LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Adding traffic cameras is a hot topic of discussion among county and state leaders. Officials met at the Nevada Legislature Monday to try and pass Senate Bill 415 which would put extra eyes on the road and hold drivers accountable.
Susan Smith, lost her son, Jonny, six years ago after a speeding driver hit him and his friend on their way home from school. His friend survived, but Jonny didn’t. Smith, who is now an advocate for roadway safety, spoke at Monday’s Legislative session via Zoom. She said she is pleased to see the efforts being made.
“I think that it would work as a deterrent and we know that they’ll slow down because they want to avoid that ticket,” Smith shared with 8 News Now. “In the session, they said that these cameras reduce traffic fatalities by 20% to 50%. That’s a lot and I feel like it could have prevented my son’s death.”
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill, who was at the Nevada Legislature in Reno wanted change after seeing countless traffic-related deaths across the valley.
“I was not a proponent of traffic cameras until the last 10 years or so and the bottom line is I’m sick and tired of people dying on our roadways because of the bad behavior of other drivers,” Sheriff McMahill said.
The most recent fatal crash happened overnight on Martin Luther King and Owens, Monday morning. That crash marks the 43 traffic-related fatality in Metro’s jurisdiction this year.
“I received a call at 2 a.m. that another individual crossing the street on a sidewalk was killed. The driver ran a red light and was speeding,” he added.
As for those opposed to the cameras, the ACLU of Nevada stated that it would jeopardize people’s privacy by collecting people’s data.
“There are serious civil liberty concerns associated with this bill. Where is the data going to be stored? Who has access to the data and which agencies will it be shared with,” Executive Director of the ACLU of Nevada, Athar Haseebullah said.
In addition, Republican State Senator Ira Hanson shared his opinion on the matter.
“I just don’t see the absolute need to have automatic red lights trying to slow down people. Obviously, with the guy who killed those seven people, he was going 105 in a 35-mile-per-hour zone. People like that will not be impacted by having red light cameras there,” he exclaimed.
Another major complaint was that law enforcement was going to receive a monetary benefit for cameras being installed, but according to Sheriff McMahill, law enforcement, nor the city or county will receive any funds, but instead the money will go back into engineering.
If this bill passes, there will be a public information campaign and a warning period for drivers before any tickets are sent out.
