Interstate 24 safety continues to raise concerns 

Safety along Interstate 24 continues to raise concerns for county officials.

Another crash involving a passenger vehicle and a semi claimed a life on Wednesday. This follows several incidents, some involving multiple semis, one involving a motorcycle, that have taken lives and to a lesser degree caused closures and delays for travelers and locals alike. McCracken County Commissioner Bill Bartleman has been outspoken about safety issues and is one of many who are looking for answers.

Bartleman told West Kentucky Star that many of the incidents can be traced to speed and inattention. He said, "I think we've all driven down the interstate and if you go by a trucker you can sometimes look and see they are talking on their phone or they've got a movie, they've got an iPad up watching a movie. And people speed. I mean all of us get on there and probably do faster than what we should."

One suggestion for the short term is to increase police presence and visibility along I-24. That brings a financial cost and can tax the manpower of police agencies like Paducah Police, the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, and the Kentucky State Police.  Bartleman added, "It's an awful difficult issue to deal with. Obviously, the city, the county, and the state couldn't afford to have law enforcement out there 24 hours a day."  

There are no easy answers or magic fixes for the variables involved in some of these collisions. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, though, is set to begin a study of the entire length of I-24 from the Ohio River to the Tennessee state line. The study, reportedly, will look at everything from the design of the road, the signage, speed limits, and even whether a third lane is needed. 

Crashes are not limited to the McCracken County stretch of the interstate. Serious collisions have occurred in Livingston, Lyon, Trigg, and Christian Counties, as well. Anecdotally, the volume of traffic on I-24 has increased exponentially since it opened. That equates to more incidents as the number of vehicles has gone up. 

For now, safety rests on the individuals behind the wheel. Paying attention to surroundings and conditions, being courteous to commercial traffic, and avoiding as many of the in-car distractions as possible have to become a priority.