The Southern Nevada Traffic Safety committee met yesterday, and hit-and-run pedestrian deaths were a central topic. Its likely that a bill will be introduced soon to move the penalties for a hit-and-run to the same level of severity as a felony DUI. Currently the penalty for a hit-and-run is 2 to 15 years in prison, with a chance for probation in sentencing. Policy makers are interested in removing that possibility for probation, so that jail time is mandatory in sentencing. They want the penalties to be steep. So far this year, 6 people have died within Metros jurisdiction. A hugely disproportionate 5 of those people were pedestrians. Las Vegas has become increasingly unsafe for people crossing the street. The goal of steeper penalties for hit-and-runs is to encourage drivers to stop to help their victims. The penalties for running away after hitting someone should be much steeper than the penalties for staying. In many cases last year, pedestrians were hurriedly crossing poorly-lit streets outside of the crosswalks. A lot of those drivers that mistakenly collided with people did stay to help, and were not charged. Efforts are also being made to curtail jaywalking, a key contributor to pedestrian deaths. Currently, the fine for crossing the street outside a crosswalk is almost $200. Metro officers periodically raise awareness by focusing on high-traffic areas and watching specifically for jaywalkers. Being charged with a hit-and-run accident is serious business, and its about to become even more serious. mynews3/content/kutner/story/vegas-metro-hit-run-penalties-nevada-legislature/tol-1CDB6E-wzvCfocpdlg.cspx If youve been injured in traffic, call us: (702) 382-0000
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 21:57:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015