KSNV: Daylight Saving Time ends, sparking safety concerns for Southern Nevada drivers
Washington,
November 1, 2024
Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday as clocks are rolled back one hour.
But traffic safety advocates say this is the deadliest time of year for pedestrians, as more Southern Nevadans will be driving home from work in the dark. 72-year-old Hal Goldblatt knows the dangers firsthand. “ Each day is a struggle I wake up and some days are better than others,” says Goldblatt. “They called me the miracle man.” In November 2022, Goldblatt was walking home at dusk when he was hit while crossing the street in a marked crosswalk. His body was thrown 79 feet into the air. “I broke 15 bones, both arms, both legs, five ribs, three vertebrae on my back and my skull,” he explains. After a month in the hospital, and four more months of at-home rehabilitation, Goldblatt has made it his mission to raise awareness about road safety. He founded the organization, Stop Road Crashes. “In Nevada, people think if they go ten miles over the speed limit, they'll get someplace ten minutes earlier,” he says. “They get there maybe two minutes earlier, what does it save, how many lives do they put at risk?” This year Goldblatt is joining the campaign, Dusk 2 Dawn. Advocates are highlighting the dangers of the fall time change. Along with driver awareness, there are engineering solutions. At West Sahara and Edmond, the crossing was redesigned in June with better signage and flashing lights. Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus says it’s important all levels of government work together. “We passed an infrastructure bill and in that bill was funding for lots of different projects,” says Titus. “I've worked with the County, with RTC, the City to bring dollars here for safe streets, for complete streets, for bicycle programs, improving bus stops all of that makes us safer.” Titus points to improvements now being made along Maryland Parkway as well. More than a cone zone, she says each project funded is about safety. Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft agrees. “ We don’t need more evidence we know this works,” he says describing the addition of more crossing guards at middle schools. “We are seeing in unincorporated Clark County those schools in particular that are now covered have had a reduction in middle schoolers that have been hit in that crossing of 80%.” Still, 2024 is on track to be the deadliest year ever for pedestrians in the valley. Already 80 people have been killed. As for Goldblatt, he doesn’t remember being hit but rather woke up in the hospital with a shattered body. His message now is simple. “Speed kills don't drive distracted don't drive impaired,” he says. A point he plans to make again and again. |