Family makes warning posters works of art
It apparently runs in the family, the ability to create artwork accompanied by strong messages about vehicle and pedestrian safety.
You’ve seen the billboards with three tombstones that read: LOL. OMG. RIP.
The message targeting drivers who text behind the wheel wasn’t the product of one of our city’s hundreds of marketing firms. Nope, it was a Honea.
Desperate to find innovative ways to increase pedestrian awareness after a rash of deadly accidents, Safe Community Partnership advertised a competition for Clark County students to design posters to be placed in Las Vegas bus shelters.
The winner? A Honea.
Logan Honea, 18, actually landed three pieces of artwork in the Top 5. It was her sister, Shelby, 21, who came up with the tombstone advertisement.
The name might sound familiar because Logan and Shelby are the daughters of Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Kevin Honea, who is often the talking head at traffic accidents that draw media attention. But his job had little to do with their success. The sergeant doesn’t come home from work and preach vehicular safety to his family every night.
“When I get home from work, I’m the guy on the couch they really try to stay away from,” Sgt. Honea said, adding that he had no idea Logan entered the competition.
Before Honea comes off like a disconnected dad, that is not the case. His children are aware of the dangers of driving while distracted or under the influence and he trusts them. When they are out and about, they keep in constant touch. He doesn’t want to roll up to an accident wondering if his kid is in the car.
That said, he wasn’t fully aware of Logan’s talent.
“I was just as blown away as anybody else,” he said of the Arbor View High School senior.
But this isn’t about the elder Honea.
Logan Honea was just as mystified by the number of pedestrian versus vehicle accidents as anybody in the community. Last year, 127 pedestrians under the age of 18 were struck. Of those, four died and 24 had life-altering injuries, according to figures provided by Erin Breen, director of Safe Community Partnership.
This year is not shaping up to be any better. Fatalities are up 172 percent so far, Breen said.
“It’s not safe out there,” Logan said. “It scares me every day. It can happen to anybody anytime.”
The posters needed to be simple so that drivers passing by bus shelters could quickly absorb the message without being distracted. The posters needed to remind pedestrians and drivers to be mindful of each other. Eighty advertisements were submitted by students districtwide. Filling out the Top 5 were Dasha Gazo, an eighth-grader from Fertitta Middle School who finished second, and Dillon Morala, a junior at A-Tech Academy who landed fourth.
Logan Honea nailed it.
Honea started to think about how air bags are in nearly every vehicle these days and they protect the driver and passengers. Pedestrians have nothing to protect them. That is how she came up the idea for her first-place poster.
She said these types of messages are better received when coming from a peer.
“As a teen, it’s difficult to take advice from a parent; it’s like they’re talking down to you,” Logan said. “It’s easier to accept advice from someone your own age.”
Logan spent plenty of time on Skype with Shelby and older brother Zachary, 19, who is featured in the fifth-place poster warning pedestrians to tune into their surroundings.
Breen said the posters will make the rounds at First Friday and government buildings with the hopes that not only will the students’ talents be recognized but the message will reach a greater number of residents.
Breen’s organization is working with law enforcement agencies to come up with solutions for a problem obviously plaguing the city.
She acknowledged that some of the problems derive from midblock bus stops and passengers scooting across the street to catch another bus. She is lobbying the Regional Transportation Commission to install radios in the coaches so drivers can communicate with each other. If a passenger is trying to make a connection and the buses are seconds apart, she said, it might help if the drivers are aware of that.
“That guy is running across the street because that is his livelihood right there,” Breen said of passengers whose only mode of transportation is the bus.
Safe Community Partnership will also continue to host town hall meetings where residents can share their ideas. That is where she met Blake Bradley, an executive with Outdoor Promotions, who showed up at a November UNLV meeting as a concerned citizen.
Bradley came up with the idea for the poster competition. His company also donated the grand prize. Guess who went home with a new MacBook?
A Honea.
If you have a question, tip or tirade, call Adrienne Packer at 702-387-2904, or send an email to roadwarrior
@reviewjournal.com. Include your phone number.
■ For the next several months, expect road closures behind the east side of the Strip. Closed roads include Ida Avenue between Audrie Street and Koval Lane, Winnick Avenue between Audrie and Koval, and Audrie north of Albert Avenue.
■ For the next two years, watch for lane shifts on the Las Vegas Beltway between Interstate 15 and Windmill Lane as crews widen the freeway. Bridges at Paradise Road, Warm Springs Road and Robindale Road and the airport connector tunnel also are being widened.
■ Through July, expect delays on Valley View Boulevard between U.S. Highway 95 and Desert Inn Road because of a widening project.
■ Through July, expect delays on Jones Boulevard between U.S. Highway 95 and Sahara Avenue because of a widening project.
GASOLINE PRICES
The average price of gasoline in the Las Vegas Valley on Friday was $3.75 per gallon; the state average was $3.79; the national average was $3.71.
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