I-15 travelers enjoy safe Labor Day weekend

Tuesday, Sept. 7, 1999 | 10:05 a.m.

Since the first of the year 53 people have died on Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Barstow, Calif., 38 of them on the California side of the state line and 15 in Nevada.

There were no reports of fatal accidents on the 150-mile stretch of highway this Labor Day weekend, the starting point for a cooperative effort between the Nevada and California highway patrols aimed at reducing accidents on the heavily traveled roadway.

"Operation Safe-Bet" will continue through the end of the year.

"This is a main corridor," California Highway Patrol spokesman Eric Phipps said at a joint press conference held in Las Vegas by the two state law enforcement agencies. "People go to Las Vegas for a fun weekend getaway and they return on little or no sleep.

"For some, the quick trip to Vegas is their last. Of the 39 fatalities since Jan. 1, 30 were not wearing seat belts. Those 30 continued to gamble even after they left Las Vegas."

Wearing a safety belt can reduce chances of being killed or seriously injured in a crash by 40 percent to 50 percent, officials said.

Both highway patrol units are increasing the number of troopers they have on the highway at the peak hours and locations of the accidents.

"We have had lots of opportunities to witness firsthand the terror on the highways," Area Commander Jack Snyder said.

Capt. Mike Krock, area commander of the California Highway Patrol, noted the tremendous growth in traffic along the I-15 corridor.

"People not only come to gamble, now they come with their families," Krock said. "We see tragedies. We see survivable collisions where families aren't wearing seat belts."

Since Jan. 1 there have been 105 traffic accidents on I-15 between Las Vegas and the state line, 99 of them with injuries, Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Trooper Scott Flabi said.

People fall asleep, run off the highway, hit a solid object or roll over, he said.

Most of the accidents this year have occurred between 3 and 6 p.m.

While increased enforcement of seat belt and other traffic laws is one aspect of "Operation Safe-Bet," the other is education.

Flabi said the gaming and hotel industry is helping by hanging posters and running public service announcements with a "buckle up" message.