The Kansas City area experienced an unusually cold Halloween. In fact, it marked the second coldest October 31 over the city’s 130 plus years of existence. Along with the cold weather came icy conditions on the city’s roads, which in turn seems to have contributed to a large number of auto accidents.
The Kansas City Police reported that they responded to 116 accidents during the hours of the morning commute on Halloween. Of those 116 responses, 77 of the accidents involved personal injuries. One of the accidents involved a critical injury to at least one of the victims.
The police’s numbers did not include minor accident reports. Given the issue with the weather, police had to encourage those who were involved in accidents where all those involved could drive away to exchange information and report the accident later.
Authorities serving other communities in the area reported a larger number of accidents in the suburban areas around Kansas City. At least one law enforcement agency issued a warning to motorists that winter driving conditions are always possible in late October and early November.
Of course, it will take some time to sort out which of these recent accidents were related to the weather and which would have happened regardless of the conditions. Likewise, there were no hard numbers on how many of these accidents involved multiple vehicles. Nevertheless, this recent winter weather serves as a good opportunity to remind residents on both the Missouri and Kansas sides of the city that motorists must exercise extra care and adjust their speeds during wintry driving conditions. If they do not do so and cause an accident as a result, they may be financially liable for their negligence.