LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As Channel 13 continues the Fight for Safer Streets, we're tracking how many people have died on Southern Nevada roadways so far in 2026.
According to the latest statewide fatal report released Monday by the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety, 54 people have been killed on Nevada roads through the end of February — 36 of those were in Clark County — with the top contributing factors being impairment and speeding.
WATCH| Guy Tannenbaum breaks down the latest statewide fatal report by the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety
When you ask Las Vegas drivers how they feel behind the wheel right now, you're going to get a lot of folks saying the same thing.
"Right now, it's kind of touch and go," said local Linda Encinio. "I do see a lot of crashed car incidents, especially down where I live."
"It definitely has gotten worse over time, yeah," said born and raised local Jeremiah Kilgore.
A lot of that sentiment comes from more traffic and more tragic deaths on our roads.
"[People] just don't pay attention — they're like in a rush to get somewhere, I just don't see that," Encinio said. "They need to be more observant to who's crossing the street, especially children."
It's a huge topic of conversation right now here in the valley, and rightfully so, but does the data reflect that feeling many of us have while we're driving?
54 people dying on Nevada roadways, with 36 in Clark County, are tragic statistics without question, but buried in the numbers from last month's statewide fatal report might be a reason for optimism.
However shocking those numbers may be, they're actually both down nearly 25% compared to February 2025, and it's continuing a trend.
In 2025, traffic deaths were down 9% statewide and nearly 20% in Clark County compared to 2024.
In fact, Clark County has seen a decrease in overall traffic fatalities for 14 straight months, dating back to January of last year.
"It would surprise me, considering how much traffic we have and how many accidents I've seen on the road," Encinio said. "Especially right here on Sahara and Charleston, it's crazy — those are two streets I see a lot of accidents on."
Metro Police Lieutenant Cody Fulwiler with the department's Traffic Bureau says releasing more traffic statistics is just one of the ways they're working to save lives on our roadways.
"That's education, which we're doing here today," Fulwiler said in an interview on Saturday during a free motorcycle lesson event. "We're doing enforcement with our Southern Nevada Traffic Task Force, and then the engineering aspect — working with our community partners, politicians — we are making drastic changes in our engineering. That combination of all three of those will ultimately contribute to reducing our fatalities here in Las Vegas."
WATCH | LVMPD, Harley Davidson offer free lessons following string of motorcycle deaths
At the end of the day, making our roads safer takes all of us.
"My message to drivers right now is just always be safe, and sometimes it's best to take God behind the wheel with you," Jeremiah Kilgore said.
"Be careful, watch over our children, especially during school," Linda Encinio said. "People just aren't paying attention to their surroundings right now."
Local traffic safety advocates say now is not the time to let our foot off the gas when it comes to safety efforts on our roadways, despite numbers trending in the right direction.
In fact, they say the opposite is true — it's more important than ever to keep the momentum going by being extra careful on the road and fighting for safer streets.
That's exactly what we're doing here at Channel 13 — if you have a question or concern about traffic safety or ongoing roadwork in your neighborhood, feel free to send it my way via email: Guy.Tannenbaum@KTNV.com.
