Factors ranging from the vehicles released in a specific year to the weather in Kentucky will influence crash rates. Every year sees a different number of collisions from differing causes. Despite advances in safety systems for motor vehicles, fatal crash rates have been relatively high in recent years.
Law enforcement and government agencies in Kentucky and across the country track the collisions that occur to implement better safety practices and minimize the economic consequences of motor vehicle collisions on the public.
Although the final reports with professional analysis often take a year or two to become available to the public, initial statistics for 2022 are already available.
What happened on Kentucky roads in 2022?
The statistics for this last year show a minor but positive trend across the state. As of Friday, December 16, 2022, Kentucky law enforcement agencies reported 696 traffic deaths for the year, which was a substantial drop from the 806 deaths reported in 2021. There were a few trends worth nothing. Alcohol played a role in more than 14% of fatal crashes, while 53.6% of the people who died did not have seat belts in use.
The slight drop in the overall traffic fatalities for the year is a welcome change. However, it is tragic to look at the crash statistics for the year and realize that there were dozens of people who died who may have survived if they had better complied with traffic laws.
Wearing safety restraints and avoiding alcohol before driving would have likely reduced the number of crashes that occurred and the fatalities that resulted from those wrecks. The same could be said for wearing a helmet when on a motorcycle, the large number of motorcycle fatalities involved riders who don’t have proper head protection at the time of the crash.
Even if you have never experienced a major crash or lost a family member to one, the risk is always there whether you are on your way to work on a Thursday morning or driving across the state to drop your child off at college for the first time. Tracking the current motor vehicle collision statistics for Kentucky and help you understand your degree of risk and keep yourself a bit safer on the road.