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| Travelers in the metro areas of Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka and Salina areas will have another way to receive digital alerts with the driver technology alert pilot program. |
The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has teamed up with its counterparts in Missouri to initiate a pilot program in four Kansas metropolitan areas that alerts drivers when motorist assist vehicles are nearby.
Drivers in Kansas City,
Wichita, Salina and Topeka can receive digital alerts via the Waze mobile
navigation app when they are approaching Kansas Motorist Assist Program
vehicles or, in Missouri, the Emergency Response program vehicles that are actively
providing roadside services.
A total of 19 Kansas vehicles
and 12 Missouri vehicles are using the technology. The digital alerting service
uses GPS and cellular technologies to precisely track and transmit the digital
alerts to nearby motorists. This provides drivers with advance warning and time
to safely slow down and change lanes in compliance with Kansas’ Move Over Law
and Missouri’s Move Over, Slow Down law.
Collisions and struck-by
incidents are common nationwide and rank as leading causes of death for
firefighters and police officers as well as other first responders like EMS,
motorist assistance vehicles, tow truck operators and highway maintenance
workers.
“We’re excited to adopt this
technology to make our roads safer for both our emergency responders and
highway motorists,” said Shari Hilliard, Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITS) Engineer for KDOT. “We believe this digital alerting service will prevent
collisions and save lives, and we’re pleased to be partnering with Missouri officials
to pursue this goal together.”
The Kansas Motorist Assist
Program is funded by KDOT and administered by the Kansas Highway Patrol.
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