The Nevada Departments of Transportation and Public Safety and other partners have updated the Nevada Strategic Highway Safety Plan in a continuing effort to save lives on Nevada roads.
Traffic safety partners across the state have recently updated the plan with enhanced enforcement, engineering, emergency medical and educational strategies in six areas most critical to Nevada traffic safety: pedestrian, intersection, seatbelt and motorcycle safety, as well as reducing impaired driving and limiting lane departure crashes by focusing on distracted driving. The strategies range from maximizing enforcement of impaired, distracted and other dangerous driving habits, improving roadway visibility of pedestrians and intersections, as well as educational efforts to remind everyone to safely share the road. The goal is cutting the 2008 yearly traffic fatality average in half by 2030; ultimately reaching zero fatalities on Nevada roads.
“Every death and serious injury on Nevada roads is a tragedy. Every death is a family member, a friend or loved one who will not be coming home,” Nevada Department of Transportation Director Rudy Malfabon explained. “When each person thinks about themselves and their loved ones, the only acceptable traffic safety goal is zero fatalities. That’s why, for our state, there is no other acceptable goal than zero fatalities.”
“We are laser-focused on the driving behaviors and issues that are tragically causing the most deaths and injuries on Nevada roads,” NDOT Chief Traffic Safety Engineer Ken Mammen explained. “We continue implementing life-saving strategies in each area. As we continue those efforts, we want to remind everyone on the road to watch for each other and share the road.”
Nevada’s first strategic highway safety plan was developed in 2006 when the state reached an all-time high of 431 traffic fatalities. The newly-updated safety plan analyzed recent statewide traffic safety data and brought together traffic safety partners across the state to outline causes and strategies to combat the most dangerous driving behaviors on Nevada roads. Since implementation of the first safety plan, traffic deaths have dropped from an average of 1.95 deaths per every 100 million miles traveled in 2006 to 1.1 fatalities per 100 million miles in 2013. While the number of statewide traffic fatalities per every 100 million miles traveled has dropped, the overall number of fatalities has increased since 2012, with 326 traffic deaths last year.
NDOT dedicates approximately $21 million annually in federal highway safety funds to roadway safety projects and programs. Additionally, the Department is dedicating approximately $10 million in state highway funds to pedestrian safety improvements primarily in Clark and Washoe counties this year. The Nevada Highway Patrol and Nevada Department of Transportation have also partnered to place additional troopers and vehicles to enforce safe driving through road work zones. In addition, zero fatalities public education campaigns have reached 97 percent of Nevadans with traffic safety education.
To learn more about Nevada traffic safety, log on to www.zerofatalitiesnv.com.