Texas Urging Safety as 20 Year Anniversary of Daily Traffic Deaths Nears

Texas will soon reach its 20^th year of daily deaths on its roadways, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

On Nov. 7 Texas will mark the loss of more than 70,000 innocent lives to preventable fatal crashes during the last two decades. TxDOT said. An average of 10 people die every day in crashes in the state, but the department hopes the status quo can be changed.

“Last year, 20 Texas counties actually had zero deaths on their roadways – that tells me we can end the streak of daily deaths in Texas,” Texas Transportation Commissioner Laura Ryan said in a media release. “This is why in 2019 the Texas Transportation Commission adopted a new goal of having zero deaths on our roadways by 2050, and to cut the number of fatalities in half by 2035. We will do our part; and we need drivers to do theirs.”

Earlier this year, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic levels on Texas highways dropped nearly 44 percent in some parts of the state. This decrease in traffic encouraged TxDOT to think the horrific streak might finally come to an end. Instead, the death rate was unchanged, even with fewer drivers on Texas roads.

“We can and we must do better,” said Ryan.

Traffic crashes have been increasing in Texas’ energy producing areas with deadly effect. Last year there were more than 205,000 crashes in counties defined as the Texas Energy Sector by the Texas Railroad Commission, which includes large portions of West Texas, South Texas and even extends into metropolitan areas like Dallas, Fort Worth and El Paso.

These crashes, which represent a 3% increase from 2018, resulted in 1,638 traffic fatalities in the state’s Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale, Granite Wash, Haynesville/Bossier Shale and Permian Basin.

Source: TxDOT

Topics Texas