Nevada’s Zero Fatalities Program Reaches Commemorative 10 Year Milestone In 2021

Zero Fatalities, a lifesaving program with the goal of reaching Zero Fatalities on Nevada’s roadways, reflects on a decade of proudly serving the Nevada community heading into 2021. The year-long efforts acknowledge the tremendous milestones met, honor the people who have made the success of the program possible and define the integral next steps the Zero Fatalities program looks to take toward becoming one step closer to eliminating Nevada’s roadway fatalities.

Zero Fatalities was introduced as a program of the Nevada Departments of Public Safety and Transportation in 2011. Upon its inception, the innovative and socially involved program hit the ground running with a multitude of campaigns targeting four key dangerous driving behaviors – Impairment, Intersection Safety, Occupant Protection and Pedestrian Safety. Touting the tagline “Drive Safe Nevada,” the program aimed to strictly inform and educate drivers, focusing on three “E’s” of traffic safety – Engineering, Education and Enforcement.

The program has since evolved over a ten-year period, emphasizing the humanity of traffic safety and how it affects all vulnerable road users with 13 target areas of focus: Bicyclists, Distracted Driving, Impairment, Intersection Safety, Lane Departure Safety, Micro-mobility, Motorcyclists, Occupant Protection, Older Drivers, Pedestrian Safety, Speed, Teen Drivers and Work Zone Safety. Multi-faceted award-winning behavioral campaigns like Give A Click and Class of 2020 – Many Roads Ahead have led to a 51% growth in the program’s awareness numbers since 2011, based on public opinion surveys.

Looking ahead, the program is further tapping into the personal responsibility of traffic safety in order to accentuate the need for accountability and respect for life with the recent introduction of a new slogan “Lives Are on the Line.” To further expand efforts heading into 2021, the program is also adding two E’s to its ethos of traffic safety: Equity and Everyone.

“The purpose of adding ‘Equity’ and ‘Everyone’ to our philosophy is to further ensure that our life-saving efforts are equally inclusive to all road users, whether it be drivers, passengers, cyclists or pedestrians of all demographics,” said Zero Fatalities Program Manager Andrew Bennett. “We all have a personal responsibility to look out for each other on the road because Lives Are on the Line. I am thrilled with the Zero Fatalities program’s growth over the last decade as we continue to be one step closer to eliminating roadway fatalities in the great state of Nevada.”

While significant progress has been made toward changing unsafe driving behaviors statewide, the last 10 years have shined a light on the behavioral areas of focus heading into 2021. Consistent throughout 2011-2020, the leading causes of fatal crashes remained impairment, lack of seatbelt usage and speeding. Throughout 2020, a year coined by many as the Worst Year Ever, Nevada saw 314 roadway fatalities statewide; a surprising statistic for a year when residents were asked to Stay Home For Nevada. A holistic view of the past decade in traffic safety showcases that Nevada saw a total of 2,977 roadway fatalities between 2011-2020.

A comprehensive look at trends and statistics surrounding roadway fatalities in Nevada throughout the past decade lends insight into progress made in the state and highlights opportunities for further growth and improvement.

Since 2011, Nevada has seen:

• 885 Total Alcohol-Impaired related Fatalities since 2011
• 558 Total motorcycle fatalities since 2011
• 1,523 Total occupant protection since 2011
• 971 Total number of speed fatalities since 2011
• 698 Total number of pedestrians killed since 2011 
• 73 Total number of bicyclists killed since 2011 

Zero Fatalities remains steadfast in its endeavors to combat these dangerous driving behaviors and plans to commemorate 10 years in Nevada with several multi-faceted behavioral campaigns throughout the year. With a ceaseless goal of educating Nevadans, Zero Fatalities will debut an ongoing educational series on the organization’s YouTube page on the 10^th day of each month, featuring timely traffic safety topics, guest speakers and a year-long recap of defining moments in Zero Fatalities’ history.

For additional information on trending dangerous driving behaviors and traffic safety in Nevada, please follow Zero Fatalities on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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