Kentucky ranks in top 5 states for distracted driving

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - June 9 through Sept. 12 is what police call the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer” as distracted driving causes a shocking 60% of teen crashes each summer, according to wesavelives.org.

According to a new study by WhistleOut, Kentucky ranks among the worst when it comes to distracted driving. On the site’s map, blue is for best and red is for worst. Indiana did well, ranking number five as the least distracted state. On the flip side, Kentucky also got number five but the ranking is not good.

“Kentucky coming in at the fifth most dangerous places for distracted driving,” Sheri Riggs from WhistleOut said.

(Story continues below photo)

WhistleOut took information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association’s distracted driving fatalities data and Zendrive.

Maria Tiberi was just 21 years old when she was killed in a car crash on Sept. 17, 2013. Her father, Dom Tibert, said she died after her car struck the back of a tractor-trailer.

It happened in Ohio, but crashes and fatalities due to distracted driving happen everywhere. Whether that distraction comes from a cell phone, the radio, eating or drinking, smoking, talking to passengers, or using a navigation system.

It doesn’t matter how many years have passed, Dom Tiberi said he will always miss his daughter.

“It will be eight years in September,” he said. “I’m a doting dad. I just miss everything about her.”

(Story continues below photo)

Dom Tiberi is a sports anchor at a TV station in Columbus, Ohio, and said he saw countless car crashes on the news.

“We don’t know what happened. We wished we did,” Dom Tiberi said.

As for him and the rest of his family, they have made it their mission to put an end to distracted driving and started the Maria Tiberi Foundation, warning others of the dangers of distracted driving.

“I would do anything to bring my daughter back, but there is nothing I can do,” Dom Tiberi said. “My whole goal is to keep other families from going through this.”

To learn more about the dangers of distracted driving, click here.

For more information on the Maria Tiberi Foundation, click here.

Copyright 2021 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.