For National Motorcycle and Bike Safety Awareness Month, here are safety tips for drivers, motorcyclists and bicyclists

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May is National Motorcycle and Bike Safety Awareness Month, and state officials are reminding Kentuckians to look out for one another – whether on two wheels or four.

“We’re entering the warmer months, which typically means more motorcycles and bicycles on our roadways,” Gov. Andy Beshear. “Safety is a mutual responsibility and we encourage all road users to do their part in making sure everyone makes it to their destination safely – every trip, every time.”

The state Transportation Cabinet points out that a motorcycle or bicycle is a vehicle with all of the rights and privileges of any motor vehicle though it may be in the blind spots of cars, trucks and SUVs.

“We’re asking motorists to take simple yet important actions when behind the wheel,” Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said. “Taking the extra step of looking twice at intersections and before changing lanes or making turns could be the difference between life and death for a motorcyclist or bicyclist.”

In 2022 motorcycle crashs in Kentucky caused 1,198 injuries and 99 deaths (all of them motorcyclists). Of the 1,575 crashes, 824 involved a motorcycle and at least one other vehicle.

Bicyclists' crashes resulted in 229 injuries and 13 deaths. Of the 344 crashes, 340 involved at least one other vehicle.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety offers drivers these tips:

• Put the phone down and pay attention. Driving while distracted increases risk for all road users;
• Perform a regular visual check by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or exiting a lane of traffic, and at intersections;
• Use a turn signal before changing lanes or merging with traffic to alert others of your intentions;
• Don’t be fooled by a flashing turn signal on a mo­torcycle. Motorcycle signals are often not self-canceling and riders sometimes forget to turn them off. Wait to be sure the motorcycle is going to turn before you proceed;
• Obey the speed limit. Driving at the posted limit allows you to see, identify and react to possible obstacles;
• Drive sober. Alcohol and drugs affect judgment, balance and reaction time. Always make a plan for a safe ride home;
• Buckle up. Wearing a seat belt gives you the best protection against injury and death;
• Allow at least a three-second following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you;
• Do not use designated bike lanes for parking, passing or turning; and
• Pass to the left of a bicycle, allowing at least three feet clearance.

The office offers these tips for motorcyclists:

• Wear a Department of Transportation-compliant helmet;
• Use turn signals for every turn or lane change, and combine with hand signals;
• Wear brightly colored protective gear and use reflective tape and stickers to increase visibility;
• Position in the lane where most visible to other drivers;
• Pay attention by avoiding any action that takes your eyes, your ears or your mind off the road and traffic;
• Obey the speed limit. Driving at the posted limit allows you to see, identify and react to possible obstacles;
• Ride sober. Alcohol and/or drugs can impair your judgment, coordination and reaction time;
• Take a rider training course. Find information at www.ride.ky.gov.

And these tips for bicyclists:

• Ride in the same direction as traffic;
• Wear a properly-fitted helmet that meets that meets the Consumer Product Safety Commission standards;
• Use hand signals when changing lanes or turning;
• Wear brightly colored protective gear and use reflective tape and stickers to increase visibility;
• Pay attention by avoiding any action that takes your eyes, your ears or your mind off the road and traffic;
• Scan ahead for possible obstacles in your path, such as parked cars or cars pulling out or into parking spaces or driveways;
• Check your equipment before riding. Make sure your brakes are working and tires are properly inflated;
• Never ride when impaired. Alcohol and/or drugs can impair your judgment, coordination and reaction time.

Kentucky highway fatalities rose again in 2021, by 3%; once more, most of those killed were not wearing their seat belt

Ky. Health News graph from state data shows fatalities not using a seat belt, and in which alcohol, speeding or aggressive driving, and distracted driving were involved, and the total number of fatalities.

Deaths from highway accidents in Kentucky rose 3.3 percent last year, according to the State Police and the Transportation Cabinet. But so far this year, fatality numbers are running below last year. 

Again last year, most of those killed were not wearing a seat belt.

"Of the 806 highway fatalities last year in Kentucky, 54.7 percent were not wearing a seat belt and 15 percent involved alcohol," the agencies said in a press release. "Approximately 26 percent involved speeding or aggressive drivers and 15 percent involved driver distraction."

Those percentages were about the same as in 2020, and those two years showed declines in fatal speeding or aggressive driving and driver distraction from 2019. About 32 percent of deaths in 2019 involved speeding or aggressive driving, and 21 percent involved driver distraction.

Unlike the last two years, 2021 saw deaths of motorcyclists outnumber those of pedestrians and  bicyclists. In 2021, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 85 deaths and motorcyclists accounted for 88 deaths. In 2020, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 97 deaths and motorcyclists accounted for 74 deaths. In 2019, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 79 deaths and motorcyclists accounted for 77 deaths.

“While we pledge to increase our awareness efforts, we need the public’s help,” Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said in the press release. “We’re asking motorists to commit to save driving behaviors when behind the wheel, and everyone – both drivers and passengers – pledge to always buckle up.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wearing a seat belt gives motorists the best chance of preventing injury or death if involved in a crash. Properly fastened seat belts contact the strongest parts of the body, such as the chest, hips and shoulders. A seat belt spreads the force of a crash over a wide area of the body, putting less stress on any one part, and allows the body to slow down with the crash, extending the time when the crash forces are felt by the occupant.

Bill to require Kentucky drivers to pass a vision screening exam at each driver's license renewal nears the legislative finish line

Update 4/9/2021: This story has been revised to reflect that when this law goes into effect July 2024, all drivers license and any vision testing requirements will be done through the Kentucky Department of Transportation, and not the circuit court clerks. 

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

Kentucky is close to becoming the 43rd state to require drivers to have a vision screening every time they renew their license. The rule is in a House bill that has passed the Senate is back in the House for consideration of changes made to it in the Senate.

Photo: Depisteo

“House Bill 439 is a commonsense piece of legislation that will save lives by ensuring drivers on Kentucky roadways have the necessary visual acuity to operate a vehicle," Senate Republican Caucus Chair Julie Raque Adams of Louisville told the Senate. “Kentucky only requires a screening when you get your license the first time, even though studies show that visual acuity declines with age.”

If the bill becomes law, its effect would be delayed until July 2024 to allow circuit court clerks, who issue licenses, the Department of Transportation,  time to prepare for it.

Kentuckians would continue to have the choice of renewing their license every four or eight years, and a vision screening test would be required at each renewal. Drivers would have the choice of getting their screening at the renewal office or by a medical provider. Anyone who failed the screening would be referred to a vision specialist for further evaluation. The visual acuity standard in Kentucky is 20/40 or better. 

“It is time for us to join the 42 other states and protect Kentuckians and our roadways,” Adams said. “House Bill 439 does that and makes it convenient for the driver at renewal.”

Adams said HB 439 was supported by ophthalmologists, optometrists, nurse practitioners, transportation officials, state police, the Kentucky Medical Association and the American Automobile Association. She added that AARP didn’t oppose the bill because it does not target older drivers.

Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, said that as a daughter of an optometrist, she was voting for HB 439,  but also shared some concerns. 

"I'm going to vote yes and hold my nose on this bill," she said. “This just to me comes across as another layer of bureaucracy and maybe even prompted by insurance companies, and it's going to be a hardship. There are open-ended fees and administrative allowances that I think we just have to . . . continue to monitor this program and make sure there's valid avenues for appeals." 

Sen. Ralph Alvarado, R-Winchester, noted that it had taken seven to eight years to get all of the stakeholders to agree upon the same language for the bill.

“If you are on the road having trouble reading signs, please get those exams done prior to 2024,” said Alvarado, a physician. 

When HB 439 passed out of the House on Feb. 25, on a 89-5 vote, sponsor Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill, said the state Transportation Cabinet has said it expects any increase in fees to be "nominal" and will largely be used to cover the cost of equipment. 

Citing several studies, Moser said every state that has implemented a vision screening requirement has seen a reduction in crash-related deaths and hospitalizations.  

The bill passed the Senate 31-4 on March 12 with a committee substitute that clarifies which applicants get a vision test administered by the cabinet or the State Police. If the House approves the changes, the bill would go to Gov. Andy Beshear. If not, the Senate would have to drop the change or send the bill to a House-Senate conference committee. 

Half of parents in poll admit to indulging in risky behavior of using phone and texting while driving with children in the car

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About half of Americans in a survey said they talk on cell phones while driving with children aged 4 to 10. Worse yet, a third said they read text messages, a fourth of them sent such messages, and one out of seven said they used social media while driving with children.

"The study also found a correlation between cell phone use while children were in the car and other risky driving behaviors, such as not wearing a seat belt and driving under the influence of alcohol whether or not children were present in the car," said a press release from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which did the research with the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. It was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The study was conducted online among 760 adults in 47 U.S. states who said they were a parent or routine caregiver of a child between the ages of 4 and 10, and had driven their oldest child between those ages at least six times in the preceding three months. The poll found that 52.2 percent of parents had talked on a hands-free phone while driving with a young child in the car, while 47 percent had done so with a hand-held phone. It also found that 33.7 percent read text messages, 26.7 percent sent text messages, and 13.7 percent reported using social media while driving with children.

"The results from this research reinforce that risky driving behaviors rarely occur in isolation, and lay the groundwork for interventions and education specifically aimed at  parents who drive with young children in their cars," said lead author Catherine McDonald, of the hospital's Center for Injury Research and Prevention and the university's Community Health Department.

McDonald said doctors need to warn parents about such risky behaviors. "This type of education is especially pivotal today, as in-vehicle technology is rapidly changing and there is increased – and seemingly constant – reliability on cell phones," she said. "However, it is also important to note that even parents who did not engage in risky behaviors, such as not wearing a seat belt as a driver or driving under the influence of alcohol, still used their cell phones while driving."

No-penalty bill to require bicycle helmets dies, as some senators counted as 'yes' votes fail to show up for final committee meeting

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A no-penalty bill to require children under 12 to wear a helmet when bicycling has died for this legislative session, after falling one vote short in the Senate Transportation Committee March 14, and being passed over due to absences at the next meeting, on March 21.

"Adequate notice was given to members of both parties that this bill was going to be up, and some votes that I thought the sponsor could count on didn't show up," committee Chair Ernie Harris, a Republican from Prospect in Oldham County, said after the meeting. He said the bill is dead.

Democratic Sens. Gerald Neal of Louisville and Johnny Ray Turner of Prestonsburg, as well as Republican Albert Robinson of London, were absent.

Rep. Regina Huff

House Bill 52 would require children under 12 to wear a helmet when they ride a bicycle. Violation would result in a courtesy warning, not a fine.

"We had three votes that were nos, and the rest were yeses," sponsor Regina Huff told Kentucky Health News. "Somehow they all weren't in the meeting on the same day, and I don't know if that's by chance or by design quite frankly." The bill passed the House 77-5 on Feb. 2.

At the March 14 committee meeting, two senators that the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky expected to vote for the bill voted against it, and three who were expected to vote yes were absent, according to BIAK.

The lobbying group calls HB 52 "TJ's bill" for TJ Floyd of Oldham County, who suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) when he flipped over his handlebars while not wearing a helmet at age 7 in 2010. It says 384 American children die annually from bicycle crashes, and 450,000 more are treated in emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries, with about 135,000 of those seen in the ER related to head injuries.

"It is a bill for safety, for children at play to be safer when they are riding their. bikes," said Huff, a Republican from Williamsburg in southeastern Kentucky. "Helmets are 84 to 89 percent effective against a TBI, and prevention is the only cure for a TBI." 

But Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, who changed his vote to a no, said it would be "an overreach by government." He told Kentucky Health News that after talking to other policymakers and several lawyers, he became concerned about the implications for owners of private property on which children might ride bicycles and non-relatives who might be caring for them when bicycling.

Sen. Ernie Harris

Kentucky Health News asked Harris why he wouldn't hold a special meeting of the committee in the Senate chamber, when all members would likely be available. He said he had already given the bill two chances, which he had never done for a bill before – then said that it didn't have the support advocates thought.

"People have come up to me to say, 'I really don't want to vote on it, but if I have to, I will,' so the votes are not there," Harris said. "I have no explanation for why some people didn't show up. . . . I did everything I could to get people that would vote for it."

Clearly disappointed, Huff said the advocates would try again next year, and she was pleased it had received a hearing in the Senate for the first time. Similar legislation has been considered in the House for several years; last year's HB 122 passed the House 90-6 but was not heard in the Senate.

Foes of bill to raise truck weight limits raise safety concerns

The state House is considering a Senate bill that would allow trucks hauling poultry, other livestock and agricultural products to carry 88,000 pounds instead of the current 80,000. The Kentucky Ambulance Providers Association, the state school-bus association and some law-enforcement groups are fighting the bill, which they say could be heard by the House Transportation Committee this week.

The Coalition Against Bigger Trucks said in a news release that Senate Bill 44 "will endanger Kentucky motorists, speed up deterioration of roads and bridges and impose new burdens on taxpayers. Tom Adams, president of the ambulance lobby, said emergency personnel “see the negative impact of big rigs firsthand. In the very recent past, one of my ambulances was struck by a semi-trailer truck that was unable to stop at the scene of a crash on the interstate. We don’t want emergency responders or the public contending with even heavier, 88,000-pound trucks.”

Police officers say safety is their primary concern. “There were more than 2,500 large-truck collisions in 2012, and 82 people lost their lives, so loading up to four more tons onto trucks makes them even more dangerous to motorists,” said Tim Hazlette, chief of the Campbellsville Police Department and a former state trooper. “Some business interests hope to haul their loads at reduced prices, but the expense to public safety must be considered.”

In addition to the ambulance group, CABT members in Kentucky are the Kentucky Association of Pupil Transportation; the state, Bluegrass and Louisville FOP lodgesthe Kentucky Constables Association, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons.

Some other states have passed such bills, some with lesser increases. The Kentucky bill passed the Senate 35-3; voting against it were Sens. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville; Brandon Smith, R-Hazard; and Johnny Ray Turner, D-Prestonsburg.

Jamie Fepke, president and CEO of the state's main trucking lobby, the Kentucky Motor Transport Association, said it does not have a position on the bill, which is being pushed by the poultry industry. He said poultry facilities often lack scales and incorrect weight estimates can put trucks over the limit. "This doesn't mean that people are automatically going to add 8,000 pounds," he said. Trucks can handle 88,000 pounds; the questions are, is the truck maintained, are the drivers trained?"

Join high schoolers around the state on Sept. 19 in taking the 'It Can Wait' pledge not to text while driving

In preparation for its national day of action, the "It Can Wait" campaign teamed up with state legislators in four schools across Kentucky to increase awareness about the risks of texting while driving. Become an advocate too by taking the pledge not to text and drive on Sept 19. 

State Rep. Rick Nelson of Middlesboro, Sen. Brandon Smith of Hazard and AT&T partnered to provide a simulation for students at Bell County High School to learn about dangers of texting while driving. The simulator subjected the participants to a variety of real-life traffic conditions, like driving alongside a bus, showcasing the real-life dangers of texting.

“As a father to teenagers with driver’s licenses, I am personally devoted to spreading awareness of the dangers of texting while driving, Smith told the Middlesboro Daily News. “Drivers who send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to be in a crash, so it is critical to spread the word that when it comes to texting and driving — it can wait.”

The tour, which is also sponsored by Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile, also stopped in Central Kentucky, where about 200 Scott County High School students participated in the simulation, along with Rep. Ryan Quarles and Sen. Damon Thayer, both of Georgetown. Quarles crashed and Thayer was stopped for driving too slow in the “busy thoroughfare,” reports Dan Adkins of the Kentucky Press News Service. Click here to try the simulator.

The “No Texting While Driving” law has been in place in Kentucky for two years and forbids anyone to send text messages while driving a motor vehicle. The law also forbids any use of a cell phone for driving under 18.

Take the pledge not to text and drive by joining the "It Can Wait" campaign. Click here for more information. You can also download the AT&T DriveMode app that automatically sends a customizable reply to incoming messages to let people know that you'll get back to them at another time.

New study finds texting and driving kills and injures more teens than drinking and driving, and is becoming more prevalent

A new study finds that texting while driving has become more dangerous among teenagers than drinking and driving, and it says the number of teens who are dying or being injured as a result of this habit has "skyrocketed."

Nationwide, more than 3,000 teens are killed and 300,000 are injured as a result of texting and driving, compared to 2,700 deaths and 282,000 injuries from drinking and driving, said researchers at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

"A person who is texting can be as impaired as a driver who is legally drunk," said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen.

Adesman and his team found that the number of teens who text and drive exceed the number who drink and drive, that more boys admit to texting than girls, and that texting increases with age, writes Delthia Ricks of Newsday. While teens' texting is increasing, the CDC reports alcohol use among teen drivers has decreased by 54 percent over the past 14 years.

On Wednesday, officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration described texting as among the worst of driver distractions, and Adesman says texting is as hazardous as "drinking and driving, binge drinking, drug and tobacco use, unsafe sex and tanning devices," writes Ricks.

"We have very strong taboos against drinking and driving. Kids don't drink and drive every day," Adesman said. "But some kids are out there texting and driving seven days a week -- and they admit it."

Ban texting and cell phone use while driving, National Transportation Safety Board urges

States should prohibit drivers from using cell phones and other portable electronic devices while behind the wheel, except during emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday. The recommendation was unanimous among the five members of the board, who said it should apply to hands-free and hand-held phones.

"The board made the recommendation in connection with a deadly highway pileup in Missouri last year," reports Joan Lowy of The Associated Press. "The board said the initial collision in the accident near Grays Summit, Mo., was caused by the inattention of a 19-year-old pickup driver who sent or received 11 texts in 11 minutes immediately before the crash."

The crash involved the pickup, a tractor truck and two school buses. The driver of the pickup and a 15-year-old student on one of the buses were killed. Thirty-eight others were injured.

Though the board cannot impose restrictions on cell phone use, federal and state lawmakers and regulators take their recommendations very seriously.

Accidents involving texting and cell phone calls are becoming increasingly common. It has even become commonplace for investigators to immediately to look at texting records when launching an accident investigation, Lowy reports.

The board previously recommended that commercial truck drivers and bus drivers be prohibited from texting and talking on cell phones. Texting while driving is forbidden in 35 states, including Kentucky. But about 2 in 10 American drivers, and half of drivers between the ages of 21 and 24, said they have texted or sent an email message while driving, a survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found. (Read more)