Governor Joe Lombardo proclaimed October 12 to 18 as Traffic Safety Week, and transportation officials are meeting to discuss traffic safety issues that are plaguing the Silver State.
The Nevada Department of Transportation and the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety are hosting the 2026 Nevada Traffic Safety Summit in Reno from Tuesday, October 13, to Thursday, October 15. It’s happening at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.
Multiple topics will be discussed.
“Impaired driving. That continues to be a big issue in the state of Nevada,” says Anita Pepper, public information officer for the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety. “Also, car seat safety, pedestrian safety, vulnerable road users. There'll be some discussion also around e-bike and e-scooter safety. That's becoming an emerging trend that all states are dealing with.”
So many issues, and so many departments to discuss them.
“Whether that's safety advocates, engineers, law enforcement, nonprofit leaders, organizations, public servants, everyone gets together and has a chance to discuss best practices,” Pepper says.
The summit will feature workshops and presentations about what each department — and each driver — can do to make the road safer. UNLV’s medical school will present the data it's seeing from e-bike crashes, and both UNR and UNLV researchers will share their speed safety study. Like in previous years, a live crash cleanup simulation will show the public why crews need space to work.
The Office of Traffic Safety is already reminding drivers to keep up the good work through television advertisements.
“A lot of Nevadans drive really well on the road,” says Pepper, “and we want to remind people that that is ongoing and it's something that they can participate in.”
You may have seen one of the commercials from the “Drive Like a Nevadan” campaign. Each one highlights a good driving behavior and a good driver. The campaign runs until November 22.
While it's up to the driver to keep these reminders in mind, the people around them play a part, too, such as their passengers and their family.
“Every family has values. Some families, we go to bed at 10:00. In this house, we eat breakfast, you know, as a family together on the weekends,” says Pepper. “Include car safety in that. Remind your young drivers, we buckle up in this house. We don't run red lights in this house. We don't speed in this house.”
More information about the Nevada Traffic Safety Summit can be found here.
