Fact✓Check | Thanksgiving holiday ranks number 2 for deadly crashes

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - This Thanksgiving holiday is expected to be one of the busiest we’ve seen in years, with thousands of Kentuckians driving to their destinations. That can mean more crashes, with more injuries and deaths.

We are taking a closer look at traffic numbers from Kentucky State Police over the past decade.

It’s important to remember that traffic patterns did change during COVID, so we are trying to review a broader amount of years here.

What we have found is that the Thanksgiving holiday period ranks second in the number of total injuries and deaths on the road. The only holiday higher is Independence Day.

On average, 314 people are injured during the Thanksgiving holiday. The number of people killed on the roads during the same holiday period is around 8.

If we look at wrecks by month, November is in the top three. October, November and December are the top three months for the highest number of crashes in the state at more than 11,000 each month.

These numbers are a big reason why troopers target the Thanksgiving holiday weekend for traffic enforcement.

Expect to see state police out on the roads all week.

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