Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in Kentucky
Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in Kentucky
Media outlets were quick during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns that defined the summer and fall of 2020 to note just how little traffic there was as a result. Simple logic would suggest that less traffic equals a lower likelihood of accidents and thus fewer injuries and fatalities. Sadly, this was not the case.
Nationwide, traffic fatalities rose 7.2% in 2020 to nearly 39,000. That number was the highest recorded since 2007. Qualifying this disturbing fact is a sticky wicket—common denominators behind traffic deaths such as impaired driving, failure to use a seat belt, and excessive speed were certainly contributing factors, but they alone do not account for a rise in deaths commensurate with a 430-million-mile drop in the number of miles people traveled across the course of the year. What can be qualified, however, is where fatal crashes took place.
Citing data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Stacker identified the counties in Kentucky that had the most fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2020. The number of accident fatalities are ranked by the number of deaths per 100,000 people, with the raw number functioning as a tiebreaker. The analysis only looked at counties with at least five deaths during 2020. Additional data is included on pedestrian, bicyclist, and drunk-driving-related deaths. In counties where at least five fatalities happened on the same street or interstate, the road with the most deaths is also included.
#50. Oldham County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#49. Shelby County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#48. Warren County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#47. Boyd County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#46. Hopkins County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#45. Boone County, Kentucky
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#44. Graves County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#43. Clark County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#42. Hardin County, Kentucky
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#41. Madison County, Kentucky
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#40. Henderson County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#39. Jefferson County, Kentucky
- 32 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 41 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-31 (8 fatalities)
#38. Campbell County, Kentucky
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-9 (5 fatalities)
#37. Jessamine County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#36. Bullitt County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#35. Scott County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#34. Christian County, Kentucky
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#33. Calloway County, Kentucky
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#32. Nelson County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#31. Pulaski County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#30. Barren County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#29. McCracken County, Kentucky
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#28. Laurel County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#27. Logan County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#26. Marshall County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#25. Grayson County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#24. Pike County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#23. Bell County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#22. Breckinridge County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#21. Russell County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#20. Allen County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#19. McCreary County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#18. Whitley County, Kentucky
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#17. Meade County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#16. Floyd County, Kentucky
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#15. Perry County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-15 (5 fatalities)
#14. Clay County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#13. Ohio County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#12. Jackson County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#11. Grant County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#10. Letcher County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#9. Hart County, Kentucky
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-65 (5 fatalities)
#8. Rockcastle County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#7. Bourbon County, Kentucky
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#6. Harlan County, Kentucky
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#5. Lewis County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#4. Marion County, Kentucky
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#3. Leslie County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#2. Larue County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#1. Washington County, Kentucky
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities