LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Road safety remains a top priority as deadly crashes are on the rise across our valley and our state.
I took a deeper look into the latest Nevada Office of Traffic Safety's deadly crash numbers. The agency released new data detailing deadly crash statistics through October of 2024.
Local News
335 lives lost on Nevada roadways in state's latest year-to-date fatal report
This data shows it has been a deadlier year on our roadways compared to last year in Clark County.
Here's a comparison from January through October of this year compared to last year during the same timeframe:
As deadly crashes continue to be an issue here in our valley, I did some research to find out why this is happening and what's being done to help curb this problem.
Gary Stacy lives in Downtown Las Vegas. I asked him if he thinks change is needed.
"Yeah, I do," Stacy said.
Stacy goes on daily walks with his 6-year-old pitbull, Boomi, and says he always has to have his head on a swivel.
| “It can be dangerous, but you have to be vigilant," Stacy said. "I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen cars just run red lights, and it’s ridiculous.” |
The Nevada Office of Traffic Safety is trying to get ahead of these issues, trying to help stop the impact across our state.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the increases. Our goal is to get the number to zero," said Nevada Office of Traffic Safety Public Information Officer Anita Pepper.
I asked Pepper what trends she has been seeing.
“We find that speed and impairment are our two biggest causes of fatalities on the road," Pepper said.
Pepper also tells me her office works with community partners and several law enforcement agencies to collaborate on finding a solution.
“We give grants to community partners and agencies and they work to also teach people in the community better driving skills, better road safety skills," Pepper said.
Those agencies run programs teaching defensive driving skills, how to drive in bad weather, seat belt usage, how to stop distracted driving and even helping impaired drivers get treatment.
This isn't the first time Channel 13 has reported on what the state is doing fix this problem. Back in October, we broke down the numbers from the state's September report.
As for legislation, several bill draft requests have been submitted for the 2025 Legislative Session aimed at traffic safety — including one for traffic enforcement cameras.
“My office, we don’t have an opinion on traffic cameras, but what I do know is that the data shows that they do reduce fatalities greatly," Pepper said.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, deadly crashes have dropped significantly in cities where these cameras have been installed.
The administration says there has been a 54% drop in overall crashes and a 48% decrease in injury crashes using fixed cameras in Scottsdale, Arizona.
There has also been an impact in other countries.
A 37% reduction in deadly and injury crashes has been seen while using point-to-point cameras in Italy, and a 20% decrease in deadly and injury crashes using mobile cameras in Edmonton, Canada.
These cameras have not been implemented in Nevada.
Happening on Sunday, the World Day of Remembrance rally and candlelight vigil will be held to remember and honor road crash victims. The event will be at the Silverado Ranch Community Center from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
