OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — It can be almost impossible to drive on a highway in Johnson County and not run into construction, but police say that’s when drivers need to pay the most attention as many of those work zones are hot spots for accidents.
On Thursday, Overland Park Police released their top 10 accident locations, and four out of the top five are in construction projects on I-435 and 69 Highway. Police say that traffic patterns can change often in those zones, and that’s just something that drivers need to be ready for.
“If you take your time, plan your route and get there safely everybody be better in the long term,” said Officer Gary Mason of the OPPD.
It sounds like simple advice, but it can often be overlooked during a hectic day in traffic. Police are quick to point out that that everyone suffers when there’s an accident, especially one that’s avoidable.
“I think that probably the number thing, the inattention and not paying attention to what’s going on around them, what the other cars are doing,” said Officer Mason.
According to police, there were 70 accidents in Overland Park in the first three months of 2012. Authorities have been heavily patrolling the high-accident areas, and their last operation led to 177 trafffic tickets in just six hours of work.
Mason says that the accident reports help them to determine which areas need more police attention.
“It helps us to decide what locations need to be looked at more,” said Mason. “Continue to do that just to get people to see that we are out there working, slow down. It’s easier to slow down than us to enforce it and giving you a ticket.”
According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, all of the construction projects in Johnson County should be wrapped up by the end of 2013.
