by Mark Coburn | Nov 27, 2012 | Las Vegas Metro Police News, Uncategorized
How would you feel about getting pulled over while strolling down your sidewalk at night? This frustrating experience has happened twice to my partner and I, in our very own Las Vegas neighborhood. When we relocated to the West side of town, at the edge of Summerlin, we didn’t think we needed to do much research beforehand. We’d found a decent condo, were pleased that the location was near several major highways, and we signed our lease. Little did we know, we had moved into an extremely dangerous zone in Las Vegas and would be constantly battling for a moment’s peace among the sounds of the choppers in the sky at night (‘ghetto birds’, they’re called), the constant police sirens, and the domestic shout-outs at 2 a.m. All this we managed to laugh off over the months, and we even light-heartedly brushed off two attempted car thefts, a burglary, and odd circumstances such as a young woman jogging with a baseball bat in hand. “You never know,” she said. But where we drew the line and began to really reconsider our location, was when we discovered we could not even walk to the RedBox on the corner at night to return a DVD without getting pulled over. Yes, we were quite literally pulled over on the sidewalk. “Why are you out here?” the officer began the interrogation. “We’re returning a DVD.” “In this neighborhood?” “Yes, is that okay? There’s a box right over there.” “You’re walking to the box?” “Yes. Why are we being stopped?” “People don’t normally walk around at night out here. I’m going to have...
by Mark Coburn | Oct 10, 2012 | Las Vegas Metro Police News, Uncategorized
Las Vegas Police Increase Tickets due to LV Traffic Fatalities The Las Vegas traffic laws have been re-designed to reduce Las Vegas’ record number of 2012 automobile and pedestrian accident fatalities. Since Las Vegas is a highway based city with roads as wide as six lanes, and because drivers come here from such varying parts of the country (each with a distinct ‘driving personality’), the drivers in Las Vegas tend to bring all sorts of chaos and rebellion to the roads: they tailgate, cut off other drivers, speed beyond the level of safety, drive slow in the fast lane, drive fast in the slow lane, honk and wave fingers, etc. These poor driving habits have even led to Las Vegas’ listing as one of the most ticketed cities in the United States! Recent construction on Interstate 15 also leads to many Las Vegas auto accidents. Because of this, on the highway, a number of express lanes have been added to the left hand side of the road. The lanes, delineated by solid double stripes, are express lanes to the many tourist destinations that people travel too from McCarran airport. Las Vegas officials are hoping that these lanes will help clear up some of the confusion out-of-town drivers face when navigating the Vegas highways. In addition, highway 95 has a high occupancy vehicle lane that many drivers ignore. The high occupancy lanes, or HOV lanes, are for cars with two or more people. If you have received a Las Vegas Speeding Ticket and would like to avoid the lengthy and costly experience of going to court, going to traffic school,...
by Mark Coburn | Jun 12, 2012 | Las Vegas Traffic Court, Uncategorized
How to Get out of a Las Vegas Speeding Ticket Metro police officers and the Nevada Highway Patrol have heard it all… “I’m late for a funeral.” “My child is in the hospital.” “I didn’t see the posted sign because I just got on the highway.” “I have to use the bathroom really bad. I’m on my period.” Even if your reason for speeding is legitimate (your wife is in the back seat about to give birth,) officers reserve the right to ticket you anyway because, plain and simple, you broke the law. We’ve all heard stories of unforgiving officers with no sympathy for the very real & urgent problems we are facing when they pull us over for speeding. But we can’t always blame the officers; for every truth they’re told by an apologetic speeder, they’re also told 29,847 lies by other drivers looking to get off the hook. On a personal note, I recently purchased a new car. Its color? Brilliant Red. Before making this purchase, many people warned me, “you’re going to get pulled over all the time in that thing.” “Red sticks out like a sore thumb.” “That’s the worst color you could buy.” I was warned against this purchase with so much passion, I actually considered ditching my dream car and buying a car in a more muted tone. The last thing I wanted was a collection of Las Vegas Traffic Tickets and all the fines that came with them. Even when I called my insurance agent to inquire about the cost of coverage for my potential new ride, she took a very long...
by Mark Coburn | May 23, 2012 | Las Vegas Traffic News, Uncategorized
We Are Living in the Future Anyone remember Conan O’Brien’s sketch: “In the Year 2000”? It was on the original Conan O’Brien show back in the 1990s. Conan and Andy put on their space suits, turned the lights down low, and made laughable predictions about what the world would be like once the new millennium rolled around. I’ll share a few predictions here: “In the year 2000…50 million viewers will tune in to watch the series finale of Friends, where it is finally revealed that New York has black people.” “In the year 2000… Jesus Christ returns to earth but quickly leaves when he discovers the 55 cent Egg McMuffin deal has expired.” “In the year 2000…In a tell-all autobiography, the planet Jupiter swears that it never had a red spot until after it had unprotected sex with Venus.” Well, here we are over two decades later, and Jupiter has yet to come clean about its dirty past. We do, however, have some other exciting news to report: Self-driving cars. Google received a license from the state Department of Motor vehicles to test these futuristic vehicles right here in Nevada. There is a fleet of around eight different cars being tested: six Toyota Priuses, an Audi TT, and a Lexus RX450h. License plates issued for self-driving cars will have a red background with an infinity symbol on the left side. “I feel using the infinity symbol was the best way to represent the ‘car of the future,’” Las Vegas Department of Motor Vehicles Director, Bruce Breslow, said. The new technology combines artificial intelligence software, a global positioning system, and...
by Mark Coburn | May 15, 2012 | Las Vegas Traffic News, Uncategorized
It’s frustrating to hit the brakes in construction zones when no workers are present. But guess what? You will receive a Las Vegas speeding ticket in a construction zone, regardless of whether or not workers are there when you’re speeding. If a cop catches you going above the posted ‘work-zone’ limit, you’re toast! Even more severe is speeding in a construction zone when workers ARE present. If you thought receiving a regular Las Vegas traffic ticket was bad, prepare yourself for double the penalties (up to $1,000), possible community service, and multiple visits to court. The best thing you can do to avoid receiving a costly Las Vegas speeding ticket is to watch for the posted work-zone limit—which may be far below the regular highway limit. Throughout the year, the Nevada Department of Transportation works to keep drivers and road workers safe using protective barriers, warning signs, lower speed limits, lane closures and flaggers in certain work zones. Watch for all of these signals and barriers, and remember that work zones are not there to inconvenience you; they are necessary to improve the roadway and to safely guide drivers. Construction updates are available by logging onto www.nvroads.com or calling ‘511’ before driving. If you receive a Las Vegas traffic ticket in a construction zone, call the Law Office of Mark Coburn at (702) 382-2000 immediately for your free...
by Mark Coburn | Jun 22, 2010 | Las Vegas Traffic News, Uncategorized
Nothing puts a damper on your trip to Las Vegas then seeing the red and blue flashing in your rear view mirror. Did you have to much to drink? Did I do something wrong? Getting lost in the many side streets off the strip, all can get you pulled over in Las Vegas. One of the best ways to get out of a Las Vegas Traffic Ticket is to appeal to the officer for help, that changes the dynamic from a enforcer of the law to public servant helping you out. So when the officer come to your window say some thing like “Wow, I’m glad to see you officer I’m lost and trying to find X” or “I have been driving around forever trying to find X, and I can’t find it.” Now, always follow the directives the officer gives you, like stepping out of the car, turning the engine off, or producing ID. Never antagonize the officer if you can it will never help you and can very often make matters much worse. Never self incriminate either, when the officer asks “Do you know why I pulled you over?” Do not say I was going kinda fast or i missed that stop sign, instead respond with a question of your own like, “No officer, why did you pull me over?” Remember you are being recorded on video from the moment the officers lights started to flash. If you do get a Las Vegas Traffic Ticket most people are from a long ways away and the police know that most if not all tickets given will just be paid, because people...
