What these new Kansas road signs mean

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Drivers along four Kansas roads have noticed new yellow signs recently. The sign message is “Safety Corridor — Increased Enforcement,” and the ultimate goal is to reduce crashes.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says the Safety Corridor Pilot Program is new and will run through 2028.

The four corridors

KDOT chose four corridors for the pilot program based on crash history, availability of additional law enforcement, and input from local traffic safety partners.

South-central Kansas

In south-central Kansas, the corridor is Interstate 135 from 53rd Street North in Park City to North Newton. KDOT says the corridor has had 216 crashes involving 492 people in the six-year period from 2016 through 2021. Ten people died, and 15 people had serious injuries.

KDOT says inattentive driving was involved in 24% of the crashes. Just over 7% of the crashes involved impaired drivers.

2 Spearville men die in Ford County crash

Southwest Kansas

In southwest Kansas, the safety corridor is U.S. Highway 83/50, stretching from Holcomb east into Garden City and then several miles south to the Finney County line. KDOT says the corridor has had 86 crashes involving 226 people from 2016 through 2021. In those crashes, 13 people died, and 14 had serious injuries.

KDOT says inattentive driving was involved in more than 47% of the crashes. About 7% of the crashes involved impaired drivers.

Southeast Kansas

In southeast Kansas, KDOT has put the safety corridor signs up along U.S. Highway 69, from the north side of Frontenac, south through Pittsburg, and south to the Crawford/Cherokee county line. KDOT says that the corridor has had 98 crashes involving almost 300 people from 2016 through 2021. Four people died, and 19 people had serious injuries.

KDOT says inattentive driving was involved in almost 42% of the crashes. More than 9% of the crashes involved impaired drivers.

Northeast Kansas

The final corridor in the pilot program involved U.S. Highway 24 in northeast Kansas. KDOT chose the stretch of road from the east side of Manhattan along the southern section of Pottawatomie County to the town of St. Marys. KDOT says that the corridor has had 174 crashes involving 464 people from 2016 through 2021. Eight people died, and 20 had serious injuries.

KDOT says 39% of the crashes involved inattentive driving. Almost 6% of the crashes had an impaired driver.

What it means

KDOT says the new Safety Corridor — Increased Enforcement signs mean what they say. There will be heightened law enforcement efforts. KDOT hopes that the more drivers see law enforcement officers, the less likely they will be to try risky driving behaviors, such as speeding, impaired driving, and not wearing a seat belt.

The signs are just the start of the five-year Safety Corridor Pilot Program. The corridors that were chosen will also get increased driver education, including high-visibility campaigns that encourage safe driving. Drivers will see and hear targeted media campaigns.

Starting this month, KDOT plans to distribute educational messages in schools and businesses along the four corridors.

Another component of the safety corridor education is an interactive dashboard about the crashes that have happened along the four corridors.

The Safety Corridor Pilot Program also involves engineering strategy. At first, it will include low- and medium-cost safety improvements, such as better pavement markings and road signs. But starting in 2026, officials will begin evaluating the pilot program, including whether long-term engineering strategies are needed to reduce crashes.