Half of the people killed on Kentucky highways last year were not wearing a seat belt, KYTC data shows

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than 800 people died on a Kentucky highway last year, and half of those people were not wearing a seat belt.

That's according to a report from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet released in April looking into 2023 highway fatalities in the state.

In 2018, Toni Tatman was involved in a crash. In a matter of seconds, Tatman lost consciousness.

"I really had no time to react," she said. "I think everyday about how bad that could've been had I not been wearing a seat belt."

Tatman was on her way to work when the crash happened.

"I could've gone through that windshield. I could've been ejected from the vehicle," she said.

Tatman said another driver was speeding. The crash totaled her car and put her in the hospital.

"It could've been much, much worse for me, and I could've ended up with far more injuries or something much more significant," she said. "Between the seat belts and the airbags, I'll never be without a seat belt ever. I mean I always wore my seat belt, but after an experience like that, I will always wear my seat belt."

She credits her seat belt for saving her life.

"I'm living proof that it helps," Tatman said. "It saved my life."

KYTC's report into highway deaths in 2023 revealed 813 people died. It's the highest rate of highway fatalities the state has seen since 2016, when 834 were reported.

According to the report, 51% of those victims were not wearing a seat belt. About 33% of the crashes involved speeding or aggressive drivers, 20% involved driver distraction, and 16% involved alcohol.

"If we have everybody buckling up, then you know our our fatalities are on the roadways are going to decrease, significantly," Bill Bell, executive director of KYTC's Office of Highway Safety, said.

Bell said one of his family members was in a wreck without their seat belt buckled.

"He was affected for his entire life," he said. "The person riding with him was wearing a seat belt and just minor bruises and so forth. And so there was a stark difference just there and that one incident."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wearing a seat belt gives you the best chance of preventing injury or death in a crash. The agency said seat belts that are properly fastened "contact the strongest parts of the body, such as the chest, hips and shoulders." Seat belts spread the force of a crash over a wide area of the body and puts less stress on any one part, allowing the body to slow down with the crash and extends the time when forces from the crash are felt, the NHTSA said.

"Seat belts are a way of life," Tatman said. "Why not protect yourself?"

In 2023, KYTC's Office of Highway Safety implemented the "High Five Rural Traffic Safety Project," a 12-month public safety initiative to increase seat belt use and decrease serious crashes in five rural Kentucky counties.

High Five strategies focus on education, enforcement and engineering. Law enforcement officials promote seat belt use and explain how it saves lives through traffic safety checkpoints, school programs and other community outreach activities. Local and state engineers, along with traffic safety professionals, work together to identify roadway design solutions.

Based on KYTC crash data, the following counties participated in the initiative last year, which resulted in increased seat belt usage: Bourbon County, Grayson County, Knott County, Madison County and Perry County.

Counties are currently being selected for 2024.

To read KYTC's 2023 report, click here.

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