Kansas Highway Needs: An Engineering Appraisal

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Kansas Highway Needs: An Engineering Appraisal

In the Needs Study, emphasis was placed on the importance of highway safety. A comprehensive analysis was conducted which correlated accidents on the State Highway System since 1956 with the sufficiency ratings of highway sections at the time accidents occurred. The results provide striking confirmation of the safety values associated with the development of good highways. For the period covered by the analysis, the average accident rate for the state system was 1.71 per million vehicle-miles. However, the better roads--those with sufficiency ratings of 80 or above--had an accident rate of 1.46, compared to 2.08 for roads with sufficiency ratings below 60. Obviously, a reduction in accidents and savings in lives and money would be attainable with a highway modernization program resulting in a higher level of sufficiency ratings. It is recommended that accident studies of this nature be continued by the Highway Commission, with the results summarized and publicized regularly to encourage understanding of the benefits of safer travel resulting from highway improvement programs. (Author)