Ten People Die Daily on Texas Roadways and TxDOT Wants to #EndTheStreakTX
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On Sunday, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) celebrates a grim milestone: 21 years of reporting daily deaths on its roadways.
Every day since Nov. 7, 2000, at least one person has died on Texas roadways.
More than 75,000 people have lost their lives on Texas roadways since Texas started keeping tabs.
TxDOT, which maintains 80,000 miles of road and supports aviation, maritime, rail and public transportation across the state, said today that over the last several years around 10 people have died every day in crashes around the state.
Even during the height of the pandemic, when traffic dropped by nearly 50%, the death rate climbed to more than 11 people a day.
Texas Transportation Commissioner Laura Ryan, who created the state’s new #EndTheStreakTX campaign, said Texans need to get down to business and reduce fatalities.
“We stick with it,” she said. “We keep telling the story. We fight back when people say personal responsibility is not a thing. It is. And we don’t give up. I am hopeful that it will happen sooner than later, but I am confident that it will happen.”
TxDOT said most crashes are preventable. They are caused by things like speeding, drunk driving and distracted driving.
According to TxDOT San Antonio, the leading cause of fatal vehicle crashes in its region is distracted driving.
The agency said the solution lies through “3 E’s” — engineering, education and enforcement.
Ryan wants Texans to make the best and safest decisions behind the wheel and encourage others to do the same, and to share stories to social media using the hashtag #EndTheStreakTX.
