Life-saving programs to be discussed at Traffic Safety Summit

Courtesy Nevada Department of Transportation

With 328 lives lost in Nevada traffic crashes last year, the Nevada Departments of Transportation and Public Safety are hosting the Nevada Traffic Safety Summit. Held Oct. 15-17 in Sparks, the summit will bring transportation agencies, law enforcement and other safety partners together to discuss the latest traffic safety trends and further strategies and programs to save lives on Nevada roads.

NDOT and partners follow the Nevada Strategic Highway Safety Plan with life-saving strategies in key traffic safety areas such as pedestrian safety and impaired driving. The safety summit, held annually, brings transportation, safety and law enforcement experts together to prioritize and update strategies in the state’s seven traffic safety emphasis areas: pedestrian safety, intersection safety, impaired driving, vehicle occupant protection as well as motorcycle and young driver safety and focusing on the road. Nevada traffic and safety advocates implement those strategies with the goal of cutting the yearly traffic fatality average in half by 2030, and reaching an ultimate goal of zero traffic deaths on Nevada roads.

This year’s agenda includes traffic incident management first responder training exercises, child passenger safety, young driver and pedestrian/intersection safety updates, as well as discussions to reduce risky and impaired driving.

“Every year, policy makers, agencies and community members and groups across the state jointly develop and put important engineering, law enforcement, emergency medical response and public education improvements in place,” Administrator of the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety Amy Davey explained. “But, ultimately, traffic safety relies on each and every person on the road being safe, following the rules of the road and watching out for each other.”

The summit will be held at the Nugget Casino Resort. Further event details are available at zerofatalitiesnv.com.