Travel season adds to increase in vehicle accidents

“Accidents on the rise” is an unfortunate headline that too often we read.

With the start of summer travel upon us it means many more motorists are sharing the highways and byways.

Any of us sharing the roads need to take extra caution. More highway patrolmen and sheriff’s deputies are issuing news releases about the importance of taking road responsibilities seriously.

A recent accident in Kansas called to note that an over reliance upon a GPS system to guide drivers can put an unfamiliar driver into the wrong lane and be a victim in a head-on wreck. If one of the vehicles is a semi tractor-trailer the odds of a fatality are high.

This time of year, motorists are headed to nearby lakes or across the country and we don’t want any of the trips to have a deadly outcome.

Relying too much on electronic devices, whether a GPS or cell phone, can be a distraction.

In 2022, Dominique Lord and Soheil Sohrabi, with funding from the A.P. and Florence Wiley Faculty Fellow at Texas A&M, designed a study to examine the safety of navigational tools. Comparing the safest and shortest routes between five metropolitan areas in Texas—Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, Houston and Bryan-College Station—including more than 29,000 road segments, they found that taking a route with an 8% reduction in travel time could increase the risk of being in a crash by 23%.

“As route guidance systems aim to find the shortest path between a beginning and ending point, they can misguide drivers to take routes that may minimize travel time, but concurrently, carry a greater risk of crashes,” said Lord, professor in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The researchers collected and combined road and traffic characteristics, including geometry design, number of lanes, lane width, lighting and average daily traffic, weather conditions and historical crash data to analyze and develop statistical models for predicting the risk of being involved in crashes.

At the time of the report’s issuance, the priority was to seek ways for information to target the safest route to get to a destination and not on the fastest way.

The information in the report showed that drivers and the systems were wired the same—get to the designations in the quickest manner.

Even a 3-year-old study is a reminder that safety must not be taken for granted.

The Kansas Highway Patrol provides numerous safety tips to make sure your summer travel plans get you to your destination safely:

• Plan your trip, allowing plenty of time for delays. Make sure that you are well rested and comfortable with your route. Obtain construction zone locations and weather-related road conditions.
• Make sure your vehicle is ready to travel. Summer heat can be hard on vehicles. Before leaving home, inspect your vehicle’s fluids, tires, belts, wipers and lights to avoid accidents and breakdowns.
• Buckle your seat belt and properly secure children in safety seats or booster seats.
• Watch the weather. Prepare for swiftly changing Kansas weather conditions. Adjust your speed and following distance to other vehicles as conditions dictate. Wet roads can be just as slick as those covered in snow or ice.
• Use alcoholic beverages sensibly. Do not use alcoholic beverages before or during your trip and never ride with someone who has been drinking. Kansas’ law forbids open containers of alcoholic beverages in vehicles.
• Drive defensively and courteously. Assume another driver’s mistakes are not personal. Be polite and courteous, even if the other driver is not. Avoid all conflicts if possible. If another driver challenges you, take a deep breath and get out of the way.
• If you break down, get your car as far onto the shoulder as possible and activate your 4-way flashers. Stay with your vehicle, lock your doors, and let your windows down a little.

As more and more farm equipment gets into the field, large tractors with planting equipment and support vehicles will also be sharing two-lane roads. Those equipment operators need to make sure their equipment has operating lights and proper signs.

Whether it is law enforcement or those in the media, a summer season without a fatality accident is the best news of all. It all starts with the right plan.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or email [email protected].

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