Steve Marcus
A Metro Police crime scene analyst surveys a Toyota RAV4 at the scene of a fatal accident on South Rainbow Boulevard between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road Tuesday November 02, 2021. The driver of a Chevrolet Corvette, identified as Henry Ruggs III, a wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders, charged with DUI, which leads to death, police said.
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 | 2 a.m
The terrible car accident that resulted in the death of 23-year-old Tina Tintor from Las Vegas and the arrest of the former wide receiver of the Las Vegas Raiders, Henry Ruggs III for some time – excessive speed.
Officials reported that Ruggs was driving 156 mph just before his Corvette crashed into Tintor’s SUV on a residential street with a speed limit of 45 mph.
It was shocking to learn how fast Ruggs was going. But even worse came the news after the accident that the number of citations for drivers at three-digit speeds has risen sharply in Nevada in recent years. In 2020, more than 4,400 drivers were cited for driving at 100 mph or more, nearly 900 more than in 2019, and officials believe the number will rise again this year.
And most of these violations happen in Las Vegas.
There seems to be a combination of reasons for this – more on that later – but obviously this is an issue that our community is aggressively addressing.
This requires a multi-pronged approach that includes increased law enforcement, more education / awareness and greater use of transport solutions. But another important element is personal responsibility: recognizing the dangers of speeding, slowing down to protect others, using a lift after drinking, etc.
Unfortunately, the streets of Las Vegas are fertile ground for speeding – many of them are straight, flat, and wide so that motorists can feel unhindered in normal or light traffic. This calls for safer designs, like the recently unveiled Boulder Highway modernization project. Work on this project includes narrowing the road and reducing kickback, which has been shown to reduce speed by making drivers feel like they are being narrowed. Other elements include dedicated bus lanes, elevated bike lanes, and improved pedestrian crossings.
But other, simpler improvements can also help.
For example, drive on Pecos Road between Warm Springs and Sunset Road, and most of the time the traffic slows down halfway.
The reason? There is a radar-equipped sign that shows the speed of motorists and flashes them to slow down if they exceed the 35 mph speed limit.
And it works, as shown by the brake lights, which are routinely seen when cars get within range of the radar. Studies of these signs have shown that they are effective at reducing speeding.
Of course, none of this will prevent 100% from over speeding. That is up to the individual drivers. But road safety officials say better designs and traffic calming devices will help.
“We can build our roads better,” Andrew Bennett, public information officer for the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety, told the Sun’s sister publication Las Vegas Weekly. “The road shouldn’t allow you to drive that fast. You shouldn’t be able to go 156 mph in a residential area. “
Another positive move can be found in efforts such as a new awareness campaign by the Southern Nevada Bicycle Coalition, which is displayed on posters, buses, etc.
The campaign slogan “Let’s Get There Together” is worth spreading.
As mentioned earlier, there are several factors that contribute to the increase in speeding. Experts say the popularity of the “Fast & Furious” franchise and similar films has spurred a rise in street racing, for example, to such an extent that the Metro Police devoted resources to the problem. Speeding is also believed to be a behavioral holdover from the early months of the pandemic, when shop closings made roads less congested and motorists drove faster.
Las Vegas also has a unique problem in that there are readily available high performance exotic cars for rent. Officials say 8% of deaths in the state involve these cars, with excessive speed being a factor in several of these accidents.
But that mix of reasons – cultural influences, street design, bad choices – has created a more dangerous environment on the streets of Las Vegas. We vividly saw the result in the tragedy that killed Tintor, but excessive speeding had become a problem long before and remains a cause of urgent action.
