LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Since 2015, more than 300 people every year die on Nevada’s roads. The majority of those fatal crashes are in Clark County. Already this year, 38 people have been killed in Clark County.
A Traffic Safety Research Group at UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine was just awarded a $437,101 grant to continue its work toward understanding and preventing traffic-related injuries and fatalities in Nevada. The grant came from the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety.
UNLV’s research group has created a database using crash data and statewide trauma center injury data for more than a decade. The data provides a deeper understanding of risk-taking behaviors that contribute to deaths and injuries.
Speeding is a major focus of Nevada’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
What the data shows is that from 2018 to 2020, 52% of all citations were speed-related. It also shows, that between 2015 and 2017 people involved in higher-speed crashes, 70 or more mph, had more severe injuries and higher hospital bills. The research also shows that 73% of pedestrians who are injured in crashes live in lower-income neighborhoods and 12% hit by a vehicle end up dying and one in five require long-term nursing or rehab care. The median hospital charge was $61,000.
According to the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, “the analysis provided by the Traffic Safety Research Group gives evidence-based information so the public can make safe choices and state and local agencies can develop safety policies that will save lives and prevent injuries.”
