Police ramp up traffic safety efforts on Boulder Highway

Las Vegas police are ramping up efforts to curb dangerous driving habits on one of the valley's most dangerous roadways.

Metro Capt. Jack Owen met with reporters on a Boulder Highway sidewalk Tuesday afternoon to explain why officers were distributing traffic safety information at a nearby Wal-Mart parking lot for the first time. The Boulder Highway corridor has seen 14 fatalities this year, he said, including eight pedestrians and a bicyclist.

Most of the pedestrian deaths were the result of "pedestrian error," Owen said, explaining that the long distances between crosswalks is a major problem.

"Jaywalking is the big one," he cautioned. "Use the crosswalks that are here; I know it can be inconvenient."

He said drivers also need to be mindful and aware that anything could happen.

Owen cited the Three E's: enforcement, engineering and education.

Officers at the substation he works at are committed to enforcing traffic laws along Boulder, including handing out jaywalking tickets that cost about $190, Owen said. And he's planning to have officers engage the community with safety information more in the future.

There are other infrastructure problems besides the distance between intersections. The six-lane road is frequented by drivers who go too fast, and lighting and visibility are issues, he said.

The Nevada Department of Transportation, which maintains Boulder Highway, is a willing partner in discussions about improved engineering, but it isn't a quick process, Owen said.

"They're very thorough with their studies. It's easy to say let's put up a bridge here, but they need to do an analysis," he said.

Owen said getting people to change their unsafe driving behaviors is a struggle.

"We need to change drivers' attitudes. There seems to be, even despite our best efforts, some apathy," he said. "You realize that these stories and these people, they're brothers, they're sisters, they're husbands, they're wives, they're family.

"They're more than a statistic on a sheet for us. That's a life."

The fliers police handed out include information for children, adults, drivers and pedestrians. The flier says, for example, that pedestrians should walk on the left side of the street facing traffic when there is no sidewalk present.

For more information about safe driving habits, visit zerofatalitiesnv.com.

"I want to just keep awareness on these things," Owen said. "Let's not ruin the holiday, let's be safe."

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl