Life-saving programs to be discussed at traffic safety summit

Courtesy NDOT

With 330 lives lost in Nevada traffic crashes last year, the Nevada Departments of Transportation and Public Safety are hosting the Nevada Traffic Safety Summit. Held May 23-25 in Reno, 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.

After Nevada traffic fatalities reached an all-time high of 432 in 2006, NDOT and partners developed the Nevada Strategic Highway Safety Plan with life-saving strategies in key traffic safety areas such as pedestrian safety and impaired driving. Since that time, Nevada traffic and safety advocates have worked together to implement those strategies with the goal of cutting the yearly traffic fatality average in half by 2030, and an ultimate goal of zero traffic deaths on Nevada roads.

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.

“Throughout each and 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,” NDOT Chief Traffic Safety Engineer Ken Mammen said. “NDOT and the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety host this safety summit every year as a jumping off point for the next round of traffic safety improvements.”

The summit will be held at the Grand Sierra Resort. Further event details and registration are available at safetysummitnv.com. Nevada traffic safety information is available at zerofatalitiesnv.com.