State of Nevada, Highway Patrol

«Nevada’s Most Wanted»
They love following my ass on Highway 160 between Vegas and Pahrump when I’m in the Shelby. All because I got nailed one time speeding along there while testing some car parts. Trooper Dude even asked if the Shelby was my car, as if rat shit like me couldn’t possibly have one unless it was borrowed or hijacked. He looked at my paperwork and gave me a lecture, court advice and a ticket. 145 bucks. Called some Glen Lerner clone when I got home and eventually got it negotiated down to illegal parking. Apparently Highway Patrol must have splattered my name and pictures all over their offices with Most Wanted Posters because a few months later a Trooper tailed me from Pahrump back to Vegas and even pulled over to the shoulder to wait while I put gas in the car at the fucking Chevron. Thought about walking over to his SUV and asking if he was having a nice day but didn’t want a bullet in my brain.

I have a love /​hate attitude towards the NHP. I hate their traffic enforcement efforts which I call Operation Revenue Enhancement. I also feel that they waste taxpayer dollars with their overly aggressive traffic enforcement efforts. And I think the Zero Tolerance Zone on I-​15 from Las Vegas to the stateline on I-​15 is one of the worst uses of law enforcement resources imaginable. (They got pissed off because they couldn’t catch a couple of high performance Italian sportscars hitting 140+ mph so now everyone has to endure their wrath).
But on the flip side if you or someone you love is ever involved in an accident, seeing an NHP trooper pull up behind you is like seeing an angel coming to save you. My wife was involved in an accident and I got there 5 minutes after the trooper did. And what I saw was not a cop doing his job, but a man that was there to truly protect and serve. My wife was not at fault in the accident and was seriously hurt. The officer that responded went above and beyond to make sure the accident scene was secured and protected from the heavy traffic. He called in the emergency responders, the ambulance, and then after she was transported to the hospital he got a tow truck out there to get the car out of further harm’s way. And when all that was done he came to the Emergency Room to make sure she was ok, and to make sure we had all of the info from the accident that we would need later on.
I’ve had accidents in the past where the officers were doing good to process the scene, write tickets, and then they were off to the next call and didn’t seem to care about much else. Not the NHP, not in our experience. What I saw was above and beyond what I ever expected. And the follow up at the ER was just over the top.
So even though I hate their traffic enforcement efforts, I have to give the NHP 4 Stars. Their response, their attention to detail, and the genuine care and concern that I saw first hand deserves nothing less. They have earned my respect… and my gratitude.

4 months past my accident and no phone call after 2 months in stating they would. Just got off the phone with Sharon who answered the phone. Very rude and unhelpful. Got in a hit and run and you would think they would have the least bit of courtesy to call.

The town of Searchlight, NV is noted for speed traps (see
). But Nevada Highway Patrol has another method to extract cash for the State and Clark County, from unsuspecting tourists traveling between Las Vegas and Laughlin on Hwy 95. There is an obscure law that says a driver traveling on a highway that has 2 lanes in each direction, must move into the fast lane if there is an «emergency vehicle» parked on the shoulder. The NHP cop was parked on the shoulder, to the right of the white line, giving another motorist a ticket. I passed at leisurely speed (~55mph) while in the slow lane (hardly dangerous). He pulled me over and slapped me with a $ 198 ticket, my first ticket in 12 years. Thanks NHP, I won’t miss Nevada at all.

I would give them a zero star if I could, they are so worried about catching people speeding that they ignore every other moving violation, a highway trooper was driving and right in front of him some taxi driver switch lanes on pure solid lines. Did the trooper care, haha not at all.

Hire more troopers and have them stop all these Honda Civic’s BMW’s Mercedes Benz’s Maserati’s and Nissan GTR’s going 130 – 170 mph on the 15 freeway US 95 freeway 215 freeway and St. Rose pkwy. Stop harassing people for going 45 or 50 in a 35 with no school zones.

Honest review time.
Please note, that I have no tickets on my record before reading this review.
Like most jobs, there are good employees, and bad employees, and employees that shouldn’t be left alone watching the milkshake machine, Nevada Highway Patrol is like every other place out there. But they are paid to enforce the laws. Which is why it upsets me greatly to see a great deal of them driving like idiots, texting while driving, and paying no great attention to the traffic laws they are paid to enforce! I know they are exempt from the texting law, but their is no reason at all that a NHP officer while driving, should be texting on his blackberry. Those white signs that say «Turn on your headlights» yes, that means you as well. When doing a crossover on the interstate, you aren’t one of the Duke Boys, use your signals to alert people that you are turning off the interstate and return to the slow lane until you are at speed. It’s basic driving 101 people.
The final straw was when an officer almost rear ended me on the interstate because he was too busy staring at his Blackberry, or his navel and not paying attention to driving. It’s not a good feeling to check your mirror and see that the officer’s eyes aren’t looking at you, but down and he is increasing speed.
Then there are the good officers, which don’t get the respect they should, because a group of bad apples are spoiling the whole bushel.

I respect what the folks in uniform do for the community and oftentimes it goes without any gratitude from us. The Highway Patrol have to deal with accidents and people who are pissed off about getting a ticket… in other words, there’s no real upside to this job, unless you really enjoy serving the community. I appreciate them keeping our highways safe!
Kudos to the Men & Women in Blue, this review is for you!
PS — Only 4 Stars because of all of the tickets you gave me… I know, I deserved it. :)