With over 396,119 people living in Wichita, it is currently the largest and one of the most bustling cities in Kansas. Unfortunately, bustling cities tend to have high road traffic, leading to a challenge in road safety. Car accidents within the city lead to serious injury and, in some cases, death. Our focus in this article is to check out some statistics about car accidents in Wichita.
What Does The Government Say?
Law firms in Kansas make a lot of money from car accident cases every year. More specifically, a car accident lawyer, Tomas Pyle who provides legal advice in Wichita, Kansas gets paid heavily to help people get out of difficult legal situations after car accidents. The Kansas Department of Transportation reported that thousands of car accidents happen in the city yearly. These accidents are caused by multiple factors but we will consider only the most common factors in this article.
Causes of Car Accidents in Wichita
There are five primary leading causes of car accidents in Kansas. The stats for these causes based on reports from 2021 are as follows:
- Distracted Driving: Most people, up to 18.1% of those who get involved in car accidents, lose focus because they are distracted. They call while they drive, and others text. Some also drive while intoxicated.
- Speeding: Another common cause of accidents is excessive speeding. Up to 6% of all the accidents happen due to excessive speeding.
- Not Yielding: When drivers don’t want to yield to each other, it can lead to catastrophic accidents. Some times, aggressive drivers end up making right of way violations which makes up for 10% of the accidents.
- Poor Spacing: Poor spacing happens when one vehicle follows another too closely. Up to 7% of all accidents in the state are due to following too closely.
- Striking Obstacles: Hitting obstacles, especially animals, unexpectedly on the road is also a major cause of accidents in Wichita. It makes up for 13.2% of all accidents in Kansas.
Consequences of Car Accidents in Wichita
The most common consequences of car accidents in Wichita are the destruction of life and property. In 2021, more than 90,000 vehicles were involved in traffic accidents that left up to 123,796 people injured, emotionally traumatized, or shocked. Unfortunately, 426 people lost their lives in the most gruesome of these accidents.
Looking Ahead
The accident trends in Wichita are troubling, and something needs to be done to reduce the number of yearly vehicle crashes. This is already being done in the following ways:
Public Awareness Campaigns
One of the foremost strategies the city has implemented to combat this crisis is an increase in public awareness campaigns like the Arrive Alive campaign. This campaign was designed to discourage distracted driving.
Increased Enforcement
Law enforcement agencies like the police have intensified their efforts to promote traffic safety in recent years. These efforts include adding more police presence at safety checkpoints as a deterrent for rough driving.
Technological innovations
Wichita is also exploring the use of technological innovations, like smart traffic signals and autonomous vehicles, to improve road safety.
Conclusion
While the accident stats for Wichita may look troubling, the government is already taking steps to make roads safer for both drivers and pedestrians.
