Lawmakers stress need to look beyond red light cameras and other ‘back end’ traffic safety measures

By Michael Lyle

Nevada Current

As state lawmakers discussed, yet again, legislation to authorize the use of red light cameras, some legislators turned the discussion to the role of infrastructure and other traffic safety mitigation measures.

Lawmakers heard from state traffic safety and public health officials about the increased number of crashes and deaths in Nevada at Wednesday’s meeting of the joint interim Committee for Growth and Infrastructure and Health and Human Services.

The hearing was the second time proposed automated traffic enforcement, such as speeding and red light cameras, has been discussed at an interim legislative meeting this year amid the rising number of traffic facilities and accidents.

Democratic state Sen. Dallas Harris categorized some of the recommendations brought up at the meeting, like road safety cameras, as “back end” measures that are deployed “after we catch you.”

“What are the suggestions you have for the front end, which is often the harder part,” she asked. “How do we stop people from engaging in risky driving? How do we stop people from running lights before we have to send them the automatic traffic ticket? I don’t want to do the back end if we’re not also doing the front end.”

Amy Davey, administrator of the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety within the Department of Public Safety, agreed with Harris and said lawmakers could look at “changing our roadways.”

She referenced the street outside the legislative building, saying “you really can’t go very fast.”

“That whole street has been redesigned to make you slow down and make it safer for all types of road users,” Davey said.

The number of fatalities in the state from 2019 to 2022 has increased 36 percent.

Davey told lawmakers that it’s likely “the most dangerous thing you’ll do today is walk, drive or ride.”

The data shows there is an increased rate for fatalities in communities that have incomes less than $50,000.

Davey noted that the analysis doesn’t show the demographics of the crash victim, just the neighborhood the crash occurred, adding that “people drive in more locations than their own neighborhoods.”

However, the data around income demographics of the neighborhood, “helps us understand infrastructure and the way a neighborhood and its roads are designed and built and the way that road users use these roads have critical impacts on safety,” she said.

Some local and state officials, including law enforcement, have argued measures, like automatic speed cameras, are needed to prevent a growing number of accidents and deaths.

Clark County commissioners recently discussed wanting legislation that looks at red light cameras as well.

“We are just chasing losses if we continue to try to enforce our way out of this,” Harris said.

On the list of ideas presented to lawmakers, other suggestions in addition to traffic cameras included increasing traffic fines in school zones and DUI intervention programs.

There are already penalties designed to deter driving while under the influence, said Julia Peek with the Division of Public and Behavioral Health with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

“Despite widespread public awareness campaigns and stricter enforcement methods, the number of DUI-related incidents remain alarmingly high,” she said. “Traditional approaches such as fines and license suspensions have proven effective but still inefficient at addressing the root cause of the issue.”

Some areas lawmakers can look at include amending the “24 Driver’s License Restriction” program that gives people permission to drive to and from work or for medical and mental health care.

Several other lawmakers asked about the role in infrastructure compared to other safety mitigation efforts designed to prevent speeding or other traffic hazards like running a red light

“I firmly believe that most of our efforts to improve traffic safety need to be focused on engineering,” said Democratic state Sen. Fabian Doñate. “By human nature, we can’t really control behavior much. We can do a lot in terms of infrastructure.”

Davey referenced a neighborhood in Southern Nevada that had “significant safety concerns” that stem from the design. While she didn’t identify where the neighborhood was located, she said a multi-lane highway bisects a housing development and the neighborhood grocery store.

“Land use planning for both streets design, zoning and development play a significant role in neighborhood safety,” Davey said.

Other suggestions she pointed to outside of enforcement included looking at access to drivers education programs for youth and new drivers, in particular those who lack cars or resources to take driving courses.

Doñate also questioned what data is available that compares traffic fatalities rates in cities with mass transit.

Davey said she “would love to study that in a comprehensive way” but didn’t have any data on that for the hearing.

*

Michael Lyle (MJ to some) is an award-winning journalist with Nevada Current. In addition to covering state and local policy and politics, Michael reports extensively on homelessness and housing policy. He graduated from UNLV with B.A. in Journalism and Media Studies and later earned an M.S. in Communications at Syracuse University.