Call Boxes Often Take a Bruising

In March, 1989, 1,150 emergency call boxes were put up along the county’s freeways by San Diego Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (SAFE). Since that time, the boxes have been coming down.

In an average month, eight call boxes in San Diego County will either be knocked down by cars or damaged by vandals, according to Gary Wells, SAFE’s project manager.

“The SAFE board did anticipate that the boxes would occasionally be hit by wayward motorists,” Wells said. “It really wasn’t a surprise.”

The damaged boxes cost an average of $1,300 to repair.

“If we can identify the responsible party, then that party is responsible for replacing the boxes,” he said.

But, in roughly two-thirds of the cases, the boxes fall victim to hit-and-run drivers.

Although SAFE officials relocate boxes that have been hit more than once to safer areas, Wells said there really isn’t an easy solution.

“How can you predict where someone is going to run off the freeway?” Wells said. “Until you remove unsafe drivers from the road, you are going to have this problem.”