Be Super Safe This Super Bowl Sunday

Be Super Safe This Super Bowl Sunday
Year Not Beginning on High Note for Traffic Fatalities

WHAT: Free Rides and Safer Party Tips to Counter Stepped-Up Enforcement This Weekend
WHO: Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety, UNLV’s Safe Community Partnership, Designated Drivers and Local Law Enforcement
WHY: Super Bowl Sunday Second only to New Years Eve for Alcohol Related Crashes

Clark County and all of Nevada have made record progress on reducing traffic fatalities since 2006 when fatalities peaked at 432; that year 139 of the fatalities were alcohol related. In 2008, the most recent year for accurate alcohol data, there were 321 traffic fatalities, 126 of them alcohol related.

So even though fatalities dropped by 121 lives in that time frame, alcohol related fatalities only dropped from 139 to 126, in fact, an increase of the percentage of alcohol crashes.

Fast forward to February, 2010: fatalities in Clark County for January were just released and they are not good news, our traffic fatalities doubled what they were in 2009. Super bowl Sunday is the second most likely holiday for alcohol crashes and agencies are stepping up to make sure we give drivers every opportunity to get home safely this weekend.

Local law enforcement will be joining forces all through the week looking for drinking drivers and those generally driving without thought of the consequences. Media messages urging listeners to “Make the Right Call” are all over television and radio, and as an added incentive, free rides will be available all day Sunday until midnight through Designated Drivers, supported by a grant from the NV Office of Traffic Safety, State Farm Insurance and the Rampart Casino Group.