Seat-belt use in Kentucky is about the national average but is lower in rural counties, and our traffic-death rate is high

Only two Kentucky counties, Boone and Kenton, used seat belts at the national average or above in 2012, according to the latest local data available from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing poll by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A county-level map from The Washington Post using data from 2012 shows Boone and Kenton counties in yellow, meaning their seat-belt use rate is above the 85.9 percent national average (as reported by people in the survey). A few other counties are in light orange, meaning their rate is between 80 and 85 percent: McCracken, Graves, Calloway, Marshall, Christian, Hopkins, Henderson, Daviess, Warren, Hardin, Jefferson, Oldham, Spencer, Anderson, Franklin, Scott, Fayette, Jessamine, Madison, Campbell, Pendleton and Boyd.

Because seat-belt use is more common in more heavily populated counties, outweighing lesser use in rural counties, Kentucky's statewide seat-belt use rate in 2014 was approximately the national average. However, the CDC says the state's traffic-death rate is much higher than the national average. According to the Kentucky State Police, about two-thirds of people killed in traffic accidents in the state were not using a seat belt.

Kentucky's seat-belt law requires the driver and all passengers to use seat belts, unless the passenger is a child less than 40 inches tall, in which case a child restraint system must be used. Children younger than 7 and between 40 and 50 inches must be in a booster seat, which uses a seat belt.

Kentucky ranks 10th in nation for injury-related deaths

Injuries are the third leading cause of death nationally, the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 44. Kentucky is among the nation's most problematic states, and it could take several more steps to prevent injuries, says a new state-by-state report on injury-prevention policy.

Kentucky ranks 10th in the nation for injury-related deaths, with a rate of 76.5 such deaths per 100,000 people, and the state spends about $26.8 million for injury-related medical expenses. New Mexico has the highest rate of injury-related deaths, 97.8 per 100,000 people, and New Jersey has the lowest at 36.1. The national rate is 57.9, so Kentucky's rate is almost a third higher than the nation.

Kentucky scored with only three of a set of 10 key indicators for injury prevention: its primary seat belt law, which most states also have; its prescription drug monitoring program, driven by heavy abuse of painkillers; and a strong law on youth sports concussions. Among the injury-prevention indicators that Kentucky lacks, it does not:

• Require bicycle helmets for all children.
• Require that children ride in a car seat or booster seat to at least the age of eight.
• Require helmets for all motorcycle riders. (It once did, but when the law was repealed, deaths rose 50 percent, the report says.)
• Does not require mandatory ignition interlocks for convicted drunk drivers.
• Does not allow people in dating relationships to get protection orders.

The report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation concludes that millions of injuries could be prevented and billions of dollars could be saved in medical costs each year if more states adopted, implemented and enforced additional research-based injury prevention policies and programs. (Read more).