TOPEKA — The rate of traffic fatalities on Kansas highways surged in the first nine months of 2020 despite dramatic reduction in miles traveled because of temporary stay-at-home mandates and ongoing health concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Thursday.
The number of vehicle miles traveled on Kansas highways from January through September plummeted 10.2% compared to the same period in 2019. But the fatality rate per 100 million miles traveled in Kansas increased during the nine-month period, escalating to 1.52 in 2020 from 1.29 in 2019.
“Vehicle miles…
