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Riding around Lake Mead soon? Slow down, park service says

If you’re driving your motorcycle through Lake Mead this weekend — watch your speed.

The recreation area is conducting a saturation patrol Saturday to target speeding motorcyclists on North Shore Road.

Motorcyclists often travel the road at high speeds, and as vehicle traffic increases during warmer months, speeding motorcyclists could endanger other drivers, as well as wildlife like bighorn sheep, the National Park Service said in a news release.

Nationwide, 34 percent of all motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes in 2020 were speeding, compared with 22 percent for passenger car drivers. Additionally, 41 percent of the 2,158 motorcycle riders who died in single-vehicle crashes in 2020 were alcohol-impaired, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“At Lake Mead, we like to say ‘Drive like a tortoise,’” acting Superintendent Mike Gautier said in the release. “Keeping your speed down allows everyone to see road hazards, help protect wildlife, and get to their destination safely.”

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