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Sedgwick County To Increase Traffic Enforcement On K-15

Sedgwick County Sheriff
The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office will begin enhanced traffic enforcement starting today on K-15.

There will be an increased law enforcement presence on K-15 beginning today.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office said it will crack down on traffic violations over the next two weeks as part of a safety campaign to reduce the number of accidents.

“What we’re trying to do with this is what we keep trying to do with these initiatives and that is reduce the number of fatalities in Sedgwick County,” Sedgwick County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Myers said.

Myers said the Sheriff's Office saw a reduction in accidents and traffic violations for about six weeks following the last safe driving campaign. But over time, drivers reverted back to their bad habits, and that’s why these campaigns need to keep happening.

“We’ve already seen on K-15 that it’s a hotspot again where we’re having a lot of accidents," Myers said. "So we’re going to focus our efforts there to try to increase our presence and get people to slow down."

Deputies will look for people speeding, following too closely, failing to signal and failing to obey stop signs and traffic lights. They will also be on alert for drunk drivers.

Meyers said there’s one recent accident that highlights the importance of these types of campaigns. In early December, a pickup ran a stop sign and hit a semitruck, killing two people at the intersection of 183rd West and MacArthur.

“It’s just as simple as stopping for that stop sign and those fatalities would not have occured,” Myers said.

Audrey Korte is an intern in the KMUW News Lab.