The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety is reminding holiday travelers to be sure and buckle up for every trip.
Highway Safety Executive Director Noelle Hunter says Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year for travel, and the agency is asking motorists to always wear their seat belts. Hunter says proper restraints greatly reduce the risk of injury or death.
During the Thanksgiving holiday last year, there were 1,645 crashes, resulting in more than 480 injuries and eight fatalities. Of the fatalities, six were in motor vehicles and three were not wearing a seat belt.
Kentucky's seat belt usage rate increased from 67.2 percent in 2006 to 86.5 percent in 2016. The national usage rate is 88.5 percent.
The agency says half of the people who have died in motor vehicle wrecks this year weren't restrained.
