Editorial: Cracking down on dangerous drivers

Wednesday, April 18, 2001 | 9:28 a.m.

Too many Las Vegans are coldly indifferent to speed limit signs and red lights. Not even the recent spate of traffic deaths, involving allegations of speeding or disregarding traffic signals, has deterred enough motorists from continuing their errant ways. Only if a police car is in the area will motorists obey traffic laws -- otherwise all bets are off. It has become so bad that the Las Vegas Metro Police Department is now resorting to using undercover police officers at dangerous intersections to nab traffic offenders.

As the Sun's Keith Paul reported recently, in last week's undercover work an officer in the traffic unit posed as a homeless man at the corner of Charleston and Lamb boulevards. He even held a sign with this wry message: "Will not work for food. Working radar." The undercover officer indeed used a radar, and also carried a police radio. So when someone ran a red light, he could relay ahead a description of the vehicle to a nearby police car, which was out of eyesight.

Some motorists understandably are frustrated by driving conditions in the valley, whether it's the seemingly endless road construction or traffic gridlock. Still, part of the disregard for traffic laws can be traced to selfishness. This disturbing lack of courtesy and common decency can turn deadly when people are driving at high speeds a vehicle that can weigh several thousand pounds. Until enough Las Vegas motorists start treating others with respect, sadly these undercover operations will continue.