Lantern Staff
With inclement weather affecting Kansas, knowing the proper protocol for reporting vehicular accidents that may happen on campus can be helpful.
According to Chief of Police Jason Kenney, if a student has an accident on campus, they should not be afraid to contact the Department of Public Safety (DPS) at (316) 321-7657 or call 911 to make a report. When making the report, some important information to include is the color, make and model of all the vehicles involved, the tag information, where the accident happened, who was involved and how the accident happened. Students should also always have their drivers license and insurance information on hand when driving a vehicle.
“You should leave a note with your contact information, or call us and we’ll run the tags and find out who’s car it is and then we’ll get in contact with them,” Kenney said if a student hits a parked car.
Another common occurrence with accidents is that someone may hit a student’s car and flee the scene without leaving any information. If this happens, they can let DPS know where they are at and DPS can access the cameras to try and see which car hit them and then track it down, and even look at the paint transfers. This is a process that takes some time, but the cameras are the first place the police will look.
“I think the big thing is people get worried when they hit a car that they’re going to get in trouble, accidents happen, but leaving the scene of an accident is bad,” Kenney said.
The punishment will not get the student put in jail, but it is always best to exchange information. Kansas is a no-fault car accident state, meaning each person’s individual insurance pays for their car’s damage.
“Just let us know so we can do our job,” Kenney said.
If the student lives in the dorms, they can also contact their resident assistant for any assistance.
“As resident assistants, we are ‘mandatory reporters’, meaning that if we see or are informed of something regarding accidents or any similar issues, we are required to report it,” Shelby Kraus, a resident assistant at Butler, said. “This also means that we know exactly what to report and who to report it to, and we can help you with the reporting process if you are stressed and need help.”
Another easy and convenient way to get in touch with DPS is to contact them through the Grizzly Safe app. Students can also report a tip and submit photos of the accident through the app.