Kentucky Safety Initiative Wins National Award

A grassroots program aimed at reducing highway injuries and fatalities in one eastern Kentucky county has won a national safety award.

The “Drive Down” program kicked off in April 2012 in Pike County, which consistently ranked among the state’s top three counties for property damage, serious injuries and fatal crashes. The program’s creators began a process of researching reasons for crashes and educating drivers on their responsibilities for safer roads.

The program’s strategies focused on the importance of using proper restraints in vehicles.

Gov. Steve Beshear’s office says the program was honored recently with a special achievement award at a Governors Highway Safety Association awards event in San Diego.

The education initiative is credited for a nearly 23 percent drop in traffic fatalities in Pike County since it started.