As the recipient of a grant from GHSA and the National Road Safety Foundation to address drowsy driving, the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety (Nevada OTS) hosted a summit to engage and educate law enforcement on the issue.
The summit, held in Reno, Nevada, brought together 89 law enforcement officers from across the state to discuss the challenges to addressing drowsy driving, both on behalf of officers and drivers. With cops often working long hours, many participants spoke to their own experiences with driving fatigued and were able to brainstorm possible solutions to help their agencies ensure officers are well-rested behind the wheel. Attendees also had the opportunity to share their agencies' efforts to educate drivers about drowsy driving during traffic stops and heard suggestions from subject matter experts on how to best get the message across.
After the conference, many officers expressed interest in sharing the knowledge learned with their agencies and putting greater emphasis on drowsy driving among both their staff and local communities. To help these efforts, Nevada OTS provided all attending agencies with postcards and posters containing information about the issue, to be posted in stations and be passed out to members of the community. Putting this into action, attendees have since reported frequently conducting conversations with drivers about drowsy driving, using tips they received from the summit and sharing the postcards from Nevada OTS.
Overall, this summit has had a broad impact, changing not only the behavior of the attending officers, but of their respective agencies and the drivers they educate, as well.