The Kansas Department of Transportation says there were 344 road fatalities logged in the state last year...and that number's an all-time low. Steven Buckley, a safety engineer with KDOT, says there has been a significant decline in road deaths over the last decade.
Buckley says there are a variety of factors leading to the decrease, including an increase in the number of drivers wearing seatbelts and better vehicle safety. The highest number of fatalities came in 1969, when 780 people died on Kansas roadways.
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The number of fatalities on Kansas roads has reached an all-time low. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, the Kansas Department of Transportation says there were 344 fatalities on the state’s roads last year.
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The number of deaths on Kansas roads has fallen significantly in the last decade or so. There were more than 500 deaths in 2002.
“I really think that there’s a lot of factors that are contributing.”
That’s Steven Buckley, a safety engineer with KDOT. The agency says higher seatbelt use coupled with law enforcement and better emergency response have played a part. Buckley also points to newer vehicles on the roads.
“More and more of the old cars are getting off the road, newer cars are getting out with all the safety features,” says Buckley.
KDOT has kept records on road fatalities since the 1940s. The highest number of deaths on record was 780 in 1969.