What will it take for drivers in Clark County and throughout Nevada to drive more carefully? Even with rising death rates, the message still isn't getting through.
In the first six months of this year, traffic fatalities have surged by 12% statewide. Alarmingly, pedestrian deaths have increased at double that rate.
This troubling trend is demanding significant attention from law enforcement and state officials who are scrambling to develop more effective strategies to curb the rise in fatalities.
THE FACTORS
Lt. Anthony Cavaricci for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Traffic Bureau gave a few reasons for the increase.
“We’ve recorded 87 fatalities so far this year. Roughly 30 percent of those [involve] drugs, alcohol, or both,” Cavaricci said.
“29 of those 87 are pedestrian error; That could be anything from crossing against the signal, jaywalking, etc.”
Erin Breen, coordinator for UNLV’s Traffic Safety Coalition and director of the Road Equity Alliance Project, said part of the problem is most drivers don’t think they’re the problem.
“People still think it doesn’t pertain to them,” she said. “‘It’s never going to be me’, until it is. It’s never going to be someone that you love, until it is.”
Breen also thinks advertising to raise awareness has the potential to work, but that requires quite a bit of funding.
“It has to be so consistent that people are hearing it four or five times a day.”
She added that 28 years ago, Metro’s Traffic Bureau employed 120 officers dedicated to traffic safety when the population of Clark County was just under 1 million. Today, the population is closer to 2.3 million, and she said Metro still employs just 120 traffic cops.
“They are an amazing group of human beings, they do a great job,” she added, “but they can’t handle the increase in Nevada’s population.”
Lt. Cavaricci said Sheriff Kevin McMahill has ordered more patrol officers, in addition to traffic cops, to start paying attention to traffic violators.
“We need the help of every area command out there,” Cavaricci said. “Each area command captain has initiatives to do traffic enforcement and focus on accident causing violations.”
THE SOLUTIONS
In 2022, Clark County created an Office of Traffic Safety, in part, in part due to the prodding by Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft, District A.
He said that’s led to more synergy between departments that might not have communicated with each other before. He said that’s not enough. Along with the sheriff, he said he supports the idea of red-light cameras to catch traffic scofflaws.
“26 states utilize some form of traffic safety cameras,” he said. “Looking at [cameras] as options in school zones and in areas where Metro officers have to report to fatals again and again, it would be foolish not to.”
State lawmakers have tried to pass bills to allow red-light cameras, but they’ve never gotten much support. But when the Legislature meets again in 2025, Breen said, she thinks it has a chance.
“There is more support from the public now than there’s ever been before.”
Guests: Erin Breen, director, UNLV’s Road Equity Alliance Project and coordinator, UNLV Traffic Safety Coalition; Anthony Cavaricci; lieutenant, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department traffic bureau; Michael Naft, District A commissioner, Clark County
