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Despite accidents--KDOT says new electronic signs do their job

February 13, 2012|By Melody Pettit | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — Sunday night in Wichita, dozens of cars were in ditches and several had gotten into an accident on Kellogg road.

Monday morning signs of the slick roads made commuters like take a little extra time to get to work.

“I think we were expecting this a couple of months ago maybe and now that it’s finally here it has taken us by surprise,” said cautious driver Susan Wolfe.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says had drivers heeded the signs, surprise wouldn't be a factor.

“They can just make better travel decisions and hopefully arrive at their destination faster,” said Public Affairs Manager for the KDOT Wichita metro office, Tom Hein.

There are about 20 electronic message boards in Wichita and despite the fact there were dozens of accidents on Kellogg, officials say without the signs there would have been more.

“I think we may have decreased some accidents that occurred by reminding drivers to use caution,” Hein said.

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Sunday's storm was the first time KDOT officials were able to use the new electronic message billboards for bad weather. Starting about nine Sunday night KDOT used all 20 billboards in Wichita for about 12 hours.

Despite all the accidents, officials say the new system worked seamlessly and hope drivers will learn to pay attention when the signs are on.

The new system also includes 28 traffic cameras. They don't record, but you can access over the web to see current road conditions.

To see those cameras go to:  http://wichway.org/WichWay/Default.aspx

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