Highway patrols to launch weeklong I-15 enforcement effort

Spring breakers beware. Interstate 15 between Nevada and California is going to be hot with highway patrol troopers starting Friday.

The Nevada Highway Patrol and California Highway Patrol will join forces Friday to keep motorists safe through the next two weekends and the days between on the heavily traveled corridor.

Friday marks the end of spring break for Nevada schools and the start of spring break for California schools.

An average of 45,000 vehicles from California enter Nevada via daily I-15, Nevada Highway Patrol said in a release. Spring break is expected to bring more congestion than normal. The joint effort will allow for “extra manpower,” NHP trooper Chelsea Stuenkel said.

California Highway Patrol will bring in an additional six units for the team-up on Friday, and Nevada Highway Patrol will bring in seven vehicles and five motorcycle units. Las Vegas and Henderson will also send out motorcycle units to help patrol the area. The increased patrols will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, but NHP and CHP troopers will be extra vigilant through the week.

This will be the first team effort of the two states’ highway patrols to reduce accidents and improve safety on this stretch of I-15 that was once considered one of the deadliest highways in the nation, Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Both agencies will focus on speed infractions, the move-over law, and distracted driving violations.

Commuters will be warned with the electronic freeway signs that will flash the message “Move Over or Slow Down for Stopped Emergency Vehicles” and “Entering NHP Zero Tolerance Zone.”

The use of the electronic signs has been “pretty effective,” Stuenkel said. The Zero Tolerance Zone has proved to be effective, as the number of fatal crashes has dropped significantly since its launch in 2013. The electronic messages are a “good reminder” for those who don’t know the laws or who aren’t local, Stuenkel said.

The CHP plans to use fix-winged aircraft that measure speed from the air Friday.

“Speed does kill,” said Stuenkel, explaining that it is important to remind drivers of the laws. Many people speed along I-15 because it is a long, boring route and they get impatient or will set their cars to cruise control, he said.

Accidents and fatal crashes are more common this time of the year because the weather is warming up and there is more traveling, walking, biking, more motorcycles and overall just “more activity,” he said.

How strictly the agencies plan to enforce the speeding laws, is up to the officers’ discretion, Stuenkel said. There is no “set threshold” on how fast motorists must be driving before they get pulled over. However, there will be increased enforcement and “our job is to stop people from breaking any laws,” she added.

Contact Jessica Terrones at jterrones@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find @JessATerrones on Twitter.