Wichita drivers are getting better — they’re 25th worst in the country, study says
If you drive in or around Wichita, there’s good news and bad news.
Wichita drivers are getting better. But they’re still among some of the worst in the country.
They were 25th worst in a ranking of drivers in the nation’s 75 largest cites, according to a study by QuoteWizard, an insurance comparison website. In the same study a year ago, the drivers in Kansas’ largest city ranked 21st worst.
The study used weighted calculations from statistics on accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs and citations — such as running a stop light or texting while driving.
Wichita police wrote more than 47,000 traffic and parking tickets last year. The seven most common mistakes on Wichita roads were speeding, no proof of insurance, driving on a suspended or otherwise invalid license, no driver’s license, seat belt required, speeding in a construction area and inattentive driving.
The police department brought back its motorcycle unit earlier this year as part of a larger crackdown on bad drivers. Eight of the Kansas Highway Patrol’s newest recruits are in Wichita.
Drivers aren’t especially great in the rest of the state, either. Kansas was ranked 13th of 50 both last year and the year before. The Sunflower State was also ranked as the 12th rudest, earning a D+ for polite drivers, in a different study last year. The poll of licensed drivers showed Kansans had the most aggressive responses to slow driving.
The number of fatalities on Kansas roads grew nearly 8 percent last year, up to 462. And this year started off abnormally deadly, the Kansas Department of Transportation said in January.
Bad drivers can affect car insurance rates of other people, the study said.
“Even if you’re a great driver, one mistake from another driver is enough to make you file a claim,” QuoteWizard said. “Because of this, people in cities with a higher-than-average percentage of bad drivers pay more for car insurance.”
This story was originally published July 12, 2018 at 3:36 PM.