Kansas highway workers tell of the close calls they have experienced in work zones. Sadly, these stories are but a small sampling of the times KDOT workers have had to react to potentially life-threatening situations. KDOT highway workers and family members included in this video series volunteered to be interviewed by KDOT’s Multimedia Services Division. The workers want to help the public understand what it’s like to work along the highways, inches from vehicles going 55 mph or more. Their families discuss what it’s like to be in their shoes. What if that was your loved one ..read more

  Today’s work zone video illustrates that highway workers have family members and friends who depend on them. These people know the workers’ jobs are important to keep transportation moving in Kansas. But they also worry. Is today the day my loved one is going to be hurt in a work zone crash…or worse? Click HERE to watch the safety video.   To all of you who work alongside the highways, thank you for everything you do to construct and maintain our roadways. Your efforts are greatly appreciated ..read more

Today is the first of a four-part video series that focuses on highway workers and their families.  KDOT Construction Engineer Kevin Palic, shown above, shares his experience of losing a co-worker in a work zone crash. He was the one who talked to the worker’s parents, to try and explain why their son would not be coming home.  Numerous photos of highway workers with their families are also included. Motorists may just see the orange cones and the speed limit reductions and not think about the fact there are also highway workers with family members and friends in those work areas ..read more

Secretary Calvin Reed Kids. Siblings. Parents. Extended family. Friends. All are important to you.   And you are just as important to them.   At the Kansas Department of Transportation, we understand the importance of family at home AND at work. Across KDOT, our employees share a common mission to provide a safe, reliable and innovative transportation system that works for all Kansans today and in the future. Working together to make this happen, we develop close relationships with co-workers and associates across the agency. I often hear mention of “our KDOT family” and kno ..read more

By Angie Landon Dunsworth Miranda Dunsworth On the night of June 20, 2012, Miranda was spending the afternoon with her boyfriend. Hours went by and it started getting late, and still no sight of Miranda. A rush of emotions went through my body, I started to feel anxious. I began texting her and calling her and no answer. At first, I tried not to let my gut or mother’s intuition take over, but I could feel something was wrong. I kept trying to get in contact with her. I wanted to wake up my husband and tell him she wasn’t home, but I couldn’t do it. I kept telling myself she was going ..read more

 By Todd Linder March 13, 2023, I lost my 16-year-old Cassandra Kay Linder in an automotive crash in Garden City. My daughter’s car was struck head-on by a commercial truck that swerved into her lane. At 4:45 p.m., I received a call from a deputy sheriff who told me that Cassy had been in a bad car crash and that she was alive but hurt very badly and that I needed to rush to the hospital. I rushed out of UniFirst and into my car and drove and prayed all the way to the hospital. When I arrived, some nurses had come out and said she was alive, and the doctors were doing everything they cou ..read more

By Mallory Goeke I’ve worked at KDOT for more than seven years. I help create social media content and graphics to encourage travelers to drive safely. I also try to remind my own family members to put the phone down, because distractions while driving are dangerous. When thinking about distracted driving, the first things I think of are texting or using social media, chatting with passengers, eating, putting on make-up, etc. None of those things contributed to my crash last October. I had a million things to do. I had just finished a round of physical therapy, and my mom was coming to visit ..read more

Chris Fasching  My name is Chris Fasching, and I am the Highway Maintenance Superintendent for Area Three in Bonner Springs (Kansas City). I joined KDOT in 1990 as an Equipment Operator I, and I have been working in Area Three my entire career.  Safety in work zones has always been emphasized at KDOT since my very first day. I have worked in all types of work zones, from rural two-lane to multilane interstates, and I have seen a lot of close calls. They always get your blood pumping and make everyone on the job angry. There have been many times that I thought a co-worker mi ..read more

  By Jim Stauffer When someone shares a message about safe driving, we are used to seeing them share about wearing seat belts and avoiding distractions. In my time working for the Kansas Turnpike Authority, our organization has shared those same messages, but something I have experienced is the number of wildlife incidents we have on the road. My job requires me to travel the Turnpike daily, and I have come across a number of motorists who have been in accidents with wildlife. In fact, KTA’s recent safety assessment showed 28% of single vehicle crashes are with an animal. Deer will alwa ..read more

  Raul Carrillo When my dad was teaching me how to drive at the age of 14, he always preached to me to pay attention to my surroundings and have a plan in case something goes wrong in front of me.  My name is Raul Carrillo and for the last 25 years, I have served as a Kansas State Trooper. On the morning of February 21, 2018, I found myself following his valuable advice as I not only saved my own life, but I also saved the life of someone else. I was patrolling northbound on I-35 near El Dorado in Butler County when I witnessed a southbound 2017 Kenworth, hauling 7,500 gall ..read more