Traffic fatalities on Kentucky highways were up in 2021 from the previous year, with 806 lives lost in traffic accidents in the commonwealth.
That was up from 780 in 2020, a 3.3 percent increase, according to a news release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
About 55 percent of the victims were not wearing a seat belt and approximately 15 percent of the fatal accidents involved alcohol.
Officials say 26 percent of the fatal accidents involved speeding or aggressive driving and at least 15 percent involved distracted driving.
Pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 85 deaths and motorcyclists accounted for 88 deaths.
It was the most traffic fatalities for Kentucky since 2016 and it marked the fourth straight year of increases.
Historical Kentucky highway fatality statistics:2000 – 8232001 – 8432002 – 9152003 – 9312004 – 9642005 – 9852006 – 9132007 – 8642008 – 8262009 – 7912010 – 7602011 – 7212012 – 7462013 – 6382014 – 6722015 – 7612016 – 8342017 – 7822018 – 7242019 – 732 2020 – 7802021 – 806