Kansas Traffic Fatalities in 2016 Up 16%

Kansas transportation officials say more than 300 people have died in traffic accidents this year, a 16 percent increase over the same period in 2015.

Kansas Department of Transportation traffic safety manager Chris Bortz said there was a 25 percent increase in traffic fatalities last year, with nearly 360 deaths.

Bortz said the increase is a national phenomenon and that distracted driving is likely one of the causes. About a third of traffic fatalities involve people driving while distracted, and about a third involve people driving while drunk or otherwise impaired.

Fifty percent of traffic fatalities in Kansas involve people who weren’t wearing a seatbelt, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Interim transportation secretary Richard Carlson said that even looking down at one’s cellphone for what seems like a short amount of time is dangerous.

“At 70 miles an hour, four seconds is a lifetime,” Carlson said at a news conference.

State officials and law enforcement gathered at the Statehouse to send the message that simple actions can reduce fatalities. Some include using a seatbelt on oneself and one’s children, putting the cellphone away when driving and refraining from drinking under the influence.

The Kansas Department of Insurance unveiled a campaign last month to gather (hash)ItCanWait pledges from 40,000 to 50,000 Kansans saying they will not text and drive