County Attorney Joe Ross introduced a resolution to Fiscal Court last week’s meeting concerning a traffic safety program the Kentucky General Assembly has authorized county attorneys to create.

He and Todd County Attorney Mac Johns are both working towards this program, said Ross.

Ross mentioned the new speed limit change on 68-80 and said it was his hopes that drivers would abide by the limits, but said he knew there would be some who would go faster and there needed to be something in place that would help enforce those laws.

The program is a traffic safety diversion program that would be developed and administered as permitted by 2012 HB 480. The specifics of the program are not set out in the statute, but left to the individual county attorney to develop.

“It is similar to traffic school in concept,” said Ross, who envisions a type of online program/tutorial focused on traffic safety. “All of the details are not worked out yet. I wanted the courts approval before moving forward,” said Ross, which is what he got.

In the resolution it allows the county attorneys office to charge reasonable and appropriate fees for the role it will play in the program. The resolution says many law abiding citizens are cited for minor traffic violations which have unintended financial consequences for the citizen.

The HB states that The Transportation Cabinet shall establish a state traffic school for new drivers and for traffic offenders. The school shall be composed of uniform education and training elements designed to create a lasting influence on new drivers and a corrective influence on traffic offenders. District Courts may in lieu of assessing penalties for traffic offenses, other than for KRS 189A.010, sentence offenders to state traffic school and no other.