The location: Roads or freeways near golf courses, driving ranges or baseball fields without proper barriers

The problem: Vehicles traveling near golf courses, driving ranges or baseball fields that don’t have proper containment structures are open to errant balls that could kill or injure motorists or nearby pedestrians.

Oak Park resident Marie Dowd was driving on the southbound 101 Freeway recently, and just before she turned onto the Lindero Canyon Road exit in Westlake Village, a golf ball hit from Westlake Golf Course smashed into the windshield of her vehicle.

“This is a public safety issue in my opinion,” Dowd said. “Every time I drive by, I cringe. Am I going to get hit again?”

Retired Los Angeles County Dep. Mark Speer of Agoura Hills said he was once forced to the side of the 101 Freeway because a baseball flew over the fence from Oaks Christian High School onto the freeway. He almost crashed into another motorist who had swerved to miss the ball.

“When I was (on the shoulder of the freeway), there were other baseballs and softballs there,” Speer said. “I tried to make a report to the California Highway Patrol, but they wouldn’t take a report. . . . They said, ‘What can we do?’”

The CHP also wouldn’t take action on her golf-ball incident, according to Dowd. And when she called the golf course, they accepted no responsibility.

“Westlake Golf Course has taken reasonable precautions to contain errant golf balls and to ensure the safety of motori s t s traveling on adjacent streets and freeways,” said the golf course’s Clint Airey in a statement.

According to Jeanne Bonfilio, spokesperson for Caltrans, which owns and controls the 101 Freeway, Caltrans isn’t responsible for damages caused by errant golf balls or baseballs. “We are concerned about this issue (with Dowd), but this is a golf course issue with the motorist,” Bonfilio said.

Speer tried to speak with Oaks Christian High School officials about the baseball incident he encountered. He said they never returned his calls.

“This should be a zero-tolerance issue,” Speer said. “Somebody is going to get killed (on the 101 Freeway near OCHS and the Westlake Golf Course) by a golf ball or baseball or a softball that goes over the fence.”

An anonymous Acorn reader wrote a letter in response to a previous story about Dowd’s golf ball experience. He said, according to signs posted on many golf courses, the golfers themselves are responsible for any such damages.

“The golf course should be shut down until it’s safe,” Speer said. “I don’t know if any accidents in that area are related to people swerving from golf balls, but some day it’s going to happen. . . . One life taken or a serious injury isn’t worth it.”

Possible solutions: Golf courses, driving ranges and baseball fields should be properly shielded to block all errant golf balls and baseballs heading toward the freeway or other public roads.

Cities must have zero tolerance for errant golf balls or baseballs.

The city of Westlake Village is specifically addressing Dowd’s case. Officials met recently regarding the matter.

“Based on the (Westlake Village) public safety committee’s direction, we’re going to continue to monitor any errant golf ball issues that arise from the private Westlake Golf Course,” said Ray Taylor, Westlake Village city manager. “On the other matter (the OCHS baseball incident), we as a city have not received any complaints regarding baseballs being hit out of the field.” Taylor said he’d discuss the matter with school officials.

Jan Hethcock, OCHS athletic director, said he knows of two occasions in the last six years when baseballs were hit out of the field. The two incidents took place during baseball games.

The school has since been using restrictive flight baseballs, which cut down on the distance a baseball can be hit. The school hasn’t had any problems since, Hethcock said.

Have a traffic-related question or concern? Send it to “Acorn Traffic Man” in care of the address on page 4 or by e-mail to pic@theacorn.com. We’ll try to respond as soon as possible.