Red lights pay off for driver

By SHAUNTA GRIMES

SPECIAL TO THE VIEW

A good day for Clark Thomas, 42, of Henderson, is being stuck in traffic on the Strip on a Saturday night. He gets excited about being behind a slow moving, frequently stopping public bus. For Thomas, a green light is a bummer.

Eight hours a day, five days a week, Thomas drives a 16-foot truck outfitted with video screens playing commercials aimed at pedestrians and motorists. He drives 15 mph because a bicycle cop pulled him over once and gave him this warning -- "I go 15 miles an hour. I'm not going to pass you again, am I?"

Thomas takes every chance he can to be immobile on his route. "If I'm not moving, people are watching the screens," he said.

The truck is owned by Streetwise Media LLC. -- a Sandy, Ore.-based company, owned by Mike Maiden. The Las Vegas truck, and one in Miami, came online in January 1999. Currently the Las Vegas truck runs ads for nine companies, according to Darcy Goodwin, national sales manager. "We would like to have 22 more accounts by Christmas," he said.

The truck runs from the McDonald's just south of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, to the McDonald's at Sahara Avenue and Paradise Road. Thomas said this is an 8.8 mile round-trip. In the summer that trip can take up to three hours.

During the off-season, the route takes about an hour. Thomas starts around 6 p.m. in the winter and 7:30 p.m. in the summer.

Thomas has been driving the Las Vegas truck for a year. A former contractor, he started as a driver part-time, he said. When the position became available full-time, he was happy to take it.

"This isn't a job for anyone who is a stressed out person," Thomas said.

It took a little while for him to get used to driving slowly all the time, passing up opportunities to pass other vehicles, or rushing through yellow lights.

Thomas said he never gets bored on the job. The Strip is constantly changing -- there are always new things to see. "And I won't deny that I like to look at the pretty girls," he said.

Thomas has occupied himself on the job by writing a screenplay in his head. "I can run it through in my mind. I'm just about ready to write it out," he said.

One problem Thomas encountered when he began his slow treks down the Strip was muscle cramps. He tried at first to drive the truck like he does a car, sitting slightly stiff with his abdomen muscles tight and his feet flexed as he alternated between the gas and the brake. Within the first few days his muscles were sore and his creative side kicked in. He invented a new way to drive.

"I drive with my ankles crossed," Thomas said. This allows the side of his left foot to rest comfortably on the gas pedal, low down for really slow, higher up for faster. Thomas said he taught himself to drive completely relaxed, especially in his stomach muscles.

Driving down the Strip night after night, Thomas has seen it all. From tourists falling off the ropes in front of Treasure Island into traffic, to fist fights breaking out in the middle of the street. As the night progresses, Thomas has to pay more and more attention to the people around him.

"Around 10 p.m., things get pretty hairy," he said. "The shows let out and there are drunk pedestrians as well as drunk drivers."

Thomas said his job has taught him to anticipate what other drivers will do. "Sometimes I know what they're going to do before they do," he said.

Despite his slow speed, Thomas said he hasn't had much trouble from other drivers. Sometimes they honk and ask him to put on the ball game, or someone will reach out of their car window to ask for a business card. Every once in a while, if he is stopped at one of the outdoor casino shows, he'll get a "down in front." Only rarely does someone react in anger.

"Three times people have thrown eggs at the truck, and once someone threw a rock," Thomas said. "I don't know why anyone would do that."

Darcy Goodwin said that anywhere from 55,000 to 80,000 people see the truck every hour. Often, when traffic is very heavy and the truck is traveling especially slow, people will walk along with the truck to watch, Thomas said.

Anyone interested in more information about Streetwise Media can call Goodwin at 399-5770.