safety
Providing a safe transportation system for all users is a top priority for our region. Over the last five years, the number of vehicle-related fatalities and serious injuries has trended downward, while the number of bicycle and pedestrian fatalities has stayed relatively flat. While we have continued to improve the safety of our roadways for vehicles, we have failed to provide the same safety improvements for those walking and biking.
fatalities & serious injuries
2015 - 2019 KDOT Data
2015-2019 KDOT Data
safety performance measures
PM 1: Number of Vehicle Fatalities
Over the last five years (2014-2018) we have had a total of 26 fatalities on our roadways. While the five-year rolling average continues to trend downward, the number of fatalities per year fluctuates between two and eight deaths. With over 72% of our fatal crashes occurring on federal and state highways, we must work with KDOT to identify ways to improve the safety of our high-speed roadways.
PM 3: Number of Serious Injuries
In 2017, the Federal Highway Administration changed the definition of what qualifies as a serious injury. This largely skewed our data, making it appear as if there was a drastic decrease in the number of serious injuries occurring on our roadways. Due to this change in reporting, it is difficult to gauge our overarching trend for vehicular serious injuries.
PM 5: Non-Motorized Fatalities & Serious Injuries
PM 7: % of Public Transit Buses with Cameras
The Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency, or ATA Bus, has 36 vehicles, none of which have an operational security camera on board.
PM 2: Rate of Vehicular Fatalities per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled
Using a "rate" allows us to compare the safety of our roadways to larger regions that have hundreds of more crashes each year. Think of this as a per capita comparison, but rather than using population, we use the number of miles driven on our roadways. The five-year average rate of fatalities per 100 million VMT continues to trend downward. In theory, this means our roadways are becoming safer, despite an increased use.
PM 4: Rate of Serious Injuries per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled
Similar to the number of serious injuries, it is hard to gauge our progress in lowering the rate of serious injuries due to the change in definition of what qualifies as a serious injury.
PM 6: % Serious Injury & Fatality Crashes with Bicycles & Pedestrians
Despite comprising only 9% of commuting mode share, people walking and biking are involved in 15% of all serious injury and fatality crashes. This percentage has steadily increased over the last five years.
PM 8: Number of Public Transit Related Fatalities & Serious Injuries
The ATA Bus had no transit-related fatalities or serious injuries between 2016 and 2018. Public transit remains one of the safest modes of travel in our region.
Bicycle and pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries are classified as "non-motorized". In the last five years, our region has reported an average of 4.2 serious injuries and 0.8 fatalities every year. Our average non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries have increased over the last five years. Our target is to have less than five fatalities and serious injuries in the coming years.
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) is the number of miles driven on our roadways.
In one year. Collectively, people in our region drive 7.5 million miles a year.
vehicle miles travelled (VMt)
understanding metrics & Guages
Federally Required Metric
MPOs are federally required to use a performance-based approach for guiding transportation investment and policy decisions. Transportation legislation identifies several performance metrics MPOs must monitor, establish targets for, and report on.
Flint Hills MPO Metric
MPOs can choose to establish additional goals and targets specific to their region.
See our full document of Connect 2040 Goals and their Metrics for Progress: