Injuries and deaths to pedestrians by motor vehicle is a serious problem in Las Vegas that city officials, law enforcement and residents must work on.
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) April 03, 2015
Deeply troubled by the fact that almost every three days a car hits a pedestrian in the Las Vegas valley, mayoral candidate Phil Cory plans to work with city officials and law enforcement to cut the number of these accidents if he wins the race for mayor. However, he is not waiting until after the election to make suggestions.
He is calling on Mayor Carolyn Goodman and City Council to form a special task force to address this issue. Cory said: “I’m calling on Mayor Goodman and City Council to immediately form a task force on the issue of accidents involving pedestrians. I would like to see Las Vegas immediately begin to cite pedestrians who do not use the sidewalks and crosswalks, drivers who drive distracted, especially in crosswalk areas, and to repaint existing crosswalks so that they’re easier to see.” Cory also wants the city to use data about the areas that are heavily used by pedestrians to identify the spaces that are most potentially hazardous for pedestrians.
Cory said that very early in his tenure as mayor he would start a Task Force on Pedestrian Safety. “Injuries and deaths to pedestrians by motor vehicle is a serious problem in Las Vegas that city officials, law enforcement and residents must work on. Under my administration, we will use existing resources and data to solve this problem. Up until now, Las Vegas has been reactive to this issue and now it’s time to get proactive.”
Elected officials and safety experts recognize that the problem of motor vehicle accidents in Las Vegas involving pedestrians is a combination of 1) the operators of motor vehicles are simply driving distracted in large numbers and (2) pedestrians failing to follow the rules of safety. Too many operators of motor vehicles are driving without thinking about pedestrians while they are impaired or using their cell phones, and pedestrians must be more careful in watching out for cars and trucks and not expect them to always be watching for them, said Cory.
Additionally, too many pedestrians do not use existing crosswalks. At a crosswalk, pedestrians must stop and look in all directions before proceeding. However, since not every road has a crosswalk, pedestrians have to use better judgement in deciding when to cross. In a crosswalk, pedestrians have the right of way and motor vehicles should yield. However, the pedestrian right of way goes away when the pedestrian leaves the curb or walks onto the street too fast. And just as drinking and driving do not mix, pedestrians who are impaired by drugs and alcohol have a greater risk of being involved in a traffic accident.
Phil Cory is a successful tech entrepreneur and author. He is currently a candidate for Mayor of Las Vegas. Early voting continues through April 3 and Election Day is Tuesday April 7, 2015. Being the political newcomer in the race, Cory has used many traditional grass roots methods in his strategy to reach the entire city of Las Vegas. He is using the nickname on the ballot of “LOL” which stands for Leadership Over Legacy. Contact him at(702) 675-9605 or visit his website http://www.philformayor.com