Monday, Dec. 10, 2012 | 3:08 p.m.
CARSON CITY — Traffic deaths in Clark County are up this year and the state, as one solution, is going to push to toughen its seat belt law, officials said.
The Nevada Department of Transportation is also advocating more DUI check points and additional public service announcements.
Director Rudy Malfabon presented statistics to the state Board of Transportation on Monday showing that 88 people have been killed in traffic accidents in Clark County this year, an increase of 54.4 percent over last year. There have been 37 pedestrian deaths in the county, up 37 percent from the same time of a year ago.
Statewide, the number of traffic deaths was 229 as of Nov. 27, up 20 from last year at the same time.
In Washoe County, the other metropolitan area in the state, there have been 26 traffic fatalities, the same as last year at this time.
Malfabon said his department will ask the 2013 Legislature to enact a primary seat belt law allowing police to pull over a driver for only not wearing a safety belt. Under the present law, an officer can only cite a driver for a seat belt violation if stopped for another violation.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy