Pasted from the Bicycling for Louisville website:

Focus on the Road

A Vulnerable Road User Law for Kentucky

In Kentucky, when a driver breaks a traffic law and kills or injures another person, he faces no criminal penalties in the overwhelming majority of cases. Unless the driver is intoxicated or flees the scene, killing someone by breaking a traffic law usually carries no penalties other than increased insurance premiums.

There is a loophole in Kentucky's traffic law.

The majority of traffic deaths are not caused by drunk drivers. Distracted driving causes more deaths each year than driving while intoxicated, but while drunk drivers often face harsh prosecution (as they should), careless unintoxicated drivers face no legal consequences for similar dangerous behavior. Drivers in fatal crashes often avoid citations even for minor traffic violations because police officers did not witness the infractions. When a motorist kills or injures another person after failing to observe basic traffic laws, charges are rarely filed. The media report that the authorities will not file charges. The public comes away with the impression that this was just another tragic but unavoidable "accident."

These crashes, while not intentional, are not unavoidable accidents. They result from choices made by drivers: to drive faster, to run a stoplight, or to multi-task while driving. To turn the tide of traffic injuries, we must re-emphasize that driving is a privilege that requires certain responsibilities. We can reduce traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths by penalizing drivers for irresponsible behavior.

A driver must maintain control of the vehicle and anticipate dangers. This is the law, but in Kentucky the legal penalties are light and difficult to enforce. Providing serious, enforceable penalties for careless driving reduces traffic crashes and deaths. England has done it. Oregon and Wisconsin have done it. Kentucky can do it, too.

In 2008 Oregon's "Vulunerable Roadway User Law" went into effect. This law provides serious legal consequences to careless drivers who injure or kill the most vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, equestrians, and bicyclists. Traveling without multi-ton vehicles, vulnerable road users pose less risk to others, but suffer disproportionate risk at the hands of careless drivers.

Currently at least five states are considering Vulnerable Road User legislation: Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Vermont, and Iowa.

If Kentucky is serious about reducing traffic deaths, it must adopt a Vulnerable Road User law.