Not that he gave them to me specifically to pass along, mind you — I’m not that fancy. But I have read two bits of news about increased enforcement and thought I’d better pass them along to ya!
First — In the Chief’s column from last week’s Boulder City Review – Chief Finn passed along the information that the Nevada Highway Patrol recently announced that they were going to aggressively enforce what is called the “Move Over Law”, which covers the duties of all drivers when approaching authorized emergency vehicles.
If you want to read the law specifically (it’s not long) — I found a 2011 press release that has it…you can read it by clicking here. The general idea though is that you should move over to the far lane (if possible) when you see any emergency vehicle or tow truck that has its flashing lights turned on (along with decreasing speed, proceeding with caution and being prepared to stop – as you would expect).
Second — the Chief sent out a memo last week that was forwarded to me by Fan Christy Springgate-Hill and so I thought I’d just paste it in its entirety for you below. It’s message is good – due to the alarming 25% increase in fatal crashes with speeding as the primary cause, Metro and BCPD will be increasing enforcement of the speed laws. So they’re asking that everyone be mindful of their speed and safety. Hey, anything that saves a few lives, I say!
Here’s the memo for ya:
Good morning everyone,
At a chiefs and sheriffs meeting last Thursday we discussed the alarming 25% increase in fatal crashes throughout the Las Vegas Valley. A study on causal factors indicates that speeding is the primary cause of a majority of the crashes, although DUI-related fatalities are also on the rise. Please be advised that LVMPD Sheriff Doug Gillespie just issued an order to his officers to step up their speed enforcement and cite everyone they catch speeding. Please be mindful of your speed at all times and pass this information on to your friends and loved ones, and be aware that the BCPD has also increased its speed enforcement efforts throughout the city.
Although our nationwide motor vehicle death rate has declined significantly over the past ten years, the numbers are starting to creep back up. We lose, on average, 93 people a day to traffic crashes throughout the U.S., and that’s unacceptable. Please drive safely, and remember that your best defense against becoming a crash victim is your seat belt!
Tom
Thomas W. Finn, Chief of Police
Boulder City Police Department
