Kansas Turnpike Authority, State Farm partner for safety
JULY 1, 2010 — State Farm Insurance will partner with the Kansas Turnpike this summer for the State Farm Safety Assist program, re-implementing and expanding the program that helps stranded motorists and makes Turnpike travel safer and easier.
Under the program, two State Farm Safety Assist vehicles will patrol the heavily traveled Kansas City to Topeka corridor. And, for the first time, a unit will patrol the section from Wichita to the Oklahoma border, the Turnpike’s second-busiest stretch. The Safety Assist program will operate from July 1 through Labor Day, Sept. 6.
The sponsorship by State Farm — the largest auto insurer in Kansas and the nation — provides financial resources to help put the assistance program back on the road. From 2000 to 2008, motorist assistance vehicles patrolled the Turnpike, assisting drivers of broken-down vehicles, looking for debris on the road, and helping with accidents or other incidents. Due to the challenging operating environment created by the economy, the program was sidelined in 2008.
“Over the past several years, the Turnpike has put a high priority on reducing operating costs while still providing customers safe, high-quality service,” said Michael Johnston, Turnpike President/CEO. “We appreciate that the State Farm partnership allows the KTA to return Safety Assist to the highway and expand the area where it helps motorists.”
Turnpike employees will patrol in red-and-white State Farm-sponsored vehicles from 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and 3 to 7 p.m. Sundays. They help in a number of ways to promote safety on the Turnpike during the busy summer travel season.
In addition to helping individual customers, State Farm Safety Assist is intended to improve safety by clearing congestion from disabled vehicles and free up time that troopers use to perform normal, important law enforcement duties. Reader’s Digest recently named Kansas roads the nation’s best and singled out I-35. With increased summer travel, combined with improvement projects under way in patrol areas, the Safety Assist program can help preserve that safety honor.
Each State Farm Safety Assist unit carries jumper cables, gas cans, floor jacks and other integral tools to help travelers recover from the unexpected. Services will include:
• Providing fuel to get a customer to next service station.
• Watching for and removing debris from the road.
• Helping change flat tires.
• Calling tow trucks.
• Offering minor mechanical assistance.
• Assisting with traffic direction at accidents and other incidents to clear congestion and lower the risk of dangerous secondary accidents.
• Checking on the welfare of travelers
State Farm is an ideal sponsor as the company, which insures about 1 in 5 cars in Kansas, is a leading advocate for safer roads. State Farm has a long history of supporting auto safety initiatives through partnerships that supply financial and operational resources to organizations such as the Kansas Turnpike.
“Over 286,000 Kansans have come to rely on the quality service and relationships, innovative products, mutual trust, integrity and financial strength provided by State Farm Insurance Companies and the 240 Agents in Kansas,” said John Langcuster, State Farm Kansas Vice President of Agency. “Our support of the Safety Assist program underscores the continued commitment State Farm has to help protect our customers in Kansas and make our roads safer. Safety Assist is a fine example of our good neighbor philosophy.”
The Kansas Turnpike is just the latest roadway to benefit from the State Farm sponsorship of motorist assistance programs. The company operates patrols in partnership with Florida’s Turnpike, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the E-470 tollway in Denver and New York state. More than 40 states have some type of safety patrol.
The State Farm sponsorship in Kansas was announced Thursday, July 1, at news conferences in Topeka and Wichita. Contact Lisa Callahan, (316) 652-2606, for assistance or questions.
For photos of the State Farm Safety Assist, view the Safety Assist folder on the Turnpike’s Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksturnpike.
For video of the Safety Assist in action, download footage at www.travelersmarketing.com/KTA.
About the Kansas Turnpike
The Kansas Turnpike Authority is a privately financed business that operates as an independent instrumentality of the state, performing an essential government function, specifically providing toll-supported transportation services. Turnpike employees are charged with maintaining and improving the roadway and its function as a vital corridor to move people and goods in Kansas.
About State Farm
State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the United States and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm’s 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve more than 76 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.7 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com.
For additional information, contact:
Lisa Callahan
Director of Public Relations
lcallahan@ksturnpike.com
316-652-2606
www.ksturnpike.com
www.twitter.com/KansasTurnpike
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