TriMet is no longer using the bright amber lights it installed last year atop a handful of buses across the Portland area, citing negative reaction from the public who criticized the lights as “intense and disturbing,” potentially seizure-inducing and an unnecessary safety hazard on streets that are already increasingly difficult to navigate safely.

The transit agency quietly rolled out the safety lights in April. The lights were modeled after similar devices used by Washington, D.C.’s Metro service, where TriMet said they are on 1,500 buses.

The frontward-facing lights bounce back and forth in rapid succession along a horizontal panel of eight rectangular lights. They’re designed to catch people’s attention and light up when the bus moves forward. On the back of the bus, lights sit in the middle of the vehicle and flash as the bus slows to a stop, when it’s stopped and when the bus is in reverse.

Have you noticed these new light bars on some of our buses?

Good!

They're a new safety feature we're testing out to help our buses be more visible to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.



What do you think? pic.twitter.com/bFhpw72gx9 — TriMet (@trimet) July 12, 2019

Tia York, a TriMet spokeswoman, said the lights were intended to be a safety feature. “We heard a lot of feedback from the community, primarily in regard to the lights on the front of the buses,” she wrote. “We have turned off the front lights and plan to no longer use them.”

The backward-facing lights remain, she said, and TriMet is evaluating their efficacy in preventing rear-end collisions and will decide in the next three or four months whether to keep them. “My understanding is that the feedback about the front lights was more negative than positive,” York said.

In December, maintenance leaders decided to turn off the frontward-facing lights, “in response to feedback from riders and employees,” York said.

When The Oregonian/OregonLive detailed the lights in a story July 16, comments started to roll in.

According to an unscientific analysis of the tweets, emails and phone calls from, presumably, riders and other residents, many people truly, madly, deeply hated the lights. Of the nearly 100 comments perused in a 38-page summary provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive, 74 were negative. Approximately 19 comments were in support of the lights. A handful of people were indifferent but apparently didn’t have anything else to do with their time, so they submitted public comments.

People who hated the lights were happy to explain why.

“I was made blind,” one person told TriMet in July.

Another commenter on July 23 called the lights “intense and disturbing.”

Others just didn’t think the lights were needed. “I’ve never not seen a bus,” one person said in October, parroting a similar theme echoed in the comments. “The bus is already huge and loud, the extra lighting is distracting,” another said. “You can see it for literally a mile down the road.”

Some found the lights frightening. Many of the negative comments appeared to come from motorists.

“The new bus flasher light that zooms back and forth is a menace!” one person said on Dec. 16. “When I'm facing one in traffic, I want to avert my eyes, pull off the road until it passes. It may keep the bus safe, but it's a major traffic hazard!”

Dozens of people decried what they assumed would be the rampant seizures experienced by people with epilepsy. Others said they would have to shield their eyes and were now fearful of driving.

In some anti-light folks, the flashing fueled a steely resolve.

One person said they would make it their life’s mission to block the buses if they saw one on the street. “From now on, if I encounter a bus with those flashing lights, I will simply stop in my tracks and block the bus,” they said. “I can’t see how they could possibly save lives as they are such a distraction and will not conform to your ideas of moving blame when you do have a crash. Whether on foot, bike, or car, I will stop every single time and make the bus go around me as I will not tolerate these flashing lights.”

That person said they had stopped riding TriMet already “because of the lack of consistency, safety, and cleanliness.” TriMet did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many buses were ultimately equipped with the lights. Last year, it bought lights for 30 buses, at $296 per fixture, but only installed them on 21 vehicles.

And after all that, the lights did not appear to improve things.

According to its website, last April the agency saw a rate of 2.17 collisions per 100,000 miles logged. Buses log roughly 73,300 miles on a typical weekday. As of December, that rate had actually increased to 2.66 collisions per 100,000 miles logged.

But some defended the lights with the same zeal as those who opposed them.

Just last week, a person said, “I like the ‘Knight Rider’ lights,” referring to the classic early 1980s TV series starring David Hasselhoff. “Why do people not like them? Don't take them too seriously, Oregonians don't like anything, they are idiots for the most part.”

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

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