Nancy Wood

Public Information Officer

District 6

nancy.wood@ky.gov

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Wants

 Motorists to Drive Safely

Covington, Kentucky – (May 23, 2005)- The 964 victims of traffic accidents on Kentucky highways in 2004 were remembered today in a memorial service at the Florence Welcome Center in Boone County.  Transportation Deputy Secretary Jim Adams reaffirmed the Cabinet’s commitment to making safety a high priority.

“About every 9 hours someone is killed in a motor vehicle crash in Kentucky,” Deputy Secretary Adams said, “and that individual was the most important person in the world to someone.” 

More than half (527) of the victims on Kentucky’s roadways were not wearing seat belts.  The crash victims ranged in age from infant to 100 and 146 were teenagers.  Alcohol was a factor in 289 of the crashes.

Mrs. Barbara Snow of Burlington, Kentucky spoke at the service.  She lost her son, Darren Snow in a motorcycle accident on Emerald Drive last May, 2004.

Trooper Shain Stephens with Kentucky State Police Post 6 addressed the importance of seatbelts. “The national average is approximately 80% of motorists who wear their seatbelts.  In Kentucky we are at 66% seatbelt usage.”  Trooper Stephens also said, “We can save a lot of lives if people would buckle their seatbelts.  Our mortality rate would go down, no question.”

As the summer travel season begins, the public is reminded to buckle up, drive smart and stay alert for road crew workers making improvements to the highways.

While several states have markers for employees killed in the line of duty, Kentucky was the first state to erect permanent memorials for citizens who died on the roadways.  Monuments to remember the persons who lost their lives are located at the state’s eight welcome centers, the rest area at Slade and in front of the Kentucky Transportation headquarters in Frankfort.  A bronze plate with the “964” number will be added at each of these locations.  The number of fatalities for the previous nine years is also listed on the plaque.

The plaque on each memorial request a moment of silence for the lives lost.  Hopefully as motorists see the signs they will pause and reflect on the lives lost and their responsibility for safety on the roads.