Visiting Lake Mead? Drive like a tortoise, not a hare, officials say

Local authorities on Thursday announced a new campaign to increase traffic enforcement at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, an effort they say is needed to reduce excessive speeding and crashes at one of the most dangerous areas for motorcyclists managed by the National Park Service.

Rangers from the park service, which operates Lake Mead, will begin enhanced traffic safety and enforcement operations Thursday, officials said, adding that targeted patrols will also occur Saturday and Sunday. The so-called “Drive Like a Tortoise” campaign specifically seeks to reduce motorcycle crashes to help minimize visitor fatalities and mitigate impact to wildlife like the endangered desert tortoise, bighorn sheep and other wildlife.

Over that span, Lake Mead park rangers and law enforcement from the Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada Highway Patrol and other nearby agencies will be stationed throughout park grounds to enforce motorist speed, monitor seat belt use and stop distracted or impaired drivers.

“With each incident, this is not only a statistic, but a loss of a loved one,” Mike Garel, chief park ranger at Lake Mead, told reporters at a Thursday press conference outside the Alan Bible Visitor Center.

Garel added that since 2015, 1,353 crashes and 37 fatalities have been recorded at Lake Mead, with motorcycle crashes being disproportionately involved. Lake Mead was selected for the initiative because it features the highest rate of motorcycle-related deaths across the entire National Park Service system, Garel said.

As part of the partnership, the Park Service worked with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to analyze crash data and other factors that have determined speed as a leading factor in many fatal Lake Mead crashes, Garel continued. Oftentimes, motorcyclists and other drivers often fail to slow down at curves that can come up quickly when speeding and run their vehicle off the road.

“For us in the National Park Service, motor vehicles are the number one cause of unintentional visitor fatalities, [and] in those crashes motorcycles are over-represented,” Park Service federal law enforcement liaison Adam Kelsey said. “We outpace the national average by about 10 percent in the Park Service.”

Shawn Haggstrom, public information officer for the Highway Patrol, encouraged motorcyclists to wear helmets and other safety equipment like gloves and vests, which he said can prevent critical injuries if a rider is ejected from a bike. Driving conservatively, he added, while observing posted speed limits and leaving a large following distance can also help reduce the risk of crashing.

“Riding a motorcycle here at Lake Mead National Recreational Park area is an exhilarating experience, offering a sense of freedom and breathtaking sites along this lakefront area,” Haggstrom said. “[But] helmets are the law here in Nevada and are required at all times with no exceptions.”

Officials from each agency Thursday also urged motorists not to drive if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Safety over speed

“We want to prioritize safety over speed and commit to sober and alert riding throughout this great national park,” Haggstrom said.

Motorcyclists in Southern Nevada and across the state are dying in traffic crashes at a higher rate this year than in 2024 — a grim figure underscored by at least 10 more rider deaths in the state since early April.

Of the 93 fatal crashes reported statewide from the start of this year through the end of March, at least 21 involved the death of a motorcyclist and 16 of those occurred in Clark County, according to preliminary figures published this month from the Nevada Department of Public Safety. That’s an increase of nearly 24 percent over the same time span last year, when 17 riders were killed on Nevada throughways.

But the tally of this year’s motorcyclist deaths does not include at least 10 Nevada riders who have died in the weeks since the report came out April 4. Official figures for April have not yet been released.

Among those not included in those figures is 19-year-old Servio Perri, a Henderson resident authorities identified as a motorcyclist killed in a crash Tuesday on Interstate 11 near Lake Mead. Police said the crash, which occurred on northbound I-11 near Railroad Pass Casino Road at about 12:45 p.m., also involved a semitractor-trailer but further details have not been released.

“Always ride defensively and assume that other drivers may not see you,” Haggstrom said. “Ride safe and be responsible.”

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.