(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The Kentucky State Police (KSP) has launched a nighttime holiday enforcement campaign designed to reduce traffic fatalities on Kentucky roadways. ‘Operation Holiday Lights: All Night. Every Night.’ began Wed. Nov. 27 at 6 p.m. and extends through January 1, 2014 at midnight.
Operation Holiday Lights. All Night. Every Night.
KSP spokesman Sgt. Michael Webb says the statewide enforcement effort will utilize collision analysis data to determine which counties have the highest instance of injury and fatal crashes.
“Each post has been asked to identify the counties in their patrol area where crashes are prevalent,” says Webb. “Specifically, they are looking at the time and exact location of those crashes and scheduling heavier patrols for those areas.”
Webb says crash data indicates that a majority of the fatal crashes involve unrestrained drivers.
“Last year, nearly 53 percent of drivers who were killed in traffic crashes on Kentucky roadways were not wearing seat belts. We can’t stress enough, the importance of wearing a seat belt. Our goal is to make sure everyone arrives home safely for the holidays.”
All KSP posts and commercial vehicle regions will utilize traffic safety check points, covert details in high traffic areas and night vision equipment to assist in the campaign.
“Our focus during these safety check points will be seat belt usage with an added emphasis on the use of proper child seat restraints. Often times, we find other unsafe driving behavior during these details, such as impaired driving and distracted driving.”
As of today, Kentucky has 95 fewer highway fatalities compared to the same reporting period in 2012.
“It is a credit to motorists who have made wise choices when driving by wearing seat belts, slowing down and refraining from distractions when behind the wheel,” says Webb. “Ideally we would like to report ‘zero deaths’ on Kentucky roadways.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that nighttime drivers are less likely to buckle up than daytime drivers.
