance),then:

mph SD divided by 3 to 4Always remember to use 3 for speedsup to 20 miles an hour; 4 for speedsbetween 20 and 30.

"(For PCC cars, remember thatstopping distance is 4 to 5 times thespeed in miles per hour. Hence, toget the speed of the PCC car, dividestopping distance by 4 or 5 insteadof 3 or 4.)

"Accurate estimates of time, dis-tance, and speed can be importantfactors in tourt cases," continued thespeaker. "We saw the truth of this

12

statement in the case mentioned earli-er,* in the accident involving thetwoman pedestrian. The Operator,who had never learned simple meth-ods of estimating time, distance, andspeed, erroneously testified that whenhe first saw the woman he was going20 miles an hour. He also said thathe sounded his horn 20 seconds be-fore his bus struck her. The opposingattorney was quick to point out tothe jury that, an the operator's ownstatements, the bus would have trav-eled 600 feet during the time theOperator was blowing the horn in-stead of applying the brakes. At 20miles an hour he could have stoppedin 60 feet—so why didn't he?

" (Remember how to obtain thestopping distance of 60 feet: 3 timesmiles per hour equals emergencystopping distance in feet, and in thiscase the asserted speed was 20 milesan hour. Also remember how to ob-tain the 600 feet of distance the Op-erator would have traveled whileblowing the horn: 1 1/2 times milesper hour equals feet traveled per sec-ond; or, 1 1/2 x 20 mph equals 30 feetper second. In 20 seconds, at 20 milesan hour, the bus would travel 20 x 30or 600 feet.)

PREVENTING ACCIDENTS

"Now we've covered the three maj-or mathematical factors in accidents— time, distance, and speed — antheir relationships with each other.Let's talk about clues to accidents-ways you can teil in advance thatunless you're careful an accident isabout to happen."

(The remainder of the safety re-fresher lecture, including a discussionof clues to hazards, getting witnesses,and MT A's four most costly kinds ofaccidents, will be presented in thenext issue of THE EMBLEM. )

*See the May issue of THE EMBLEM,"Safety and the MTA Operator," p. 5,col. 2.

•VEHICLE

M I LE 5PER

HOUR

FEETPER

SECOND

.75 SEC.

REACTIONITIMEE

DL STANGE

.-r,zz'7 R ■Cw

CHART OF STOPPING DISTANCESBRAKINGDISTANCE FEET

TOTAL DISTANCE R EMIR ED FOR EMERGENCY STOP

AUTO

5 7.3 6

I e 7FT.

COACH 5 9 11 FT._

PC.C. 1 0 16 FTVrr...•

AUTO

10 14.6 1 1

5 I 6 FT.

COACH I1 mim' r i 22 FT

P C. C. 1930 FT

AUTO

I 5 2 2 I 7

" 4tI-Fäl: 28 FT.

COACH 23 ,a,..innu 9,. is 40 ET

PC.C. 38 i=='113 L_,,:

35 FT

AUTO

20 29.3 2 2

20 4M73t te 42 FT

COACH 33 nonilm 55 FTradgu ara

PC. C. 61 "...m.e■■■all1M11111fflIN MINIIIIIIIIIIIINZII 8 3 FT

AUTO

25 36.6 28

31 4-zeg a3

59

COACH 51 rar otimon rapimm 79 FT

P C.C. 92 imm 120 FT11111WRIIIIi SMIIIMMIIIN AUTO

44 33

45 terit .ten2 enfi1 ,Cet33 zen3 78 FT.

COACH30

6 2 MIGIZIMAN WIIII1111■111 'Wärm 95 FT

PC.C. 127 11111MNIR trni1111Z.v2■11111 '1111Dvala 1160 FT

On Their Way UpCONGRATULATIONS to the fol-

lowing empl.oyees, who took a step upthe ladder between Apr. 19 and May15:

Theodore A. Ashley from Operator toOperator-Extra Division Clerk, Division 5,Apr. 20. Employed Oct. 26, 1959.

James M. Baker from Extra Supervisor-Operator, Division 12, to Supervisor, Trans-portation Department, Apr. 25. EmployedJan. 18, 1955.

Eugene Barnett, Jr., from Operator toExtra Supervisor-Operator, Division 5, Apr.27. Employed Mar. 19, 1952.

L. H. Brugmann from Relief AssistantDivision Superintendent, TransportationDepartment, to Assistant Division Super-intendent, transportation, Division 7, May7. Employed Oct. 31, 1935.

Burnett C. Brazell from Operator to Ex-tra Supervisor-Operator, Division 1, Apr.27. Employed Aug. 12, 1952.

Jack L. Carmichael from Mechanic "A"Leadman to Equipment Foreman II, Divi-sion 2, Apr. 23. Employed June 8, 1936.

Jules Gauthier from Mechanic "A" toMechanic "A" Leadman, Division 2, May7. Employed Sept. 19, 1946.

Frederick A. Gertsch from Operator-Ex-tra Division Clerk to Division Clerk, Divi-sion 9, Apr. 25. Employed Jan. 15, 1954.

Bobbie G. Hurst from Operator to Opera-tor-Extra Division Clerk, Division 1, Apr.23. Employed Oct. 16, 1956.

J. T. Johnston from Assistant DivisionSuperintendent, transportation, Division 1,to Division Superintendent, transportation,Division 9, May 7. Employed May 21, 1937.

New FacesA HEARTY WELCOME to the

following new employees who joinedMTA between Apr. 22 and May 15:EQUIPMENT MA I NTENANCE DEPARTMENT

Utility "A": Andrew Davis.

OFFICE OF CHIEF ENGINEERAssistant Transportminn Engineer: John

J. Ammerman.Research Assistant: Turner F. Kindred,

r.

PERSONNEL DEPARTMENTSteno-Clerk: Cyril Esther Pol].

PURCHASI NG DEPARTMENTJunior Stock Clerk: Jack W. Langford.

REAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENTInformation Clerk: Juan Anne Finan.

14

Grace V. Jordan from Medical Clerk-Receptionist to Assistant Insurance Clerk,Personnel Department, May 8. EmployedJan. 24, 1961.

"11" "T" Lambert from Mechanic "B" toMechanic "A," Division 5, Apr. 23. Em-ployed Oct. 5, 1960.

Marsell E. Larsen from Lineman to Litte-man, Heavy Gang, Electrical Department,May 4. Employed Oct. 1, 1958.

F. J. Matzner from Division Clerk-ReliefAssistant Division Superintendent to ReliefAssistant Division Superintendent, Trans-portation Department, May 7. EmployedMay 20, 1936.

Claude 11. McCracken from Operator toOperator-Extra Division Clerk, Division 5,Apr. 19. Employed Nov. 5, 1960.

Manuel Montes from Lineman to Line-man, Heavy Gang, Electrical Department,May 4. Employed Oct. 1, 1958.

Joseph H. Reeves, Sr., from Operator titExtra Supervisor-Operator, Division 9, Apr27. Employed July 22, 1953.

Leslie E. Stage from Lineman to Line-man, Heavy Gang, Electrical Department,May 4. Employed July 30, 1959.

Torman W. Thompson, from Lineman toEmergency Mechanic, Electrical Departent,May 15. Employed Oct. 7, 1958.

Jimmy D. Upton from Junior StockClerk, Purchases and Stores Department, toShop Clerk, Maintenance Department, Di-vision 2, Apr. 24. Employed June 27, 1960.

Osie L. Williams from Utility "A," Di-vision 12, to Junior Stock Clerk, Purchasesand Stores Department, May 4. Employed0(1. 31, 1960.

Edwin D. Ziegler from Operator to ExtraSupervisor-Operator, Division 7, Apr. 27.Employed Sept. 22, 1954.

TRANSPORTAT ION DEPARTMENTOperator: Edward Aguero, Division 2;

Joseph P. Avery, 7; Roger W. Bailey, 7;Kenneth M. Brennan, 5; Edward E. Bugett, 5; Charles E. Burt, Jr., 5; RobertCollier, 5; Derrell D. Crandall, 7; Donald

Goins, 5; Alma D. Dain, 7; Howard R.Davis, 2; Floyd L. Franklin, 20; Teddy"L" "E" Grimes, 20; Alvey L. Holland, 2;Bernard J. Hurley, 5; Charles W. Kellams,2; Louis Mancaruso, 5; Robert E. Messner,5; James E. Morrison, 20; William A.Nordholm, 5; Joshua Peretz, 20; Louis F.Scarfia, 5; Harvey W. Segal, 5; William C.Shafer, 5; Clyde L. Sherman, 2; WilliamE. Smouse, 5; Clarence W. Sterling, 7;Lowry W. Strange, 5; Donald R. Turner,7; Raymond F. Underwood, 20; David B.Utiger, 5; Norman D. Van Derworp, 7;Fred W. Walsh, 5; Howard L. Whitley, 7;Leonard "G" Willington, 5; Charles B.Wolf, 8.

Stenographer: Johnnie Fortson Miles.Typist-Clerk: Elizabeth Pontello.

OUR COVER

Draftsman Paints ConceptionOf RT Car in WatercolorARTIST'S CONCEPTION of pro-

posed MTA rapid transit car an railsin freeway center strip is being com-pleted by Robert E. Miller, Drafts-man, Office of Chief Engineer.

On the wall above bis head is hisconception of a proposed rapid tran-sit car at subway station, with sec-tion cut away to show more of thecar.

These watercolor drawings weremade to show at the press confer-ence May 15, when the Backbone

leRoute was unveiled for the first timeto the public.

Mr. Miller's hobby is sketching inpencil and painting in watercolors.Before coming to MTA early in April,he worked for four years for Easternarchitects, for whom he prepared, inhis favorite media, many renderingsof proposed buildings.

74e Emblem

Vol. 3 June, 1961 No. 9

IN THIS ISSUE

The "Backbone Route" 2Latest Developments in thePlan for Rapid Transit

New Pension Plan Adopted 5Covers mem bers of BRT,BRC, and Most Non-ContractEmployees

"Improve Your Record" 6Divisions Compete AgainstTheir Own Safety Records ;

Prizes to Be Awarded

Commendations 7

Safety Refresher Course 8Second of Three Install-ments ; Time, Distance, andSpeed as Factors in SafeOperation

On Their Way Up 14

New Faces 14In Memoriam

15

In Memorial-1.1THE EMBLEM announces with re-

gret the death of the following:John N. Almanza, 60, Track Oiler, Way

and Structures Department; May 24; serv-ice from 1946. Survived by bis wife, Anna.

William Cox, 82, retired Flagman, Trans-portation Department; May 7; service from1911 to 1944. No known survivors.

Charles H. Finney, 69, retired Conductor,

. ivision 3; April 12; service from 1920 to944. No known survivors.Herbert L. Myer, 72, retired Operator,

Division 5; May 24; service from 1919 to1946. Survived by his wife, Marie.

Herbert H. Peterson, 74, retired ChiefClerk, Electrical Department; May 7; ser-ice from 1911-1946. Survived by two sisters:Mrs. Hortense Pomnier and Mrs. HelenSanger; and a Brother: John.

Paul W. Reynolds, 60, retired Operator,Division 11; May 1; service from 1921 to1954. Survived by bis wife, Helene.

Myrtle R. Schmidt, wife of Louis L.Schmidt, Dispatcher, Way and StructuresDepartment; April 27. Survived by her hus-band.

Fred T. Sweatt, 65, retired Clerk, Trans-portation Department; May 16; servicefrom 1937 to 1959. Survived by bis wife,Lela.

Published monthly by:

Los AngelesMetropolitan Transit Authority

1060 S. BroadwayLos Angeles 15, California

EDMUND G. BROWNGovernor of California

MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY

A. J. EYRAUDChairman

FRED S. DEANVice-Chairman

DON BELDING

N. R. DUMONT

MORTIMER W. HALL

CARL P. MILLER

MARTIN F. POLLARD* * *

C. M. GILLISSExecutive Director

W. Warren Silliman, Editor

Stanley J. Whitelock, 62, Supervisor,Transportation Department; May 23; serv-ice from 1921. Survived by bis wife, Olive.

15

Behindthis driver:

48relaxedriders

The moment you step aboard an 154-T•A bus or streetcar you 'stop worrying about Raffle. Justsit back and relas. expert drivers will take you from here to there in complete comfort,I ree from jangled traue nerves. Be wise. Ride M-T-A to work, to Shop, to your favorite fun spot.

For complete information null Richmond 7-4455

Ad No.6151•T•A-0 cod a 105E

Heispapers—Week om MnPre,greal, HONIG, GOOPER 6 HARRINGTON

MTA NEWSPAPER AD for week of May 22.

THE FAST, EASY WAY TO WORK, SHOP AND PLAY