HENDERSON (KTNV) — More than 600 drivers were cited over a two-week period in Henderson as part of a crackdown targeting impaired drivers.
The city's police department announced the results of its latest Joining Forces campaign in a press release on Tuesday.
Between Feb. 9 and Feb. 23, Henderson police officers stopped 616 motorists and issued 610 citations. That's up from 226 citations issued during a similar campaign from Dec. 16, 2023 to Jan. 3.
The 616 traffic stops resulted in the arrests of eight drivers for DUI.
In addition to the DUI arrests, citations issued by Henderson police broke down as follows:
- 344 drivers cited for speeding
- 22 drivers cited for distracted driving (such as cell phone use)
- 116 drivers cited for "other various traffic related offenses"
Police pledged to increase patrols and DUI enforcement after a recent crash that killed a woman and her two sons.
"We have seen an unacceptable increase in accidents throughout our community," Deputy Chief Jonathon Boucher said at the time.
The problem is not unique to Henderson. Sheriff Kevin McMahill, who leads the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, addressed the issue of traffic fatalities in Las Vegas during his State of the Department speech on Monday.
So far in 2024, LVMPD has recorded at least 31 traffic-related fatalities in its jurisdiction, a death toll that's on track to exceed the 158 lives lost on Las Vegas roads in 2023.
"I'm tired of picking people up off the road," McMahill said Monday.
"I'm tired of the driving behaviors of the people here in Southern Nevada being as bad as they are."
Among the solutions under consideration is the addition of red light and speed cameras. McMahill acknowledged such measures are controversial but argued "we have to do something different" to discourage drivers' unsafe habits.
Find more stories like this in Channel 13's Las Vegas Valley traffic survival guide, where we dug into common issues on our roads and what can be done to make our streets safer.
