North Las Vegas Crackdown

North Las Vegas police issued 214 citations during a distracted-driving crackdown that ran from April 3 through April 20. (fox5vegas.com) The North Las Vegas Police Department said officers made 251 enforcement contacts during the operation and wrote 60 citations specifically for distracted driving, along with 66 warnings. (fox5vegas.com) The rest of the stops turned into tickets for speeding and other unsafe driving behavior, according to the department’s tally of the campaign. (fox5vegas.com) The push landed in April, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration uses for its annual distracted-driving enforcement campaign, “Put the Phone Away or Pay.” (nhtsa.gov) In Nevada, texting, accessing the internet and using a hand-held cell phone while driving are illegal, while hands-free calls are allowed under state law. (dmv.nv.gov) The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles says the base penalties are $50 for a first offense within seven years, $100 for a second offense and $250 for a third or later offense, with fines subject to doubling in work zones. (dmv.nv.gov) North Las Vegas has been building these traffic-enforcement efforts with outside funding. The city said in its newsroom that a grant would support police operations targeting distracted and impaired driving, speeding and other hazardous driving behaviors. (cityofnorthlasvegas.com) The department’s traffic division says its job is to enforce traffic laws, investigate crashes and fatalities, and maintain pedestrian safety on North Las Vegas roads. (cityofnorthlasvegas.com) Drivers who get cited inside city limits may end up in North Las Vegas Municipal Court, which handles traffic violations and misdemeanor offenses within the city. (cityofnorthlasvegas.com) The latest tally shows the April operation reached far beyond phone use alone, with distracted-driving stops folded into a broader traffic sweep across North Las Vegas streets. (fox5vegas.com)