Las Vegas, NV Personal Injury Blog

For three months, drivers around Nevada who were caught using their cell phones while driving were merely given a warning, but now that a new state law has officially taken effect, distracted drivers will face hefty fines for using their cell phones on the roads.

The law, which took effect on January 1, prohibits Nevada drivers from using handheld cell phones - and other devices - to talk, surf the Internet, or send or read text messages. Under this legislation, using a handheld device while on the road is a primary offense, which allows police personnel to stop drivers even if they are not committing other violations. The law applies whether a driver is in a moving vehicle, idling in traffic or sitting at a stoplight, and is aimed at reducing the number of serious accidents caused by distracted drivers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently announced that its long-anticipated changes to trucker hours-of-service regulations will be unveiled before the year's end. The rules are designed to protect the public against the dangers posed by fatigued drivers.

Although the changes may be viewed as an unwelcome holiday gift by many industry groups, Las Vegas truck accident attorneys and other safety advocates are praising the revisions as a leap forward for safety.

A string of pedestrian accidents have overtaken the Las Vegas area in recent months. In one particularly tragic accident, three children were hit by a car while crossing a North Las Vegas street, killing one and injuring the others.

All told, Clark County pedestrian accidents have killed 84 people and injured another 2,000 in the last three years.

Many people may believe that that texting while driving is dangerous, but a study by Texas A&M University's Texas Transportation Institute actually proves it. The study shows that texting while driving can double normal reaction time from the usual one to two seconds to three to four seconds, the time it takes to drive the distance of a football field while traveling at highway speeds.

When drivers' reaction times are increased, they are less able to respond to unexpected dangers on the streets. The drivers who texted while driving in the Texas study were less likely to remain in their own lanes. Test subjects hit barrels in the closed course, which in real circumstances could have been other vehicles or pedestrians.

Early in the morning of March 26, 2010, a van packed with 12 people was traversing Interstate 65 through the Kentucky countryside, en route to a wedding in Iowa.

At the same time, traveling in the opposite direction down Interstate 65, and working on about four hours of sleep, a truck driver was making a phone call - a call that would last only one second.

When the call was made, the truck broke through the cable barrier lining the median, crossed the median and drove head-on into the van. The devastating truck accident took the lives of ten of the van's passengers and the truck driver.

People come from all over the world to visit Las Vegas. The city has long had a reputation as being a great place to unwind for visitors and locals alike. While most people are able to responsibly enjoy all of the entertainment options that the city offers, not every night on the town ends peacefully. Unfortunately, all too often people who have had too much to drink get behind the wheel and cause serious accidents.

According to National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, alcohol is still a factor in Nevada car accidents. In 2009, there were 68 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, which accounted for 28 percent of all drivers killed in traffic accidents. Despite the number of deaths decreasing, the state still will need to show great improvement to completely solve this problem.

When a truck and a train collide, there are almost always disastrous consequences. The seriousness of these crashes was highlighted in a series of six collisions across the country since June, from Nevada to South Carolina. One of the most tragic was between an Amtrak Train and a tractor trailer when the driver failed to stop at a railroad crossing. The crash killed six people including the driver. In four out of the six crashes, at least one fatality was recorded. The Federal Railroad Administration reports that over the past year 70 people have died in collisions between trains and large trucks.

The issue of distracted driving has received a lot of press in recent years and deservedly so. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2009 distracted driving led to the deaths of 5,474 people across the United States.

In its effort to curb this deadly driving habit, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval recently signed into law a bill banning texting and using a handheld cell phone while driving.

Beginning October 1, law enforcement officers around the state will begin pulling over drivers who they catch texting or using a handheld cell phone and issuing verbal warnings. Then, January 1, the law takes full effect and law enforcement officers will begin ticketing drivers who violate the law. A first offense will carry a fine of $50, a second offense will carry a fine of $100, and a third offense will carry a fine of $250.