No warning for motorists; it’s ticket time for violations

Lynn Doan

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 | 9:25 a.m.

Drivers in Las Vegas are getting fewer warnings and more traffic tickets, and it will stay that way until the number of accidents drops significantly, law enforcers say.

As part of CARE, Community Accident Reduction Effort, Metro Police and Nevada Highway Patrol troopers are going after aggressive drivers because, authorities say, they are the motorists who commit the types of traffic violations that most frequently result in accidents.

Nevada Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angie Wolff said she has heard "a lot of arguing from the public," since the agencies began cracking down during the Memorial Day weekend.

"In the past, I think they expected a little more of a warning. Now, we're just simply giving tickets out," Wolff said. Metro Capt. Vincent Cannito said officers wrote more than 1,500 citations over the weekend, made 13 DUI arrests and took several other people into custody for other misdemeanors and warrants.

"That's what you can expect on a regular basis," he said.

Tickets will still be issued at the officer's discretion, but Cannito said they have been instructed to eliminate any warnings and tighten their toleration limits.

In other words, the Highway Patrol's Maj. Phil Tilt said, many motorists who used to get away with driving a little faster than the speed limit or committing smaller violations will now find themselves getting ticketed.

Cannita said he does not want to make predictions about how much car accidents will decrease after the initiative has gained speed, but he did say the agencies will assess their success monthly.

"If we see no change, then we'll begin to address the issue with a different approach," he said.

In the meantime, Tilt said officers will try to catch every motorist they see who does not stop at a stop sign or a red light because such violations are among the major contributors to traffic accidents in the valley.

Warren Timmons, 43, of Henderson said that law enforcement officers "being a little safer wouldn't hurt." Of course, not everybody will be happy with the move, he said, but it is in the best interest of the city.

Meanwhile, Henderson resident Deven Crabb, 43, hopes that the new intitiative will specifically crack down on those who run red lights.

"They should pay less attention to those frivolous violations, like speeding and stop signs, and concentrate on those red light runners that are all around the city," Crabb said. "All of these drivers keep coming from California, northern and southern, and running our red lights."

Officers on the prowl will also have at the top of their watch lists the most frequent violations so far this year: failures to yield the right-of-way, following too closely and improper turns.

Cannito said Metro and the Highway Patrol will use the latest technology to develop a daily list of three to four high-accident locations, and officers will focus on drivers in those locations.

From 9 p.m. to midnight Tuesday, for example, officers were handing out tickets along Tropicana Avenue between Las Vegas Boulevard and Maryland Parkway.

"We know this is frustrating; we know people are in a hurry," Tilt said. "But if people would just slow down and use common sense and allow other people to have the right of way, we are certainly going to reduce accidents."