Tuesday, April 18, 2000 | 10:49 a.m.
Anyone who has driven more than a few miles on the Las Vegas Valley's streets and highways wouldn't be surprised to hear of problems with aggressive drivers.
The area's motorists drew the dubious distinction of being ranked sixth among the country's metro areas for aggressive driving in a Washington, D.C., nonprofit research group's 1999 report.
But the area's four major police departments are banding together in a new project Wednesday to combat aggressive drivers. Two officers each from Metro, Henderson and North Las Vegas police and the Nevada Highway Patrol will work a troublesome area each week. A $234,000 state grant will pay the officers' overtime for the enforcement and public education material, said Lt. Marc Joseph, a Metro Police spokesman.
"We're hoping to target some of our worst areas," said Sgt. Phillip Dart of the highway patrol. "We want to do enforcement but also raise public awareness of the aggressive driving problem. We have to start someplace to combat the problem and this is a starting point."
So once a week eight cops from the different departments will head to an intersection or stretch of highway. They will rotate jurisdictions each week.
"The ability to have an eight-officer team working a high-incident intersection is going to help out a lot, and not just Henderson, but countywide," Henderson Police Capt. Monty Sparks said.
Many motorists probably have encountered an aggressive driver on a valley street. They are the ones weaving in and out of traffic, driving too fast or running red lights. The problem, police say, is not only are they breaking traffic laws, but their actions can also lead to accidents, road rage and fatalities.
When someone gets cut off or a driver is tailgating, that can lead to a single finger raised in an obscene gesture leading to an on-the-road argument or worse, police say.
"That's how road rage can begin," said Trooper Alan Davidson, a highway patrol spokesman. "We want to try to stop aggressive driving before it gets to that point."
So the eight-member team not only wants to write tickets, but also remind motorists to driver sanely, Davidson said.
"I think (the valley police program) would probably help in the sense that it will get people thinking about aggressive driving," said Michelle Garland, a spokeswoman for the Surface Transportation Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "I think most people don't think about that they are driving a deadly weapon."
But more than just enforcement, Garland said the valley's residents need alternatives to getting in their car, such as a good public transportation system.
The police can only try to curb the aggressiveness of drivers through the use of tickets and education. So each week at a notoriously problematic intersection -- like anywhere on Sahara Avenue between Rainbow Boulevard and Maryland Parkway or a section of Interstate 15 or U.S. 95 -- could be overseen by eight police officers.
"The biggest thing we want to do is raise public awareness," Dart said. "We are banding together to attack this problem."
Keith Paul covers crime and public safety for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4057 or by e-mail at [email protected]
archive
