Community groups combat troubling rate of pedestrian deaths in Clark County

By April Corbin

Monday, May 29, 2017 | 2 a.m.

So far this year, 30 have died — 10 more than at this time last year. Perhaps most troubling is the fact that this is a three-year trend.

In 2016, the Nevada Department of Transportation labeled pedestrian deaths an epidemic and launched ePEDemic.org, a website and public-safety campaign to remind drivers and those on foot to be more aware on the roadways. But, as was the case with a similar campaign a few years earlier, the efforts had no noticeable effect on the total number of pedestrian deaths.

During Global Road Safety Week May 8-14, UNLV’s Vulnerable Road Users Project had a news conference focusing on speed, which often is the difference between life and death for a pedestrian hit by a car.

Research has shown a direct correlation between vehicle speed and the likelihood of pedestrian survival during a collision. Only 2 percent of people hit by a vehicle traveling 10 to 15 mph and 5 percent of people hit by a vehicle traveling 20 to 25 mph will die as a result. Bump the speed of the vehicle to 30 to 35 mph and the fatality rate for the pedestrian jumps to 45 percent. Once vehicles reach a speed above 40 mph, the risk of fatality for a pedestrian they hit is 85 percent.

“Speed kills,” said Metro Police Officer Dell Griffith.

“We need to be one community,” he continued. “We collectively need to reduce our speeds. We could be setting the example for everyone else.”

World Health Organization research shows that lowering speeds by 5 percent reduced roadway fatalities by 30 percent. Almost 50 countries have adopted lower speeds on arterial roads in order to reduce the overall crash casualties and critical injuries to drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Clark County has one example of successfully re-engineering roadway infrastructure and reducing vehicle speeds to lower deaths on a major thoroughfare: Maryland Parkway. The speed limit on Maryland Parkway from Tropicana Avenue near UNLV to Owens Avenue near Rancho High School is 30 mph, and police have been known to conduct ticket blitzes to send the message that the speed limit is enforced.

And a popular crossing spot connecting the university’s student union with a shopping center was re-engineered years ago to include “stutter flashers” that bring additional attention to the pedestrian signs and an S-shaped “Danish offset” crosswalk design that gives pedestrians a median and encourages eye-contact between them and drivers.

Erin Breen, director of the Vulnerable Road Users Project, says other infrastructure-improvement initiatives like this are underway throughout the county.

Downtown Henderson is widening sidewalks. Las Vegas is replacing traditional streetlights — designed to light the roadway for drivers — with ones designed to light both drivers and pedestrians. NDOT is making improvements to Boulder Highway, which is the scene of nearly a tenth of the state’s pedestrian deaths over the past decade.

Such infrastructure improvements will make roadways safer for everyone, Breen says, especially when combined with more public awareness.

“We need drivers and pedestrians to be responsible and predictable,” she said.