Kentucky saw a greater number of highway fatalities in 2015 according to the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety and Kentucky State Police.
The agencies report 761 deaths in 2015, up from 672 in 2014 in a news release Monday.
More than half weren’t wearing their seatbelt, more than 18% involved alcohol and 36% involved speeding or aggressive driving. Motorcycle deaths accounted for nearly 10%, and more than half of those weren’t wearing helmets.
In the release, Trooper Kendra Wilson says KSP is using real-time traffic data to identify “high crash corridors” and increasing patrols and enforcement in those areas.
A mild winter and lower gas prices led to an increase of traveling in the last quarter of 2015. KSP says these are considered to be contributing factors to the increase.
So far, there have been 151 fatalities in 2016, down from 173 in the same time period last year.
