Rise in traffic deaths in Kansas is shocking
Traffic deaths are on the rise after decades of decline nationally, and up in Kansas by a shocking 34 percent so far this year. Drivers clearly need to be more careful and responsible out there, and expect law enforcement to pull them over when they endanger themselves and others.
The Kansas Highway Patrol plans a statewide Roving Aggressive Violation Enforcement (RAVE) event Friday and Saturday in response to the traffic fatalities, which numbered 242 for the year as of Monday.
Wichita hasn’t seen a similar rise. As of Wednesday, the city had experienced 13 traffic deaths in 12 accidents this year, compared with 16 fatalities in 14 crashes by Aug. 7 last year. Wichita had a total of 28 fatalities in 26 accidents in 2015.
The state’s numbers fit the national trend of traffic fatalities, which started increasing in 2014 after declining 31 percent since 2000. Last year’s increase was 7.7 percent; 94 percent of the accidents could be tied to human choice or error, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Though Kansas Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Adam Winters told the Topeka Capital-Journal he couldn’t cite a single reason for the 34 percent spike in traffic deaths in the state this year, he said they tended to involve “moving hazards violations” such as failing to yield the right of way to approaching vehicles and not staying in the proper lane.
Other experts blame cellphones and other distractions for taking drivers’ focus off the road. The problems of excessive speed and impaired driving persist. More people need to buckle up, and ensure their children do likewise.
Kansas motorists, especially along rural highways, also must expect the unexpected, weather-related and otherwise. Hydroplaning reportedly was involved in a June crash near McPherson that killed two. The rear-ending of a Highway Patrol trooper’s car along I-135 this year highlighted the importance of the state law requiring drivers to move over, if possible, for officers, emergency vehicles and road crews.
Officials will need to monitor the accident statistics in light of the new law enabling state transportation officials to raise the speed limit to 70 mph on certain rural highways.
In the meantime, as the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Chris Bortz said in a news release this week, Kansans can help counter this trend in crash deaths if they “buckle up, every trip, every time, never drive impaired, obey the speed limit, and eliminate distractions.”
This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 12:08 AM with the headline "Rise in traffic deaths in Kansas is shocking."