Fatalities last year along Kentucky highways decreased for the first time since 2018. State officials say the 744 deaths reflect a 7.6% drop over 2021. Bill Bell is the director of the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety. He said fatalities jumped up significantly during the COVID surge. Bell said news about highway-related fatalities doesn’t always result in a recognition of their impact.
“It’s become way too commonplace where people don’t even think about it and so my over-arching goal is to make it such that, if it does happen, that people can’t believe that someone died on our highways,” said Bell.
Bell is optimistic a downward trend in highway fatalities will continue. About a third of all vehicular fatalities last year involved speeding or aggressive driving. He said drivers were not having as many one on one contacts with officers during the COVID pandemic period of 2020 into 2021.
“So now that we’re fully funding law enforcement agencies and they’re back to pre-pandemic levels I think people are starting to realize, ‘hey it’s time to be serious about highway safety.”
Bell said speeding tickets can carry an impact on driving behavior. Bell noted new technologies like oral fluid testing during suspected impaired driving stops and an app to disconnect a phone while driving can be beneficial.
