LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As the number of kids getting hurt or dying on Las Vegas Valley roadways continues to skyrocket, keeping students safe is top of mind for so many families right now.
CCSD Police Officer Keith Habig is working to do just that, pulling out all the stops when it comes to trying to save students' lives on our roads — whether that means crossing the street in a ridiculous giant squid costume, or meeting kids where they are, right in their classrooms.
WATCH: Guy Tannenbaum talks to CCSD Police Officer about educating the youth on road safety
"If we can start to raise awareness with one kid here, one kid there, then we can start the process somewhere, and it can hopefully start growing," Habig said.
With the help of Zero Teen Fatalities, Officer Habig's been teaching road safety at Clark County High Schools for five years, usually trying to visit at least one school a week, reaching thousands of students a month.
This school year has presented some new challenges, though, most notably more students using E-bikes and E-scooters and a dramatic spike in the number of students hit by cars.
Habig says 171 students have been hit this school year through Nov. 5 — three times higher than 56 over the same period last school year — 12 of those, tragically, were fatal.
"It really makes your heart sink," Habig said. "You're talking about little kids, 10, 12, 15 years old — they have their whole lives ahead of them, and then it's taken from a tragedy like this. It's hard."
Officer Habig uses those statistics, shares stories of tragedies he's seen over his 17 years as a CCSD cop and shows students videos of real crashes to try and turn that trend around.
"Lots of teachers nowadays don't grab the full attention [of the class], and don't tell the whole story," said Chaparral High School sophomore Escher Burns after Habig presented to his class. "The instructors did a really good job of showing what it's really like on the roads, and how dangerous it can be."
"When they actually see the things happening or if they see their classmates that are getting hit, it hits home a lot closer, and I think that's when they start to react," Habig said.
That's exactly why Chaparral High School driver's education teacher Will Ray reached out to Officer Habig to present to his class.
"I think it's good that kids have a variety of different voices educating them about safe driving," Ray said. "When they get the same instruction from a police officer's perspective, it has an impact on these students."
When it comes to road safety, Officer Habig says the earlier, the better —but, more importantly, it starts at home.
"We can start as low as elementary school kids for crosswalk safety, bicycle safety," Habig said. "If we want our youth to start making changes, then we have to start teaching them the right way, and the best way to do that is to do it the right way ourselves."
If you're a teacher and you'd like to have Officer Habig visit your classroom, he says he'd be more than happy to; just reach out to the CCSD Police Department or send him an email at habigkr@nv.ccsd.net to coordinate it.