LETTER: Time for Metro to crack down on red-light runners
It it is time for the Metropolitan Police Department to start aggressively enforcing laws against red-light runners. I have spent the past 20 years in Las Vegas working as a salesman, and the job entailed lots of city driving. Over the last few years, I have witnessed dozens of discourteous, reckless drivers run red lights. I have seen near misses and, in many cases, there are pedestrians in harm’s way.
I recently witnessed a shocking, horrible, collision on West Cheyenne Avenue that resulted in one death and multiple critical injuries. A driver decided to run the red light at high speed while an innocent older couple attempted a left turn in front of him. The impact was so massive that the engine in the older couple’s car was ripped out and hurled hundreds of yards down the street. The man’s wife was killed. After the red-light runner hit the older couple’s car, his car spun into a group of pedestrians who were waiting to cross the street. Everyone involved was severely injured.
It is time to pass legislation in Nevada that would allow our law enforcement agencies to use traffic cameras to cite drivers who fail to stop at red lights. Bad, reckless drivers deserve heavy fines and/or loss of driving privileges. Driving on our streets is a privilege, not a right, and all of us deserve safe streets.