Camera sees 14,000 red light violations at busy intersection in February, but Metro can’t cite drivers
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — It’s a pervasive problem in the valley: red light runners.
Law enforcement agencies are working together to tackle the deadly behavior because the number of people killed in crashes in Clark County is up 51% already this year and red-light running is a major contributing factor.
“The numbers of red light runners are staggering,” Nevada State Police Major Kevin Honea said.
Las Vegas Metro Deputy Chief Chris Holmes saw it all the time when he worked patrol. “I did traffic enforcement for 8 years and I’ll tell you, the things that I saw still haunt me,” he said.
On Sunday night, 8 News Now will air a special on traffic safety. Look for our “Speed Kills” special at 6:30 p.m.
According to a survey conducted by AAA, 76% of drivers said it’s “very” or “extremely” dangerous to run a red light that just turned. But 28% of those people admitted they’d recently done just that.
“We know what causes these accidents. Our job is to stop them, try to stop them from happening,” Holmes said.
While red light cameras in Nevada are banned as a means of traffic enforcement unless law enforcement is there to witness the violation, Honea said cameras are being used to collect data. “In our jurisdiction, we determined at the 215 Beltway and Green Valley they showed the month of February there were over 14,000 people running red lights in just one intersection.”
Right now, local law enforcement can use that information to saturate a high-risk area with patrol.
Across the country 23 states and Washington DC utilize red light cameras.
Metro Sheriff Kevin McMahill told 8 News Now he supports that technology, but any changes need to be made during the state’s legislative session. The next one is in 2025.
Holmes said, “We’re all voters. We vote. That’s how laws are changed, through voting. As law enforcement, we can only do so much.”
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