Despite the best efforts of law enforcement, awareness and safety programs, 20 more people died on Nevada’s roads and highways in 2018 than the year before.
The Office of Traffic Safety reports a preliminary total of 331 deaths in the year just ended, a 6.5 percent increase.
But there was some good news in the report issued Tuesday: the number of pedestrian fatalities fell 18 percent from 98 to 80 and the number of bicyclist fatalities was down from nine to eight.
The vast majority of those fatalities, 226, were in Clark County which has nearly three quarters of Nevada’s population and nearly 90 percent of tourist visitors.
In Carson City, the number of fatalities fell from three in 2017 to two in 2018 but one of those was a pedestrian.
Washoe County, second most populous in the state, was second in the totals with 44 roadway deaths — four more than 2017. Thirteen of those were pedestrians, an increase of one.
Next highest was Lyon County with 12 fatalities for the year, an increase of two. Just one of those was a pedestrian.
Douglas County reported a major decrease in fatalities, falling from 11 in 2017 to just 2 in 2018. One of those was a pedestrian.
There were 11 fatalities in Elko County during the year, up from nine in 2017.
Only Eureka County reported no roadway deaths in 2018. Storey County, which had no fatalities in 2017, suffered one in 2018, the result of a motorcycle crash.