• 21
  • November
    2011

Earlier this month, a 29 year-old Kansas woman and her 9 year-old daughter were killed on U.S. 69 when their SUV crossed the median and struck two vehicles. The SUV overturned before coming to rest in a ditch. The woman had two other young daughters in the car, both of whom are thankfully expected to recover.

Unfortunately, as Kansas City car accident lawyers know all too well, this type of "crossover" accident is not rare in either Kansas or Missouri.

Although the woman was driving on a busy stretch of highway, there was nothing in place to prevent her from crossing into the opposing lanes when she lost control of her vehicle.

After a string of recent crossover accidents, the Kansas Department of Motor Vehicles is reevaluating the policy that decides which stretches of highway get protective median barriers. It recently announced that it would add four miles of cable barriers on Kansas 10 between Johnson County and Lawrence. Now, it is identifying "hotspots" with higher than average numbers of crossover accidents. KDOT says the Kansas City-area highways are first in line for the safety upgrades.

Missouri has already been addressing this issue - the state has installed barriers on more than 600 miles of divided highway. This past construction season, the state added more than 44 miles of cable barriers to its roadways. Like Kansas, Missouri employs engineers to determine which areas of highway are most in need of barriers.

Crossover Accidents Threaten All Motorists

When used correctly, cable barriers protect motorists on both sides of the highway. Drivers who cross a median don't just put themselves at risk - they also threaten drivers in oncoming traffic who aren't watching for a vehicle coming from the other side.

In this month's car accident, the drivers of both vehicles struck by the woman who crossed the median had to be hospitalized. Their injuries were not life-threatening, but not every accident victim is so lucky.

Source: The Kansas City Star, "Fatal crossover accident comes as state is reviewing safety," Matt Campbell, 14 November 2011