← Must see holiday attractions in Las Vegas

How to cross a street in Las Vegas without getting killed

By Chellie Cervone - Posted: Nov 17, 2013 at 3:55 pm

The Las Vegas Strip can be seen in the distanc...

(Photo: Wikipedia)

How to cross a street in Las Vegas without getting killed

It’s been an awful year in Las Vegas for fatal accidents. Truly awful.

The latest traffic-related death in or around Sin City has claimed the life of an 80-year-old woman who was crossing a street in an unmarked crosswalk in Southwest Las Vegas.

She was struck by a vehicle and died at the scene.

Jobs from Indeed

jobs by

That marked the 93rd traffic-related accident this year.

Initially, police and even the general public blamed the driver whenever there was a traffic-related fatality involving a pedestrian.

The community was besieged with public service types of messages imploring motorists to be more careful.

While that is certainly true, motorists are not the only ones at fault.

Pedestrians, you know people crossing the streets, bear responsibility too.

Having lived in numerous other cities, both large and small , it is nothing to short of amazing to observe pedestrians in all parts of the Las Vegas Valley pay absolutely no attention to their surroundings when crossing a street.

Las Vegas pedestrians pay little attention to their surroundings when walking!

A woman with a baby in a carriage walked right behind a car that was pulling out of a busy strip shopping mall. Right behind it. She got out of her car, put her baby in the carriage and did not once look around. Not once. She just walked and was oblivious to the sight and sound of a car that nearly killed her and her baby.

Driving on the Las Vegas strip near the Venetian, the light was green for motorists and people just kept walking even though that meant that the traffic light was red for them. Like little followers one after the other they marched on and not one person paid any attention to the traffic light.

Near UNLV there are marked crosswalks within a school zone for college age students. Although it may seem ridiculous for college age students to need a designated school zone, after witnessing their habits it is probably needed. Numerous students were observed with headphones on, looking down at their phones obviously texting, as they stepped down into the crosswalk without looking if there were any cars approaching and slowly waltzed across Maryland Parkway.

In casino parking lots and shopping centers, people, including families with children, can be observed walking along the path that cars use, instead of walking to the right or using the pedestrian walkway, slowly making their way to their destination. This means that cars come to a standstill and, when a horn is blasted at them, they looked shocked.

With so many people relocating to Las Vegas from other cities and not being native “Las Vegans”, why do people not know how to cross a street in Las Vegas? Do they think that the rules do not apply here? Are they brains befuddled by all of the neon?

Whatever the cause, it is painfully apparently that many do not, so here are some very simple rules for pedestrians crossing streets in Las Vegas

Rules for pedestrians crossing streets in Las Vegas

Put your phone away. Don’t text and walk unless you are truly proficient at multi-tasking. Same with music. If you get so utterly lost rapping and can’t figure out what the hell is around you then turn it off.
Look before you step into the street. That’s right, for some reason it may seem novel but , yes, you are required to look, even if you have a green light because remember, cars can turn right on red lights.
As you are learning your new skills of looking before stepping into a street, practice stepping it up a notch and train yourself to look in both directions. It just may save your life.
If you are walking on the street at night, don’t wear all black. Duh.
If there is a marked crosswalk, use it. Remember that even if using a crosswalk and even if you have a green light, if there is a traffic light, you still need to look if there are cars approaching and not blindly step into the street, Walking the extra half a block to a crosswalk or traffic light won’t kill you. Many Las Vegans are overweight anyway,
If you have a disability or have kids in tow, understand that this does not give you “Carte blanche” to just walk out onto the street without looking.
Understand that although pedestrians have the right of way, you’d have to be a complete moron to walk out onto a busy street and expect cars to come to a screeching halt in time while you leisurely saunter across the street.
Teach your children basic pedestrian safety by setting a good example.

The same rules apply in casino parking lots and garages. In fact, you should use extra caution because if people are drinking their reflexes are slower.

Now that you know how to cross a street a street in Las Vegas without getting killed, please feel free to share your newly acquired skills with others to help prevent traffic-related pedestrian fatalities.