Kansas highways abnormally deadly in January

It’s starting out as a dangerous year on Kansas highways.

Thirty-one people died in traffic fatalities statewide in the first three weeks of 2018, an increase of 93.5 percent from a year ago, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

And that comes on the heels of an overall annual increase in fatalities in 2017.

The preliminary death toll for all of 2017 was 462, compared to 426 in 2016, said Chris Bortz, traffic safety program manager for KDOT.

That’s nearly an 8 percent increase.

“It’s unfortunate, but we have had an increase in fatalities over the last couple of years,” Bortz said.

Weather could be a contributing factor in the high number of deaths ringing in 2018.

Driving too fast for road conditions is one of the leading causes of fatal crashes and much of the state was hit with icy conditions early this January, compared to the relatively mild January weather last year, Bortz said.

Impaired driving, distracted driving and failure to use seat belts are also big contributors to fatalities, he said.

Despite a state law requiring seat belt use by drivers and passengers, about half the people killed in auto accidents weren’t belted in, he said.

Bortz urged drivers to keep their mind on the road, especially when conditions are less than perfect. And he advised passengers to shut up and let the driver concentrate.

“About 95 percent of all fatalities tend to be because the driver made a mistake,” Bortz said.

He said about 70 to 75 percent of the fatalities are drivers and about a quarter are passengers.

Bortz said there are three main clusters of traffic deaths in Kansas: Wichita, Topeka and the Kansas City suburbs.

“Other than that (the map plot) looks like a shotgun,” he said. “Ones and twos all over the state.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Kansas highways abnormally deadly in January."