LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Since the beginning of the year, 87 people have been killed on Louisville roads. From 2016 until Sept. 2024, the number is 980.

Those who have lost their lives were remembered Sunday, Nov. 17 at Louisville’s third annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

What You Need To Know

  • Louisville’s third annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was on November 17, 2024

  •  The event honored people who died from traffic related incidents

  • The Vision Zero Louisville Dashboard shows there have been 87 deaths on Louisville roadways so far in 2024

  • Vision Zero Louisville is asking the state legislature to pass a law allowing automated speed enforcement

Derrick Wright Jr. was 19 years old when he died crossing Dixie Highway in Sept. 2023.

“He was very young. He was fresh out of high school. He worked for MSD, Metro Sewer District, and he also helped me with my lawn care service,” said Derrick Wright Sr.

Wright is among many who died from a traffic related incident. The Vision Zero Louisville Dashboard tracks not only everyone killed but also those injured and, so far, this year, 359 people have been seriously injured.

“Everybody that’s been impacted by this … some kind of justice has to be served for it and we need to clean these roads up and make them safer for people,” Wright said.

Vision Zero Louisville is calling on the Kentucky legislature to allow automated speed enforcement.

“So, at the state level, we have been focusing on, moving towards getting automated traffic enforcement to where we can actually issue tickets with cameras and that is not currently something that we have in place in Louisville because it does require a state law change,” said State Rep. Rachel Roarx D-Louisville.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, speed safety cameras can reduce roadway fatalities by 20-37%. A bill has been filed and passed committee multiple years in a row, but was never called for a vote, Roarx said.

“I really see it as a way to help our police officers, they have a lot of responsibility right now and to be able to add cameras into the mix, to be able to have that extra layer of enforcement, and being they can’t be everywhere all at once,” Roarx said.

Wright said he hoping legislation can make the roads safer for everyone.

“Stiffer penalties and cleaning the roads up,” Wright said.

Statewide, the number of traffic related fatalities is dropping. According to the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety—this year there have been just over 600 deaths.

Last year at this time, there were just over 700 deaths.

In 2022, Louisville Metro Council passed an ordinance calling for zero traffic fatalities by 2050. It joined the Vision Zero Network and tracks the city’s fatalities and injuries.

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