Letter: Bigger fines for jaywalking could save pedestrians
Monday, Nov. 12, 2001 | 8:41 a.m.
Apparently it's that time of year again! Prompted by a spate of pedestrian deaths -- usually of jaywalkers, or some bogus occasion, like "National Pedestrian Awareness Month," or, for this year's festivities, the awarding of a million dollar-plus grant to UNLV to study causes and corrections of pedestrian fatalities -- we once more will encounter a spate of news articles, editorials, self-serving speeches by politicians and law enforcement officials and radio and TV public service announcements.
Once more, it will be forgotten by next month, and nothing substantive will be done until next year's occasion for starting the same posturing and window-dressing.
Here's a suggestion that might actually work and won't cost much: Increase the fine for jaywalking; post the fines prominently with an announcement that jaywalking laws will be enforced; and then -- and this is the tricky part -- enforce them! Any costs deriving from the signs and additional enforcement personnel will be offset by the increased fines.
I even have a suggestion as to some locations where hundreds of jaywalking citations could be issued every day: In front of the Metro office across from the El Cortez; in front of City Hall; in front of the County, Municipal, and Justice courts; in front of UNLV.
Are jaywalking pedestrians the whole problem? Of course not. But wouldn't alleviating even a third of the problem be a good thing to do?
DANIEL DORSE
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Ensign moves out of home on C Street
- Cada and Moon emerge as Main Event’s final two
- Fight snapshot: Reviewing “24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto,” episode 3
- Life in the Limelight: Wayne Newton
- Cities, county find buying valley homes isn’t easy
- Motorcyclist dies in Summerlin crash
- UNLV wins hoops scrimmage at Long Beach State
- Six people share their stories of what led them to jobs at CityCenter
- Fedor Emelianenko TKOs Brett Rogers in second round
- Two injured in shooting in central valley
Blogs
Elsewhere
Findlay Prep's Bradley fitting in at Texas
Now and Then
I went to a hockey game and a New Mexico women's soccer match broke out
Politics: The Early Line
Attention in D.C. focuses on health care proposals
Elsewhere
Fedor v. Rogers delivers solid ratings on CBS (4 Comments)
Bloggity, Bloggity, Bloggity
If you can rebuild the whole car, then why not allow an engine change? (1 Comment)
Sports: Upon Further Review
Fight snapshot: Pacquiao is a hit with Jimmy Kimmel, and vice versa (2 Comments)
The Greene Room
MWC Winners and Losers: Week 10
Calendar »
- 9 Mon
- 10 Tue
- 11 Wed
- 12 Thu
- 13 Fri
-
Jo Dee Messina at the House of Blues
House of Blues | 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
-
The Revival Tour at Beauty Bar
Beauty Bar | 9 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
DJ Tina T at Prive
Prive | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
The Automatic Tour at The Square Apple
The Square Apple
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati








