Faster Isn’t Safer: Revisiting Speeding Accidents on Nevada Roads

This time last year, I wrote about America’s speeding problem and called for an end to this dangerous behavior. Sadly, 2018 has proven itself to be one of the deadliest years for traffic fatalities in Nevada. Many of these fatalities were caused by speeding, which is why it is so fundamental for us to remember the very real risks that it poses.

Nevada residents are being forced to face the consequences of their or someone else’s decision to speed. On Christmas Eve, 41-year-old Las Vegas resident Maribel Aleman was thrown from her car and killed on the way to pick up Christmas cookies after a speeding driver slammed into the side of her vehicle without pressing the brakes. While Aleman was the sole fatality, she was in the car with her husband and their 13-year-old son at the time of her death.

Two days later, on Dec. 26, three 16-year olds were taken to the hospital after a one-vehicle rollover in Reno resulted from them driving at least 20 miles an hour above the posted speed limit. And on just Dec. 13, a 33-year old Las Vegas man named Pedro Antonio Rodriguez Gonzalez died after speeding into the back of a backhoe and being ejected from his motorcycle.

Clearly, these situations happen far more often than many of us would like to admit. This is true not only within the state of Nevada, but also nationwide. Between 2012-2016, Nevada had an annual average speed-related fatality count of 106, which is higher than law enforcement’s targeted goal for this time. Nationwide, speeding killed over 10,000 people in 2016 alone.

While the holidays are meant to bring loved ones together to celebrate, accidents caused by reckless speeding leaves many families devastated instead. With tensions high on the roads, especially during this time of year, it is easy to become frustrated and speed without considering the consequences. The reality is that speeding puts every single person on the road at risk; with that being said, drivers who endanger, hurt, or even kill others because of their speeding must be held accountable for their actions.