By Mark Parkinson
Kansans will travel nearly
81 million miles today on our state’s roadways. That’s 81 million miles for
Kansans to go to and from work, for our kids to go to school, for visitors to
come through our state and for everyone to do all the normal activities that
make up our daily lives--all in one day.
But to reach our destination, safety must be
our top priority. I am proud to kick off the Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day
campaign to remind Kansans of just that. For the next four weeks Kansans
throughout the state will blog about why safety is so important. Some of these
bloggers are safety professionals and will provide tips while some have
personal experiences to share in hopes of helping others. But all of these
people have a common goal--reducing fatalities on our roadways.
Traveling is such an integral part of our
lives. It keeps us connected and we count on our transportation infrastructure
to get us where we need to be efficiently and safely. We also count on policies
and law enforcement to help protect us from other drivers who may not be
traveling as safely as ourselves.
This past legislative session, I was proud to
sign into law multiple pieces of legislation that make our roads safer,
including a primary seat belt law and a ban against texting while driving. I
also signed the new ten-year transportation plan to keep Kansas roads the best
in the country.
But these steps don’t relieve us from our
personal responsibility to travel safely. One of the main messages of Put the
Brakes on Fatalities Day is to drive as if your life depends on it. This is
something we need to think about every time we get into a car or truck.
As you read these blogs for the next 20 days,
I hope you’ll take the time to comment on what you have read. We need to
continue to share our ideas and information with one another, as we are also
sharing a vision of a day with no roadway fatalities in Kansas and our nation.
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