Click image for enlargement. Mike McLemore, featured in a public service announcement about safe driving, shows the safe driving car magnet on his vehicle. Photo by Keith Shimada/Review-Journal

How did Mike McLemore land a cameo in a TV commercial that promotes safe driving?

By running a red light.

McLemore, 43, certainly wouldn't recommend breaking the law as a means of landing a big break. He's just one of a handful of ordinary, everyday Southern Nevada drivers featured in public service announcements for "Bad Driving ... What's Your Excuse?" a safe-driving public awareness campaign launched by Clark County in June.

And, while his small degree of newfound fame amuses him, McLemore hopes his participation simply can help to impress upon others the importance of driving safely.

The county's campaign targets three common driver behaviors that cause accidents: running red lights, distracted driving and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It includes billboards and bus ads, bumper magnets that are available to the public, a list of safe driving tips posted on the county's Web site and public service ads air on Clark County's cable access channel (Cox Cable channel 4) and on KCLV (Cox cable channel 2), the City of Las Vegas' government access channel.

In his spot, McLemore talks about the red light he ran while preparing to round a corner. McLemore recalls that he was distracted for a moment by yellow tape he saw wrapped around the front door of a hotel.

"I thought, 'Wow, I wonder if something bad happened' " he says.

It took only a split-second. But, by the time he turned his attention back to his driving, the two cars in front of McLemore already had gone through the yellow light. And, he says, "by the time I go there, it was already red."

So, McLemore continued through the red light and was cited by a nearby police officer.

"I think he wanted to stop the cars in front of me as well," McLemore adds. "But the bottom line is, I was careless."

Still, McLemore figures he got off easy, considering what could have happened if another car had come through the intersection on its own green light.

"Thank God I was able to just get a warning before something major happened," he says in the ad. "It's so easy to be distracted."

After being cited for the red light violation, McLemore attended traffic school. While he was there, a county representative asked if any of the drivers attending the course would be willing to talk about the violation that landed them in traffic school.

Not surprisingly, the response wasn't overwhelming. But McLemore thought it was worth volunteering if telling his story could help to prevent someone else from being injured or even killed.

Since filming the spot -- which also can be seen on the county's Web site -- McLemore has become sort-of famous, at least among his own circle of friends and acquaintances.

"I've had some friends mention it, and some co-workers," McLemore says. "The funny thing is, I haven't seen it yet.

"They kind of joke with me. They say, 'Hey, you were on TV the other day.' The other day I was at my barber shop, and while (the stylist) was cutting my hair, her husband walked in and said, 'Hey, your client is on TV.' "

But, he says, "it's been a positive thing. I just hope it saves lives."

Bill O'Melia, who teaches traffic school, says the campaign can help to remind area drivers of good driving habits they may have forgotten about and, maybe, help them break some bad driving habits they've developed over the years.

Many drivers have a tendency to rationalize away their less-than-stellar driving habits, he notes. "Everyone else does it. Or: It's inconvenient for me, so I'm going to do it my way. Or: I did it yesterday and a police officer saw it and didn't give me a ticket, so it's OK."

"We like to use rationalization, and what's bad now becomes normal. And, unfortunately, that's underlying a lot of our traffic violations, plus the fact that we seem to think, 'I have a right to be there first.' "

Safe driving basically comes down to a few obvious -- if not often followed -- basics, says Lt. Susan Leach of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments's traffic section.

"You need to slow down, you need to pay attention, you need to obey the laws and you need to take your time," she says.

"It's just getting to the point where our city is growing so rapidly and the streets are getting so busy and so crowded that people need to just slow down and pay attention to what's going on around them."

Paul Niemkiewicz, chief instructor for Clark County court education programs, hopes the public service spots will help to drive the county's safe-driving message home in a different sort of way.

Ads featuring judges, police officers and traffic school instructors "you hear all the time," he says, "and the first thing a lot of people do when they see a PSA is change the channel."

"Now, when (an average person) shows up on TV and says, 'Oh, I ran a red light' or 'I got caught driving DUI, ' I have a feeling that's more effective in reaching out."

It's been effective for McLemore, who says attending traffic school and filming the commercial have made him more aware of driving safely. And, considering his status as one of the county campaign's stars, that's a good thing.

McLemore's truck now is home to one of the magnets the county is distributing as part of the campaign. The magnet features the county's "Bad Driving ... What's Your Excuse?" tagline in a miniature diamond-shaped, yellow caution sign.

"I put that (magnet) on my car," McLemore jokes, "and it made me realize that, if I have that thing on there, I'd better be careful."