Andrew Bennett, public information officer for Nevada’s Office of Traffic Safety, poses in the Las Vegas Sun studio Thursday, June 6, 2019. Bennett’s sister Lindsay Bennett, a UNLV Rebel Girl, was killed by a drunk driver in 2009.
Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022 | 10:04 a.m.
The just-appointed director of Clark County’s newly created Office of Traffic Safety believes that “zero fatalities” is an attainable goal, not just an aspirational slogan.
Andrew Bennett was confirmed by the Clark County Commission on Tuesday and will begin his new job on Jan. 24.
He comes to county headquarters after five years with the Nevada Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety, where he serves as the public information officer and manager for the Zero Fatalities program.
His new mission will be to reduce the number of fatal collisions, especially ones involving pedestrians or impaired drivers, in the Las Vegas area through education and engineering.
“There should be a reasonable expectation that you can get from point A to point B safely,” Bennett said. “We’ll always want people to be vigilant and focus on their safety, because sometimes you're the only one watching out for yourself. But if we can continue to build a system where it’s inherently safer, that's where we will start reducing fatalities.”
Commissioner Michael Naft, who pitched his colleagues on the new department last fall, said no other local governing body is ultimately more responsible for regional roadway safety than the commission.
Several Clark County divisions already directly impact traffic safety or respond when things go wrong. Comprehensive Engineering, the Planning and Public Works departments, the Coroner’s Office, and University Medical Center are under the county umbrella.
The new office ties those departments together with a traffic safety specialist. Bennett will answer to Clark County Manager Yolanda King.
“What's really captured my attention about this issue is that it’s one of few issues that truly is in our control,” Naft said. “It's a combination of human behavior, engineering, how we educate and inform our community, and how we enforce the rules and the policies that are in place. I really do believe that it’s an issue that we can make a difference on.”
Bennett said his county role will differ from his state job because it allows him to solve challenges at a hyperlocal corridor or intersection level. County-owned roads will be the focus, but he wants to help develop a regional safety plan.
Preliminary data show that more than 190 people died in fatal wrecks in Clark County in 2021, making last year the deadliest on local roads in 14 years. More than 1,000 people died on county roadways between 2015 and 2020. Pedestrians accounted for 61 of last year’s traffic deaths, up from 59 in 2020 and 43 in 2019.
Bennett said drivers developed or exacerbated dangerous habits during 2020’s pandemic lockdown. Motorists had more room to drive recklessly, creating a spike in single-vehicle wrecks. The poor driving has continued with roads back at high capacity, more recently leading to more collisions involving multiple cars and victims.
Clark County saw its first traffic fatality of 2021 less than three hours into the new year. A man suspected of speeding and DUI lost control of his car in North Las Vegas, authorities said.
Bennett knows how devastating impaired driving can be. It’s not just because he starts his days reading the road fatality reports from the night before. His sister Lindsay was killed by a drunk driver in 2009 as she drove on the 215 Beltway.
Lindsay Bennett was coming home from practice with the UNLV dance team at the time. She was 18.
Bennett converted his grief into his career.
His new office will draw up metrics defining progress in bringing down fatal wrecks, but the true goal will always be to eliminate deaths on the roads.
“When someone that's in my position has that ability to see that it’s so much more than just a number – it's a life that was lost – I’m sticking with zero,” he said.
