Fatality crashes on rise in Nevada

By Erin Dostal

Monday, July 26, 2010 | 1:28 p.m.

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.”