Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002 | 9:46 a.m.
Pedestrian safety tips
Dashing across Tropicana Avenue from his apartment to the Burger King where he works has become a part of Shawn Ethier's daily life.
Instead of walking about 100 yards to a crosswalk at Valley View Boulevard, the 22-year-old weaves his way through traffic mid-block.
"I do it all the time, so I don't really worry about it," Ethier said Friday in front of the Burger King at 3620 W. Tropicana Ave. "It's just quicker to run across the street."
Attitudes like Ethier's are part of the reason why Las Vegas ranks as one of the deadliest places in the nation for pedestrians, said William Redfairn, a Metro Police fatal detail detective.
About 33 percent of traffic fatalities investigated by Metro, North Las Vegas and Henderson police in the last three years involved pedestrians.
"There are thousands and thousands of people every day who just aren't using the crosswalks," Redfairn said. "Most of the time the people who are hit are either jaywalking, intoxicated or both.
"It's jaywalking about 95 percent of the time and very rarely do we have someone hit in a crosswalk."
Thirty-two pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Metro's jurisdiction in 2001 despite increased enforcement of jaywalking laws.
Those caught jaywalking can expect a $95 citation, but tickets do little to change people's attitudes, said Maggie Saunders, pedestrian and bicycle safety program coordinator for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Transportation Research Center.
"The police are doing the best they can, but this is something that pedestrians and motorists need to police themselves on," Saunders said. "There has to be common courtesy on both sides. Saving a few seconds doesn't make much of a difference in our lives, but those few seconds may be enough time to take someone's life."
The Transportation Research Center is looking for ways to save those lives after being awarded $1.2 million in November by the Federal Highway Administration to study pedestrian safety in Las Vegas, Saunders said.
The ongoing study is in response to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics that rank Nevada as one of the worst states for pedestrian safety over the last five years. Nevada led the nation in 1999 with a pedestrian fatality rate of 3.7 per 100,000 residents, and the state annually ranks in the top 10.
When compared to other counties of roughly the same population size, Clark County led the nation with nearly four pedestrians killed per 100,000 residents in 1997 and 1999.
The other counties included Broward County, Fla., Maricopa County, Ariz., King County, Wash. and San Diego and Orange counties in California.
The comparison would seem to indicate that pedestrian fatalities correlate to areas that rely on tourism, but the majority of pedestrian accidents in Clark County involve locals, Redfairn said.
Data gathered by the the research center from University Medical Center's trauma unit further dispel the idea that tourists are the ones being hit, Saunders said.
"About 87 percent of pedestrians and drivers involved in fatal crashes having Nevada addresses," Saunders said. "So we know that these are Nevada people involved."
Along with UMC, the research center is working in conjunction with the the Regional Transportation Commission, Clark County Public Works, Metro and other agencies to collect data and work toward developing solutions to the problem.
Wide streets, long blocks, and anxious motorists driving too fast and running red lights are all factors in the number of pedestrian accidents, Saunders said.
"You get these streets that are 120 feet across and three or four lanes in each direction," Saunders said. "It becomes a sea of asphalt and that's conducive to speed. There are a lot of 45 mph speed limits and people tend to go about 10 miles faster than the posted limit."
Speed limits and street widths are determined by the county and Southern Nevada's municipalities, Clark County Public Works spokesman Bobby Shelton said. He said traffic volume and population density are the biggest issues that go into deciding street width.
Planners also determine where traffic signals and crosswalks are placed, and the time allowed to cross during a signals cycle is determined by the width of the street.
"The signals are designed to accommodate a person moving about four feet per second," Shelton said. "You can't be in stroll mode. People need to realize they are in the street and not move at a snail's pace."
archive
