From April 22 to May 13, the Henderson Police Department in Las Vegas, NV will run an enforcement campaign aimed at drivers and pedestrians that choose to disregard crosswalk laws. The city’s traffic officers will patrol the streets during those three weeks seeking to identify drivers that disregard the pedestrians’ rights at the crosswalk. Henderson Police Department officers will also target pedestrians who disregard their own safety and break the law by crossing the street at the wrong places. Although the campaign will be led by Henderson Police Department traffic officers, it will also enlist the help of officers from police departments in the surrounding area.
The campaign will be carried out with the aid of saturation patrols made up of more than one traffic office scattered throughout the city. It is part of a program called Joining Forces aimed at improving crosswalk safety. Officers from several counties will take part in this campaign throughout the year and Henderson’s part of the deal is funded via a $188,000 federal grant. The money will go toward running a number of such enforcement and education campaigns throughout 2014. They will target the safety of pedestrian, the use of seat belts, speeding violations, distracted driving violations, as well as the improvement of driving conditions for impaired motorists. The end-goal of these campaigns is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on Nevada’s roads.
There was just one pedestrian death in Henderson in 2013, but the total tally for Clark County stood at a more harrowing 51. This number was up from the 43 pedestrian deaths recorded in the area in 2012. 71 pedestrians lost their lives in Nevada last year and 4,432 died across the U.S. in 2011. Pedestrian deaths that year accounted for 14 per cent of the total number of people who lost their lives in traffic according to the statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. On average, one pedestrian is killed in traffic every two hours and one is injured every eight minutes. Only one out of three traffic accidents occur in non-intersections.
Motorists driving in Las Vegas and elsewhere in Nevada have to allow pedestrians to pass at crosswalks at all times. They’re also mandated to stop well before the crossing, in order to allow the drivers’ of the other vehicles to see the pedestrians and let the people pass, as well. State laws forbid drivers from passing other vehicles who have already stopped for crosswalks and indicate that pedestrians must be allowed to cross all the lanes in the direction in which one is traveling. Pedestrian crosswalk safety recommendations advise pedestrians to keep their eyes on the road when crossing. Similarly, pedestrians should avoid using electronic devices when crossing and should not walk impaired; some 30 per cent of the pedestrians who die in traffic accidents are drunk, according to the authorities. The only legal place to cross a road is a crosswalk. Pedestrians should never assume drivers will automatically see them and stop for them to cross.
As far as the desired effects of the Henderson Police Department crosswalk safety campaign are concerned, fewer pedestrian deaths in Nevada will probably affect the car insurance industry too. Fewer deaths and increased safety typically bring about lower car insurance premiums. These lowered premiums are something most drivers hope for. There are several types of car insurance policies in Nevada that will cover for costs incurred as a result of an accident that involves a pedestrian. One is UM/UIM insurance and another is Med Pay. Med Pay covers the policy holder, their children and their resident relatives in the event of a vehicle v. pedestrian accident. However, if one of your relatives injures a pedestrian after a traffic violation and is involved in a liability lawsuit, the costs of the trial will only be covered by an umbrella insurance policy.
There you have it folks. We wish to go on record stating that this is a wonderful program and we wish success to traffic officers of the Henderson Police Department. Tell us what you think on our personal Facebook page.