0
IN 2017 MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES
0
TEN-YEAR TOTAL
1000000
ANNUAL ECONOMIC COST OF MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES
Kansas Rating: Caution
Kansas needs improvement because of gaps in Advocates’ recommended optimal laws, as reported in the 2019 Roadmap Report.
Highway Safety Laws Needed
- Primary Enforcement Seatbelt Law (Rear)
- All-Rider Motorcycle Helmet Law
- Rear Facing Through Age 2 Law
- Booster Seat Law
- GDL – Minimum Age 16 for Learner’s Permit
- GDL- Stronger Passenger Restriction
- GDL – Age 18 for Unrestricted License
Current Optimal Highway Safety Laws
- Primary Enforcement Seat Belt Law (Front)
- GDL – 6-Month Holding Period Provision
- GDL – 50 Hours of Supervised Driving Provision
- GDL – Stronger Nighttime Restriction
- GDL – Cell Phone Restriction
- Ignition Interlock for All Offenders
- Child Endangerment Law
- Open Container Law
- All-Driver Text Messaging Restriction
*States are credited with having laws only if their laws meet Advocates’ optimal criteria
Hot Now: Graduated Driver Licensing Laws
In 2017, 63 people were killed in crashes involving young drivers in Kansas.
The current GDL law in Kansas includes the following components:
- A three-stage licensing system beginning at age 14 for learner’s permit, age 16 for the intermediate stage, and age 16 years and 6 months for full licensure
- A mandatory 12 month holding period for the learner’s permit stage
- A minimum of 25 hours of supervised practice driving during the learner’s permit stage, and another 25 hours of supervised driving before age 16; at least 10 of the 50 total hours must be at night
- A prohibition on unsupervised nighttime driving between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. during the intermediate stage
- A passenger restriction prohibiting more than one passenger younger than age 18 for the first six months after licensure
- A prohibition on non-emergency use of hands-free and hand-held cell phones during the learner’s permit and intermediate stages
- A prohibition on texting for all drivers
These changes are needed to improve Kansas’s GDL law and meet optimal GDL provisions:
- Require age 16 for entry into the learner’s permit stage
- Extend restrictions on teen drivers through age 17