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Roadway Deaths Drop in Kentucky, Tennessee

Transportation officials say 635 people died on Kentucky roadways last year, but that number is dramatically down from the year before.  Not since 1949 – some 64 years ago – have Kentucky roads been so safe.  It’s a drastic turnaround from 2012 when the state saw nearly 750 deaths on the roads.

Kentucky’s Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock says he’s encouraged by the reduction in fatalities but still “firmly believes that one fatality is too many”.  

Hancock says troopers will continue to focus on encouraging seat belt use and reducing drunk driving, the two leading causes of traffic fatalities.  In Tennessee, meantime, roadway fatalities fell by more than two percent last year.

The award-winning news team at WKU Public Radio consists of Dan Modlin, Kevin Willis, Lisa Autry, and Joe Corcoran.