TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ~

One of the fundamental duties of any police department is to investigate motor vehicle accidents. The City of Merriam has 65 miles of roadway within its borders, including approximately 3 miles of interstate highway.

According to data provided by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) the portion of Interstate 35, just north of 75th Street, is the busiest section of highway in the State of Kansas. The City of Merriam has a large traffic volume created by I-35. KDOT estimates that over one million cars drive through the city each day during a normal workweek.

With the types of roadways that run through Merriam, coupled with the high number of businesses and general drive-through traffic, the problem of traffic control and accident investigation is a full-time challenge. A study conducted by KDOT indicated that the City of Merriam has the highest per capita accident rate of any city in the state.

In 2002, the department began a more aggressive approach to traffic enforcement, which eventually led to the creation of our Traffic Enforcement Unit in 2005.