News Item #1452

Electronic message signs along Kentucky's interstates and parkways will display highway fatality counts: Louisville Courier-Journal: Signs to cite road deaths (Oct. 7, 2009) 

From the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety:

Motorists to receive reminders of lives lost on Kentucky roadways
Message boards to display daily fatality numbers

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2009) – Motorists in Kentucky will soon get a timely reminder of the people who have been killed on Kentucky roadways. The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS), an agency of the Transportation Cabinet, will soon begin posting highway fatality totals on more than 50 electronic message boards on interstates and parkways.

“We are taking the message directly to the motoring public,” said Acting Transportation Cabinet Secretary Mike Hancock. “With a majority of crashes due to driver error, we hope this stark reminder will encourage everyone to pay attention to their driving habits.”

Major construction projects and emergency messages such as road closures and Amber Alerts will take priority. But beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13, fatality totals will be posted along with other highway safety related messages, when no alerts are necessary.

“Our goal is for Kentucky to have zero highway fatalities and injuries,” said Chuck Geveden, KOHS executive director. “The number will be updated daily and we plan to continue until these needless deaths come to an end.”

Roadway fatalities in Kentucky have declined for three years in a row, but continuation of that trend is in doubt in 2009. As of Oct. 6, the statewide total for the year was 599, two more than the total on the same date in 2008.

“Over half of those killed in motor vehicles were not wearing seat belts and 22 percent of deaths involved alcohol,” said Hancock. “Both drivers and passenger must realize that many deaths can be prevented by simply following our state traffic laws.”

The KOHS Division of Incident Management maintains the message boards through the Traffic Operations Center and its regional traffic center partners in northern Kentucky (ARTIMIS), Louisville (TRIMARC) and the Cumberland Gap tunnel.

There were 826 fatalities on Kentucky roadways in 2008, including 649 people in motor vehicles. Of those, 70 percent were not buckled up and over 20 percent involved alcohol.

Highway Fatalities

2001	843
2002	915
2003	931
2004	964
2005	985
2006	913
2007	864
2008	826