Campaign targets bad driving

Annie Flanzraich

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 | 8:52 a.m.

Authorities are trying to make the point that there's no good excuse for bad driving by asking motorists what their excuses are.

A new public awareness campaign launched Monday by Clark County and other local and state government agencies uses the slogan: "Bad Driving. What's Your Excuse?"

Drivers who aren't paying complete attention to the road, for example, account for one-third of all traffic collisions according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and 22 of percent of all crashes are caused by failures to stop at red lights or stop signs according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Half of all fatal crashes in Nevada are DUI-related, according to the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety.

Traffic collisions related to those factors are easily preventable, Metro Police Sgt. Tracy McDonald said.

He said when he is on the scene of a traffic death caused by any one of those factors, all he and his team "can do is shake our heads" because if every one of those motorists had been more careful "they would be alive."

There have been 85 traffic related fatalities this year, a statistic that McDonald said should be considered unacceptable. He said at that pace, there could be 170 traffic deaths by the end of the year. In 2004 there were 145 traffic deaths and about 30,000 traffic collisions.

Besides Clark County, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, Nevada Highway Patrol, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Henderson and North Las Vegas police departments, the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, as well as the Southern Nevada Regional Transportation Commission are involved in the campaign.

These agencies joined together to reduce the amount of accidents on the road during the year and over the Fourth of July this weekend.

"We all see the need to reach out to drivers and ask to reduce accidents," Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald said. "All of us have a role to change and influence driver behaviors."

Six public service announcements will be aired on Cable Channels 2 and 4 during the campaign. They feature feature real drivers who caused accidents by either driving while distracted, driving under the influence or by running a red light or stop sign. The Regional Transportation Committee also donated space for 15 billboards on buses for the promotion.

The campaign also has a Web site that promotes 21 "tips to drive by."

Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling said the campaign will be ongoing and if there are other driving issues that need to be addressed they will be added to the campaign.