By Geneva Zoltek
RED ROCK CANYON (KTNV) — Even early on a Tuesday morning, the Red Rock Scenic Highway is bustling with recreational activity, but some regular visitors say safety concerns are growing along the scenic route.
“It’s gorgeous out here. I mean, you can’t beat that view. I used to enjoy the tranquility, but that’s long gone,” said local Scott DelGiudice.
DelGiudice, an avid cyclist who rides the route four days a week, says that despite 13-ton weight limits, truck traffic remains a dangerous aspect of the route.
“These things can weigh 80,000 pounds. When they go by you, you know, they can’t slow down quick enough if something pops up in front of them. It takes forever for them to stop. If they have a mechanical issue, there’s really no place to pull over,” he said.
Delgiudice’s concerns were echoed by fellow cyclist and Bike Brain Las Vegas shop owner Eric Broussaird.
“They’re not allowed to even drive on this road except from 160 to my understanding, and they constantly do it,” Broussaird said.
“I tell a lot of people it’s hard to ride in the city limits and be safe because people drive so fast in Las Vegas. You can’t even send them out here anymore because it’s almost just as dangerous in Red Rock now as it is in town,” he added.
Broussaird says what adds to the problem is general recklessness. He recently witnessed a drunk driver crash a 3-wheel motorcycle.
“I saw one of them flip over and they burned to death last year,” he said.
To protect his safety, Broussaird invested in a mounted radar on the back of his road bike to track incoming traffic.
“When a car comes, that green line turns orange and a little car shows,” he said.
Still, these cyclists say more needs to be done to address safety issues on the popular scenic route. They told Channel 13 that while police presence does help modify the behavior of motorists, they haven’t seen improvement.
“I’ve never seen highway patrol out here,” Delguidice said.
“There’s no police presence out here most of the time,” Broussaird said.
Hearing from Nevada Highway Patrol
I reached out to Nevada Highway Patrol to learn more about the issue and see if any citations have been issued.
The agency explained that certain vehicles are exempt from the 13-ton limit if they are engaged in local deliveries, public service functions, or other legally permissible activities that require travel on this route.
Recent monitoring hasn’t shown any illegal driving, with the agency reporting no commercial motor vehicles were found to be operating out of compliance with existing regulations.
Here’s the full statement from Shawn Haggstrom, state trooper and public information officer for Nevada Highway Patrol:
“In response to your concerns, our NHP Commercial Enforcement Division has increased monitoring along this stretch of Highway (State Route159). During this recent enforcement efforts, all observed CMV’s were found to be operating in compliance with existing regulations. It is important to note that while commercial vehicles are generally restricted from using scenic byways. Nevada law allows for specific exemptions.”
It should be known that authorized(exempt) CMVs and CMV’s present for legitimate business upon State Route 159, are legally allowed upon this roadway along with Charter Buses. NHP Commercial Enforcement Unit has established that State Route 159 is not being used as a bypass thoroughfare for CMV traffic. Please know that Public Safety is always our first priority and that we take these complaints seriously.”
Hearing from Save Red Rock
Back in April, I reported on the nonprofit organization Save Red Rock’s efforts to improve understanding of the issue of trucks on the route.
If you have a truck sighting you want to report to the group for their data collection, click here.
Spokesperson Michelle St. Angelo sent me this update:
Since our public and stakeholder outreach began in February regarding an uptick in truck traffic along SR -159, we’ve experienced enormous support for our mission to Keep Red Rock Safe. Authorities have been appropriately responding to the public’s desire to see truck traffic reduced, and we continue to log instances on our website. That said, we are still seeing a general uptick in trucks using the route and are committed to working towards short and long-term solutions.
We would like bikers to be aware of the uptick in truck traffic, and that it may continue for a while. However, we at Save Red Rock are looking at all possible solutions or mitigations. We will still be continuing to collect our own data, and we encourage bikers to use caution and judiciously follow traffic laws when they are traveling along SR-159.”
