Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in Kentucky

State in United States

Deaths, 2024
707
Fatal crashes
663
Population
4.6M

In 2024, 707 people died in 663 fatal crashes in Kentucky. That was 13.1% fewer than in 2023 (814) and the fewest since 2014. The death rate was 15.4 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.5 in the United States. Kentucky had the 21st most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 13th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 13% of deaths, and 13% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

15.4

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About 1.3 times the rate in the United States: 11.5

-13%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

814 deaths in 2023, 707 in 2024

  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 1975–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
1975 863 751
1976 854 748
1977 940 796
1978 878 772
1979 896 795
1980 820 746
1981 812 720
1982 822 726
1983 778 690
1984 754 674
1985 712 624
1986 805 723
1987 844 768
1988 838 717
1989 772 686
1990 849 753
1991 826 722
1992 815 718
1993 871 761
1994 778 693
1995 849 732
1996 842 734
1997 857 774
1998 858 766
1999 814 724
2000 820 721
2001 845 762
2002 915 810
2003 928 845
2004 964 854
2005 985 885
2006 913 837
2007 864 803
2008 825 751
2009 791 730
2010 760 694
2011 720 669
2012 746 694
2013 638 590
2014 672 612
2015 761 694
2016 834 763
2017 782 721
2018 724 664
2019 732 667
2020 780 709
2021 806 734
2022 744 693
2023 814 767
2024 707 663

People who died within 30 days of a crash. A fatal crash can kill more than one person.

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Deaths per 100,000 residents, 2000–2024
Category Deaths per 100,000
2000 20.3
2001 20.8
2002 22.4
2003 22.5
2004 23.3
2005 23.6
2006 21.6
2007 20.3
2008 19.2
2009 18.3
2010 17.5
2011 16.5
2012 17.0
2013 14.5
2014 15.2
2015 17.2
2016 18.8
2017 17.6
2018 16.2
2019 16.4
2020 17.3
2021 17.9
2022 16.5
2023 17.9
2024 15.4

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

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Profile by year: 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020

Road users

Who died

13%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About three-quarters of the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 483
Pedestrians 95
Motorcyclists 118
Cyclists 11
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Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in Kentucky Share in the US
Pedestrians 95 13% 18%
Motorcyclists 118 17% 16%
Cyclists 11 2% 3%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 169 24% 30%
Speeding-related crashes 94 13% 29%

Alcohol-impaired and speeding-related count everyone killed in those crashes, so a death can appear in more than one row.

Crash factors

Speeding, alcohol, night and weekend crashes

13%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About half the share in the United States: 28%

26%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category Kentucky United States
Speeding-related 25.8% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 13.0% 28.1%
At night 48.1% 53.6%
At weekends 32.0% 32.6%

Share of fatal crashes. Alcohol-involved means a police-reported drinking driver.

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Timing

When crashes happen

48%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 90 percent of the share in the United States: 54%

32%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 115
1am 105
2am 98
3am 80
4am 76
5am 100
6am 131
7am 116
8am 106
9am 113
10am 101
11am 121
12pm 170
1pm 176
2pm 217
3pm 211
4pm 221
5pm 214
6pm 211
7pm 190
8pm 196
9pm 182
10pm 160
11pm 153

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 526
Mon 475
Tue 459
Wed 492
Thu 499
Fri 572
Sat 543

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 241
Feb 216
Mar 264
Apr 278
May 304
Jun 315
Jul 335
Aug 375
Sep 326
Oct 340
Nov 308
Dec 264

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 2,492
Cloudy 638
Rain 323
Fog, Smog, Smoke 45
Snow 26
Other 6

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Daylight 1,905
Dark - Not Lighted 1,023
Dark - Lighted 406
Dusk 81
Dark - Unknown Lighting 76
Dawn 66

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020–2024

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-6583
  2. I-7565
  3. I-6464
  4. US-6060
  5. US-2753
  6. US-2343
  7. US-4233
  8. US-12731
  9. SR-1530
  10. US-6830

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 1,976
SUVs 1,041
Pickup trucks 1,015
Medium and heavy trucks 548
Motorcycles 530
Other vehicles 178
Vans 177
Buses 18
Other light trucks 7

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Silverado215
  2. Ford F-150174
  3. Toyota Camry120
  4. Freightliner Cascadia83
  5. GMC Sierra78
  6. Dodge Ram78
  7. Nissan Altima75
  8. Chevrolet Malibu73
  9. Ford Escape72
  10. Toyota Corolla70

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

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Fatal crashes in 2024. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Nov 7, 2024 Hardin County 1
Nov 7, 2024 Lexington-Fayette, Fayette County 1
Nov 7, 2024 Shelby County 1
Nov 7, 2024 Lexington-Fayette, Fayette County 1
Nov 6, 2024 Daviess County 1
Nov 6, 2024 Bath County 1
Nov 6, 2024 Pikeville, Pike County 1
Nov 4, 2024 Earlington, Hopkins County 1
Nov 4, 2024 Louisville, Jefferson County 1
Nov 3, 2024 Louisville, Jefferson County 2
Nov 3, 2024 Warren County 1
Nov 2, 2024 Marion County 2
Nov 2, 2024 Louisville, Jefferson County 1
Nov 1, 2024 Madisonville, Hopkins County 1
Oct 31, 2024 Louisville, Jefferson County 1
Oct 31, 2024 McCracken County 1
Oct 31, 2024 Louisville, Jefferson County 1
Oct 30, 2024 Elizabethtown, Hardin County 1
Oct 30, 2024 Louisville, Jefferson County 1
Oct 29, 2024 Louisville, Jefferson County 1
Oct 27, 2024 Pulaski County 1
Oct 27, 2024 Oak Grove, Christian County 1
Oct 27, 2024 Scott County 1
Oct 25, 2024 Adair County 2
Oct 25, 2024 Louisville, Jefferson County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in Kentucky

Area Deaths, 2024 Per 100,000
Adair County 6 31.2
Allen County 3 13.6
Anderson County 2 8.0
Ballard County 1 13.1
Barren County 7 15.4
Bath County 4 30.8
Bell County 3 13.0
Boone County 6 4.2
Bourbon County 4 19.7
Boyd County 2 4.2
Boyle County 8 25.6
Bracken County 0 —
Breathitt County 4 31.4
Breckinridge County 4 18.8
Bullitt County 10 11.7
Butler County 5 40.1
Caldwell County 5 39.7
Calloway County 4 10.3
Campbell County 3 3.2
Carlisle County 0 —
Carroll County 2 18.0
Carter County 6 22.9
Casey County 3 18.7
Christian County 11 15.4
Clark County 9 23.9
Clay County 2 10.2
Clinton County 3 32.7
Crittenden County 2 22.3
Cumberland County 0 —
Daviess County 8 7.7
Edmonson County 3 23.7
Elliott County 2 27.5
Estill County 1 7.2
Fayette County 37 11.3
Fleming County 1 6.4
Floyd County 9 26.0
Franklin County 3 5.7
Fulton County 0 —
Gallatin County 2 22.8
Garrard County 4 22.3
Grant County 6 23.3
Graves County 7 19.0
Grayson County 3 11.0
Green County 7 60.6
Greenup County 5 14.2
Hancock County 1 11.1
Hardin County 25 22.2
Harlan County 4 16.0
Harrison County 2 10.3
Hart County 2 10.0
Henderson County 5 11.3
Henry County 3 18.5
Hickman County 0 —
Hopkins County 11 24.4
Jackson County 1 7.5
Jefferson County 113 14.2
Jessamine County 3 5.3
Johnson County 1 4.5
Kenton County 7 4.0
Knott County 4 29.7
Knox County 3 10.1
Larue County 4 26.4
Laurel County 18 28.5
Lawrence County 2 12.6
Lee County 4 54.8
Leslie County 1 10.3
Letcher County 4 19.8
Lewis County 6 46.5
Lincoln County 8 31.9
Livingston County 4 45.2
Logan County 4 14.1
Lyon County 4 44.1
Madison County 9 9.0
Magoffin County 4 35.8
Marion County 2 10.0
Marshall County 8 25.3
Martin County 1 9.4
Mason County 7 41.4
McCracken County 16 23.6
McCreary County 2 11.8
McLean County 2 22.0
Meade County 5 16.4
Menifee County 1 15.8
Mercer County 3 12.8
Metcalfe County 0 —
Monroe County 1 9.0
Montgomery County 4 13.9
Morgan County 2 14.1
Muhlenberg County 5 16.4
Nelson County 10 20.6
Nicholas County 3 38.7
Ohio County 5 20.9
Oldham County 4 5.7
Owen County 3 26.2
Owsley County 1 25.4
Pendleton County 2 13.5
Perry County 1 3.7
Pike County 19 34.3
Powell County 5 38.9
Pulaski County 18 26.9
Robertson County 1 42.5
Rockcastle County 6 37.0
Rowan County 1 4.1
Russell County 1 5.4
Scott County 14 22.7
Shelby County 10 19.8
Simpson County 5 24.5
Spencer County 2 9.7
Taylor County 3 11.2
Todd County 5 39.1
Trigg County 3 20.7
Trimble County 2 23.2
Union County 1 7.6
Warren County 21 14.3
Washington County 3 24.4
Wayne County 4 20.4
Webster County 3 23.3
Whitley County 12 32.3
Wolfe County 2 31.9
Woodford County 4 14.4

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020–2024. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.