KY Transportation Cabinet hosts safety training at annual ‘Equipment Roadeo’

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — More than 160 employees from 12 counties across Central Kentucky arrived at Highway Equipment Roadeo Safety Training Day Tuesday morning.

“All of our equipment operators come in and they do different events that’s intended as a safety training,” Chief District Engineer Kelly Baker said. “We’re doing various different trainings with it so it’s a good opportunity for them to come here and have a day that’s away from being out on the roadway.”

The event is part of a larger competition that spans across the state and across the country.

“If you win the events here for our district Equipment Roadeo, you can go on to a state level competition which is held at the Kentucky Horse Park this year,” Baker said.

After the state competition, the regional competition will also be held at Kentucky State Horse Park.

“There’s a lot of initiative there and pride to try and win that and move on to those other competitions,” Baker said.

The main goal of the annual Equipment Roadeo is ensuring safety for crews and drivers out on the streets.

“As you can see, we have all of our high-visibility gear on so you can easily see us out there if you’re looking for us, so just keep the distractions down, and slow down,” Baker said.