Editorial: Crackdown is overdue

Thursday, June 3, 2004 | 9:06 a.m.

Metro Police and the Nevada Highway Patrol are conducting a joint effort to target dangerous driving in the Las Vegas Valley. The net result is drivers are getting more traffic tickets and receiving fewer warnings. Some motorists caught speeding or driving recklessly, since the stepped-up enforcement began over the Memorial Day weekend, are grousing about the tougher policies. "In the past, I think they expected a little more of a warning," Nevada Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angie Wolff said.

As it is now, too many motorists drive carelessly, which includes speeding, weaving in and out of traffic and running red lights. Also, if even normally law-abiding motorists see other drivers speeding all around them, and there are no police or troopers around to pull over drivers and issue them tickets, it has a contagious effect, causing them to break traffic laws as well. And, as is too frequently the case, reckless driving that results in a wreck causes innocent passengers in other cars or pedestrians to receive serious injuries or even be killed.

Sure, there will be motorists who will complain about the new policy of handing out more traffic citations, but we hope that our law enforcement leaders and elected government officials let the police officers and the troopers do their job, which is to make the roads safer for all of us. And while these law enforcement agencies say they will continue to hand out more tickets until the number of accidents declines, we hope that this actually becomes a continuous policy. Otherwise, once drivers see Metro Police and the Nevada Highway Patrol ease up on their enforcement, human nature will take over: Motorists will drive recklessly again, starting the vicious circle all over again until more tickets are handed out.