LVMPD - Traffic

Thank you for contacting the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Transportation Safety Bureau. During the month of February 2005, the Transportation Safety Bureau will initiate an aggressive enforcement action with the goal of enhancing public safety to improve thecommunity's quality of life behind the wheel. It is imperative as a community that we work together to achieve this important goal.

The "Three E's": Traffic Safety is based upon the model of the "Three Es" of Enforcement, Engineering and Education. Traffic Officers perform their mission on a daily basis to identify not only Enforcement needs, but Engineering issues as well. By working with City, County and State engineers, Patrol and Traffic Officers identify problem areas and work to find solutions to make the roadways of one of the fastest growing communities in the country safer and more efficient. Education, the third "E" of the traffic safety triangle, is a responsibility shared by many different community groups along with "Metro". There are many organizations that provide driver training and education for all ages. In addition, there are numerous people and organizations working on such varied issues as designing safer roadways in our neighborhoods, teaching parents how to properly install child restraint seats, and dealing with the problem of impaired drivers. All of these play an important part in making Las Vegas and Clark County safer for all of us.

The Top Twenty Intersections: Through traffic analysis data, we determine where the valley's "Top Twenty Intersections" for accidents are located. Unfortunately, computers can never predict where the next fatal accident will occur, and the intersections on the list change constantly. As Las Vegas grows, so does our need for more Police Officers. We are often asked to work Traffic enforcement in all parts of town, and we do. But by assigning our limited number of Traffic Officers where they will do the most good, we believe we can be most effective at making a dent in the number of wrecks.

The Hard Numbers: "More than 6.3 million police-reported motor vehicle crashes occurred in the United States in 2003. Almost one-third of these crashes resulted in an injury, with... 38,252 resulting in a death.¹ That equates to an airliner with 150 passengers crashing and killing everyone aboard every other day!

"Forty percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol. For fatal crashes occurring from midnight to 3 a.m., 77 percent involved alcohol."²

1, 2. 2003 Motor Vehicle Crash Data from Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

We encourage you to learn more about traffic issues by visiting NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) website at http://www.NHTSA.com. Also, we would like to hear what your concerns are.