Editorial: Life to death in an instant

Friday, June 4, 2004 | 5:26 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

June 5 - 6, 2004

"In a city known for gambling, just crossing the street may be the riskiest wager of all," writes Sun reporter Molly Ball in a report dominating this section today. The articles by Ball and reporter Steve Kanigher respond to the increasing loss of life among pedestrians and bicyclists on our streets. Fifty pedestrians (including five children) and eight bicyclists were struck and killed last year in Clark County by cars or trucks. The death toll so far this year numbers five bicyclists and 18 pedestrians.

We see the deaths of these 81 pedestrians and bicyclists over the past 17 months -- an average of nearly five deaths a month -- as shocking. For years Southern Nevada, and the whole state, for that matter, has been generating statistics that show us to be among the most dangerous places in the country for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Some of the fault lies with our wide streets, making it easy for drivers to speed and time-consuming for pedestrians to cross. Some of the fault lies with police officers, whose reports show they are often too quick to absolve drivers and place all blame on the victims. Much of the fault lies with our laws, which are so weak that drivers who kill people while speeding or running red lights often walk away with nothing more than a traffic ticket. There is another reason, too -- drivers who do not think about the endless grief their aggressive or inattentive driving can cause.

Cathy Chavez, who lost her 15-year-old daughter in a November accident, was standing across the street from her at the moment of tragedy. One instant she saw her smiling daughter with stories of her school day to tell. And the next: Chavez says it's all a blur today, a blur that remains her final, aching memory of Ashlee Bicknell. There were sounds of a body being struck, skidding tires and honking horns. Cars, people, rescuers -- hysteria rendered them all a swirling blur.

No fatal accident is any less painful. Because so many people risk lives through aggressive, inattentive and law-breaking driving habits, we need tougher laws to get their attention. But new laws are not the whole answer. We ask all drivers to become more conscious of the power they have -- the power over life and death.