Hundreds of locals gathered at the Silverado Ranch Community Center to honor those who died in crashes on our roadways and pledged to do their part to make our community safer.

Traffic crashes are a daily occurrence in Southern Nevada, impacting countless lives. To honor those affected, Clark County participated in the World Day of Remembrance on Sunday. It's an initiative started by the World Health Organization in 2005 and embraced locally since 2017.

How many times do we have to say this? Traffic fatalities keep rising. Pedestrian deaths — people walking on the road hit and killed by vehicles — is almost as high as it was the last two or three years, and we still have two months to go before the end of the year.

So far this year, pedestrian deaths have far exceeded last year’s total, which was the worst on record. Tuesday morning, officers from across the valley joined forces to make a statement before Halloween to remind drivers to share the road. However, even an officer dressed in a neon yellow inflatable costume could not slow down most of the drivers.

Traffic safety advocates raise awareness of the deadly crashes on Clark County roadways while highlighting a day next month that recognizes road crash victims.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety and Transportation released the September 2024 year-to-date state fatal report — highlighting a two percent increase in deaths so far in the state and a 13% increase in Clark County.

October is National Pedestrian Safety Month, because this is when fatalities for vulnerable road users increase; there is less daylight as fall begins, so this is a deadly time of year for those walking and biking.

Seat belts were once simple straps that mainly served to avoid being tossed from automobiles on bumpy roads. Even then, most drivers and passengers didn’t bother with them.