Most Dangerous Places to Drive in Las Vegas [infographic]

The Spaghetti Bowl, a highly-traveled freeway interchange, is likely the most dangerous place to drive in Las Vegas. Since its completion in 1968, the Spaghetti Bowl has been linked to serious accidents and injuries from car collisions, rollovers, jackknifed semitrailers, vehicle fires, and explosions. Between 2011 and 2015, the crash rate near the interchange nearly doubled, growing from about 598 crashes to 1,060. Such alarming statistics emphasize a need for action. If you or a family member was seriously injured in car accident, or you lost a loved one, call a Las Vegas car accident lawyer at Cogburn Law Offices today for a free case consultation.

(Article continues below infographic)

The Spaghetti Bowl

One of the busiest and most dangerous freeway interchanges in the Las Vegas area, the Spaghetti Bowl consists of dangerous driving conditions caused by heavy traffic, high speeds, poor design and busy interchange connections to Interstate 15, Interstate 515, U.S. Route 93, and U.S. Route 95, as well as a service exchange to Martin Luther King Boulevard.

To prevent accidents and provide safer roadway conditions, the Spaghetti Bowl is now being updated with a better communication system called Project Neon which will be completed in 2019. The updated freeway will contain 50 gantries and large, billboard-size signs giving drivers real-time information on roadway closures and restrictions, delays, detours, and traffic accidents on the Spaghetti Bowl and its major interchanges.

Las Vegas Traffic Accidents

In the last few years, Las Vegas has experienced a large number of traffic accidents that have resulted in serious injuries and fatalities. Accident statistics show a decline in the number of collisions, but the number of fatalities has increased. Between 2014 and 2015, traffic deaths jumped from 91 to 121 with a 52 percent increase in driver fatalities. In 2016, Las Vegas saw a significant increase in pedestrian injuries. Within the first two months of the year, 19 pedestrians were killed in car-related accidents due to speeding vehicles, distracted drivers, and unsafe crosswalks.

Distracted driving is now the leading cause of auto accidents in the United States. Although talking or texting on a cell phone while driving is now illegal, distractions behind the wheel continue with cell phones, dashboard videos and selfies, radio stations and music CDs, GPS maps and monitors, eating and drinking, and self-grooming. Distracted driving, as well as impaired driving due to alcohol and/or drugs, presents major safety concerns, especially with teenagers and younger drivers under age 25 who have limited driving experience.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident in the Las Vegas area, contact a Las Vegas injury lawyer from Cogburn Law Offices today for a free case consultation.