Marshall sees spike in crash fatalities
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
July 27, 2015
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/072715_PS_Fatal_Accidents
Marshall County is seeing one of its worst years for accident fatalities in more than two decades.
Just past the halfway point in 2015, Marshall County has seen 11 fatal crashes in which 12 people were killed. That's as many fatalities as the county usually sees in an entire year.
"This is the biggest (spike) that I've seen in my 27-year career," said Chief Deputy David Maddox of the Marshall Sheriff's Department. "Really, we're on pace for 20 or more this year."
In 2014, Marshall County reported 12 fatal crashes with 14 people killed, and in 2013 a total of six people died in car wrecks. In 2012, the county recorded 10 fatal accidents, and in 2011 there were eight fatal crashes in which nine people were killed. One of the county's lowest years was 2010, when the county saw only four accident deaths.
Paducah, meanwhile, sees an average of eight fatal accidents a year, while McCracken County sees an average of 11. So far this year, the Paducah Police Department reported working seven wrecks in which eight people died, while the sheriff's office has worked zero. Marshall Sheriff Kevin Byars said, although it can be tough to pin down a reason for a spike, one thing he believes is contributing to the rise is a lack of driver concentration.
"Inattention is the absolute biggest cause of car accidents - and that's anything from eating in the car, talking on a cellphone or texting," he said.
According to the Kentucky State Police traffic and accident data, one third of this year's fatal crashes in Marshall County were attributed to driver inattention, although the data do not indicate what sort of distractions were involved. Alcohol or drugs were a factor in only one wreck thus far.
Although there are many forms of distracted driving, Byars said he believes cellphones are creating the biggest hazard to drivers' safety.
"I know manufacturers are trying to make things convenient and easier with hands-free devices, but I still don't think it helps," he said. "If you are on a phone conversation and you're driving - even with a hands free device - and it's a stressful phone call, your focus is not on driving. I wish our texting, cellphone use law was a little stiffer - it's got too many variables built into it that a person can use that device and not be charged."
In Kentucky, it is legal to use a cellphone while driving for certain reasons, Maddox said.
"You can use your device say for mapping or you can look something up on the Internet while going down the road and it's legal, but for texting it's illegal."
The exceptions for cellphone usage also muddy an officer's ability to enforce the texting law, he added.
"When I look over at a car and there's a guy (using his phone), what's he doing? I don't know," he said. "The driver could be texting or he could be using a mapping app."
"And because of the Supreme Court's ruling on cellphones, we now have to have search warrants to look in people's cellphones," Byars added. "So for a misdemeanor charge or wreck where we suspect cellphone usage as a cause, we now have to get a warrant to prove it and that can take as long as six weeks before we get results. So that makes it more difficult for us to investigate."
Another possible factor, Byars said is a recent increase in motorcycle riders on the road.
"Other drivers - the ones in cars - don't pay attention to the motorcycles because they are hard to see in certain situations," he said. "We've seen that the last two or three months, you know we've had some fatalities on motorcycles, and the driver essentially tells us 'I never saw the bike until it was too late.'"
Another possible reason for the spike is an increase in traffic throughout the area - especially during the tourism and holiday seasons.
"Unfortunately there are some things that are just unpredictable, and that's the problem with traffic collisions - you can't say 'this is where people are going to crash today,'" Maddox said.
What officers can do, he added, is read the data and adjust their patrols accordingly.
"We look at where our traffic accidents are and what the causes are," Maddox said. "As an example, say there are a lot of traffic accidents on the U.S. 68 and they're speed related, then we work speed enforcement on the 68. If they're on U.S. 62 and they're alcohol related, then we're going to be working DUI enforcement on 62. But there are just some years where there are spikes, and I don't know that anyone can do anything about that."
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
Just past the halfway point in 2015, Marshall County has seen 11 fatal crashes in which 12 people were killed. That's as many fatalities as the county usually sees in an entire year.
"This is the biggest (spike) that I've seen in my 27-year career," said Chief Deputy David Maddox of the Marshall Sheriff's Department. "Really, we're on pace for 20 or more this year."
In 2014, Marshall County reported 12 fatal crashes with 14 people killed, and in 2013 a total of six people died in car wrecks. In 2012, the county recorded 10 fatal accidents, and in 2011 there were eight fatal crashes in which nine people were killed. One of the county's lowest years was 2010, when the county saw only four accident deaths.
Paducah, meanwhile, sees an average of eight fatal accidents a year, while McCracken County sees an average of 11. So far this year, the Paducah Police Department reported working seven wrecks in which eight people died, while the sheriff's office has worked zero. Marshall Sheriff Kevin Byars said, although it can be tough to pin down a reason for a spike, one thing he believes is contributing to the rise is a lack of driver concentration.
"Inattention is the absolute biggest cause of car accidents - and that's anything from eating in the car, talking on a cellphone or texting," he said.
According to the Kentucky State Police traffic and accident data, one third of this year's fatal crashes in Marshall County were attributed to driver inattention, although the data do not indicate what sort of distractions were involved. Alcohol or drugs were a factor in only one wreck thus far.
Although there are many forms of distracted driving, Byars said he believes cellphones are creating the biggest hazard to drivers' safety.
"I know manufacturers are trying to make things convenient and easier with hands-free devices, but I still don't think it helps," he said. "If you are on a phone conversation and you're driving - even with a hands free device - and it's a stressful phone call, your focus is not on driving. I wish our texting, cellphone use law was a little stiffer - it's got too many variables built into it that a person can use that device and not be charged."
In Kentucky, it is legal to use a cellphone while driving for certain reasons, Maddox said.
"You can use your device say for mapping or you can look something up on the Internet while going down the road and it's legal, but for texting it's illegal."
The exceptions for cellphone usage also muddy an officer's ability to enforce the texting law, he added.
"When I look over at a car and there's a guy (using his phone), what's he doing? I don't know," he said. "The driver could be texting or he could be using a mapping app."
"And because of the Supreme Court's ruling on cellphones, we now have to have search warrants to look in people's cellphones," Byars added. "So for a misdemeanor charge or wreck where we suspect cellphone usage as a cause, we now have to get a warrant to prove it and that can take as long as six weeks before we get results. So that makes it more difficult for us to investigate."
Another possible factor, Byars said is a recent increase in motorcycle riders on the road.
"Other drivers - the ones in cars - don't pay attention to the motorcycles because they are hard to see in certain situations," he said. "We've seen that the last two or three months, you know we've had some fatalities on motorcycles, and the driver essentially tells us 'I never saw the bike until it was too late.'"
Another possible reason for the spike is an increase in traffic throughout the area - especially during the tourism and holiday seasons.
"Unfortunately there are some things that are just unpredictable, and that's the problem with traffic collisions - you can't say 'this is where people are going to crash today,'" Maddox said.
What officers can do, he added, is read the data and adjust their patrols accordingly.
"We look at where our traffic accidents are and what the causes are," Maddox said. "As an example, say there are a lot of traffic accidents on the U.S. 68 and they're speed related, then we work speed enforcement on the 68. If they're on U.S. 62 and they're alcohol related, then we're going to be working DUI enforcement on 62. But there are just some years where there are spikes, and I don't know that anyone can do anything about that."
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
