A central Kentucky community is getting some extra funding to improve safety on the roads. Madison County is one of five in the state to take part in the High Five Rural Traffic Safety Project.
Over the next 12 months, money from the initiative will fund increased patrols and seatbelt checks in Madison County.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Justin Kearney is Public Affairs Officer for Post 7 in Richmond. He said Madison County drivers have some room for improvement on the roads.
“Madison County ranks 11th for total serious injuries. Out of the 120 counties, they rank 16th for total fatalities. And out 120 counties, Madison ranks 9th in total collisions and 7th for impaired driving collisions,” said Kearney.
Trooper Kearney said the program works on three ‘E’s, Educating the public about traffic safety, Enforcing safety through seatbelt checks and Engineering.
“And the engineering is a collaborative effort with the sheriff’s office, the state police and county officials to conduct safety audits and identify low-cost counter measures via signs, maybe the way an area appears, etc., to the general public,” said Kearney.
At the end of the year-long program, the High Five project will assess data to determine if the program was successful in the five counties.
Grayson, Knott, Perry and Bourbon counties are also participating in the effort.
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