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Campaign to enforce traffic safety on the AA Highway coming May 8-14: Operation Drive Smart Blitz

By JUSTIN STORY Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 8:19 PM EDT

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Beginning this Sunday, the presence of law enforcement patrols on Kentucky 9 will become more prevalent.

The heavy patrols by Kentucky State Police and local agencies are part of a campaign to enforce traffic safety on the AA Highway.

The campaign, known as Operation Drive Smart Blitz, is being orchestrated by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's Division of Driver Safety and Traffic Operations the week of May 8-14 in order to reduce injuries and fatalities from traffic accidents on this well-traveled road.

Motorists this week have seen the large radar speed units along the shoulder of the AA Highway near Tollesboro and Minerva.

The Transportation Cabinet has placed the Drive Smart units and variable message boards along the corridor as a reminder to drivers to comply with speed limit and other traffic laws.

Speeding has been a common cause of several accidents on the AA Highway, including many fatal ones.

A truck passes by a Drive Smart visual speed radar unit on Kentucky 9 near the Mason-Lewis county line Wednesday afternoon. Brian Hitch/Staff

"We want to reduce the contributing factors involved in vehicle crashes," said Capt. David Marcum of Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, Region 9. "Factors such as speeding, driving impaired, improper passing equipment violations, aggressive driving and expired or no liability insurance will simply not be tolerated by commercial and passenger vehicles."

Along with these violations, Marcum said patrols will seek to enforce safety belt and child safety restraint regulations on the highway.

According to statistics from the Transportation Cabinet, there were 399 collisions and eight fatalities on the AA Highway last year.

In Maysville, a traffic light installed at the Kenton Station Road intersection is considered one measure to regulate traffic and reduce fatalities on that area of the road.

Last year, two fatalities were recorded at that intersection, where motorists often use when entering Meadowview Regional Medical Center.

Already this year, the Transportation Department has reported 188 collisions on the AA Highway, and four lives have been lost on the AA Highway from accidents in the area.

Cecil Staggs of Vanceburg, was killed after his car struck guard rails on a section of the road near Tollesboro.

Last month, Laurie Ellis and two of her granddaughters, Marie and Tiffany Reynolds, were killed in a two-car accident in Bracken County near the Kentucky 875 intersection.

Contact Justin Story at Justin.Story@lee.net or 564-9091, ext. 276.

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