Driving in Las Vegas

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In Las Vegas, a tourist city, you'll spot license plates from all over the US, including Alaska and Hawaii. Then there are the rentals: standard cars, luxury cars, electric cars, motorcycles. Then there are about 2,000 taxis (at any time of day or night), the 1,000 limousines, ambulances, bicycles, trolleys, delivery trucks, public buses, tour buses, shuttles, construction vehicles, police cars, and so on. Traffic can be a nuisance, especially on the Strip and at rush hour.

Ongoing construction projects will slow traffic, cause detours, and close lanes. Check www.acessclarkcounty.com/pubworks/construction/Projects_Traffic.htm for the latest updates on construction projects.

In Nevada you may (but that does not mean you must) turn right on red, unless a NO TURN ON RED sign is posted. Wearing seat belts is required. Open containers of alcoholic beverages are illegal. Speed limits in school zones range from 15 to 25 mph. There are many year-round schools; the fines for speeding in a school zones are very high (reaching many hundreds of dollars).

Nevada law requires drivers and all passangers to wear seat belts.

The worst intersections are believed to be Las Vegas Blvd/Flamingo; Las Vegas Blvd/Sahara; Las Vegas Blvd/Tropicana; Flamingo/Koval; Sahara/Decatur; Tropicana/Paradise.

Get driving directions at Bing.com.

See a quick review of the Nevada driving laws here.

Visit Las Vegas Gas Prices and save money on gasoline.

Mileage from Las Vegas to Major Cities and Other Areas

• Death Valley Nation Park: 130 (via Beatty)
• Denver, CO: 758
• Grand Canyon National Park: 228
• Great Basin National Park: 297
• Lake Havasu City, AZ: 160
• Laughlin, NV: 90
• Los Angeles, CA: 272
• Phoenix, AZ: 287
• Reno, NV: 445
• Riverside, CA: 207
• Salt Lake City, UT: 419
• San Diego, CA: 336
• San Francisco, CA: 568
• Zion National Park: 156

Most major streets go all the way (in this valley of about 20 by 30 miles of development) from south to north and east to west; some are interrupted, and some change names. As a guideline, with exceptions, Las Vegas Blvd devides east from west (the Strip is the stretch between Stratosphere and Mandalay Bay, four miles). Charleston Blvd divides north from south. Note that there is Lake Mead Blvd, mostly in North Las Vegas, from east to west; and Lake Mead Pkwy, in Henderson, from east to west.

Same street, different names. There are quite a few; a few examples (see maps):

• Spring Mountain Rd (going east) changes to Sands Ave at Las Vegas Blvd and to Twain at Paradise Rd
• Bonneville becomes Alta Dr at Martin Luther King (going west)
• Decatur Blvd becomes Southern Highlands Pkwy at Cactus Ave (going south)
• Eastern Ave becomes Civic Center at Owens Ave (going north)
• Fremont St becomes Bowlder Hwy at Sahara Ave (going south)
• Joe W Brown changes to Swenson at Desert Inn Rd (going south)
• Martin King Blvd turns into Camino Al Norte at Craigs Rd (going north)
• Rampart Blvd changes to Durango Dr at Cheyenne (going north)
• Rampart Blvd becomes Ft Appache at Charleston Blvd (going north)
• Vegas Dr changes to Owens Ave at Highland Dr (going east)

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