RICHMOND, Ky. (FOX 56) – Ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend, we at FOX 56 had the opportunity to ride along with Sargent Robert Purdy From the Richmond Post of Kentucky State Police, talking about all things safety for Kentucky drivers.
“We are going to be out in full force this weekend, and the beginning of next week,” said Purdy. “Looking for who are speeding, driving dangerously, driving distracted and hopefully put a stop to it or at least let people know that we are out there.”
During our time with Sargent Purdy, we sat along the side of the highway making sure no one was speeding.
Just being out there in the police car, not even with the radar on, sometimes is enough to change an individual’s behavior and be safer on the road according to Purdy.
“If that causes someone to slow down, I’m all for that because who knows what kind of lives could be saved,” Purdy said.
There is not one specific thing KSP officers will be looking out for this weekend either.
“Dangerous driving leads to collisions and fatalities, It doesn’t matter if someone is speeding, driving aggressively, driving distracted or impaired,” Purdy said.
Every time someone receives a ticket, or a citation as it is referred to by officers, there is a financial cost people have to pay. There is a different cost though that according to Purdy is even greater. That is when a fatality occurs on the road and human life is lost.
“Unfortunately when a father, a son, a mother, a daughter, a family member, a best friend looses their life, it is significant,” said Purdy. “Every single life matters and it is our goal to see everybody make it where they’re trying to go this weekend.”
To put things into perspective, as of July first of this year, there have been 310 reported fatalities on Kentucky roadways according to the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety.
47 of which involved people driving under the influence. Also of that 310, 118 fatalities saw people not wearing a seatbelt.
For Sargent Purdy, he does not do this job for the thrill of laying down the law and putting people in jail. He does it to help people and keep Kentuckians safe.
“At the end of the day, our goal and what we would see as a success is seeing no lives lost on Kentucky roadways.”