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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Gov. Beshear presents Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office and Paris Police Department with highway safety grants
Funding targets dangerous driving, enforces seatbelt and child restraint usage
PARIS, Ky.— Gov. Steve Beshear today presented highway safety grants of $11,095 to the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office and $8,500 to the Paris Police Department for programs to curb impaired driving, speeding and other dangerous driving practices.
The grants will also help to educate the public on the necessity of child safety seats and seatbelt usage.
“We are firmly committed to improving safety in Kentucky communities by providing law enforcement with these necessary resources,” said Gov. Beshear. “We must attack the problem before we risk losing more lives on Kentucky’s highways.”
Law enforcement funding can be used for overtime enforcement and equipment. The federally funded grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are administered by the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, which is part of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
There were 791 highway fatalities in Kentucky in 2009, of which 649 were people in motor vehicles. Of those killed, 61 percent were not buckled up. Twenty percent of fatalities involved alcohol. Motorcyclists accounted for 80 fatalities. More than 60 percent of those killed in motorcycle crashes were not wearing helmets and 19 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes involved alcohol.
Total Highway Fatalities:
2000 823
2001 843
2002 915
2003 931
2004 964
2005 985
2006 913
2007 864
2008 826
2009 791
Information on the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety is at http://highwaysafety.ky.gov/.
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