Good Question: Why isn’t there a guardrail where Ky. school bus crash happened?

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - In November, we reported on a serious bus crash in Magoffin County. That led to a question from one of our viewers:

Good Question: Why isn’t a guardrail installed where the Magoffin County bus accident happened?

That bus crash sent 18 students and the driver to the hospital. The bus went over an embankment on Route 40 and, like a lot of Kentucky roads, there is no guardrail.

We asked the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet about the guidelines they use when deciding where to place guardrails.

• Magoffin County residents react to school bus crash just weeks after a teen was killed in UTV accident

A spokesperson told us multiple factors are considered when selecting where to install guardrails, including traffic counts, speed limit, steepness of the slope, the height of the slope, shoulder width, crash frequency and severity and distance to a hazard.

They told us Department of Highways District staff identifies sites along state-maintained routes in need of guardrail installation or repair.

If you have a Good Question you’d like us to try to answer, send it to goodquestion@wkyt.com.

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