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StumbleFatality crashes on rise in Nevada
Officials blame complacency as reason for increase
Henderson Police investigate a fatal two-vehicle crash on West Horizon Ridge Parkway Tuesday.
Monday, July 26, 2010 | 1:28 p.m.
Sun Archives
- Las Vegas man killed in one-car accident (7-24-2010)
- Coroner IDs motorcyclist killed in Beltway crash (7-23-2010)
- Henderson woman, 69, dies in I-215 crash (7-20-2010)
- Pedestrian in hit-and-run crash dies; no charges filed (7-13-2010)
For the first time in four years, fatalities from car accidents are on the rise in Nevada.
As of July 24, 2010, there had been 126 fatal crashes and 142 resulting fatalities in Nevada. Last year to date, there had been 123 fatal crashes resulting in 137 deaths.
Erin Breen, director of the Safe Community Partnership at UNLV, said that fatalities have likely increased because of complacency.
“It’s a catch-22,” Breen said. “Now things are so much better that you’re not seeing it on the news or reading about it in the paper every day.”
“We’ve had a really bad couple of months,” she said.
Breen said there were 431 motor vehicle-related fatalities in Nevada in 2007. In 2009, she said, there were 243.
Breen’s news wasn’t all bad, however. In Clark County, the year-to-date numbers for motorcycles, bicycle and pedestrian fatalities were down. By this time in 2009, there had been 18 pedestrian fatalities. This year, to date, there have been 14.
There have been 17 motorcycle-related fatalities this year to date, down from 20 a year ago, Breen said. There have also been fewer bicycle fatalities, with one this year to date and five year to date in 2009.
In total, there have been 53 fatalities of people in motor vehicle accidents in Clark County this year. Last year, at this point, there had been 41 fatalities.
“We’ve done much better in motorcycles and bicyclists,” Breen said. “That’s where we’re making up ground.”
Breen said she thought the most important factors toward increased fatalities were distracted driving and speeding. She also said that it’s important to wear a seatbelt.
“When you’re ejected through a windshield, you’re not wearing a seatbelt,” she said. “We know these things are happening.”
Breen suggested that drivers make sure they leave enough time to get where they’re going.
“I think people push traffic safety laws because they’re in a hurry,” she said. “They don’t think a crash is ever going to happen to them.”
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No surprise there. I bet we are a top 5 state in America when it comes to fatal accidents per capita.
I see a major accident every day either to work or back, and I only travel 15 minutes each way.
"Investigating" looks like four idiots standing around.
Thanks to metro's driving we have a winner!
Those "idiots" are motorcycle traffic cops, need we say more?
didn't take long for cop-hater peaches to show up..
just an "idiot" behind a computer with nothing better to do.
We all know that people out here drive like inconsiderate, selfish, arses.. If they want to kill themselves then fine, I have no problem with that. As long as they take themselves out and leave the rest of us alone to go on with our lives.
You wanna drive hammered and roll your car 18 times? Have at it.. You wanna not wear your seatbelt and get ejected during an accident? I could care less... You want to not use your turn signal (ever) and change 5 lanes of traffic at once while texting/talking on the phone? Go for it..just please do it in front of a cop or hit some solid, stationary object instead of the rest of us.... You want to drive 100 mph in a 75mph zone cause you are in a big hurry to go nowhere? Knock yourself out(literally) and please lose control of your car and kill yourself when Im not trying to get somewhere.. I hate getting stuck in traffic.. You want to play Frogger and jaywalk, maybe even at night? Have fun dude.. Just don't do it in front of me.. cause I could care less if I hit you, I just dont want blood on my new car.
If you drive like an arse.. it WILL bite you in the arse sooner or later.
i treat everyone behind the wheel as 13 year olds and expect them to act like it in a moments notice. when i see grandpa or grandma in the family oldsmobile, i drop it to 6 year olds and get away from them in a hurry.
Chunky says and asks:
Too many distracted drivers talking on the phone and texting surely can't help.
QUESTION: Isn't there a law here in NV requiring drivers use a Bluetooth / handsfree device while driving and talking on the phone?
If not.... Chunky wants to know why not?
Chunky is all about less-government in our lives but since Chunky rides a motorcycle and bicycle he see lots of distracted drivers.
That's what Chunky says and wants to know!
Seriously:
The problem with "bad" drivers is this: They don't just hurt/kill themselves, they kill innocent people as well.
So, while you're saying that bad drivers will end up hurting themselves, you are FAR from the truth.
Drunk drivers rarely kill themselves... they usually crash into an innocent driver/pedestrian who was doing ALL the right things, and they die, while the drunk walks away scot free.
While you can continue to tell yourself "DO whatever you want, but don't let it affect me," you are sorely delusional. EVERY time you drive, one of the "bad" drivers is right next to you, either drunk, high, or texting... and they are more likely to hurt you or your loved ones before they hurt themselves.
Seriously, I'm with ya.
I guess those highly publicized DUI checkpoints aren't getting the job done.