Texas highway-related deaths on the rise
On Tuesday, the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) held a press conference to highlight the anniversary of the End the Streak Campaign and to promote traffic safety.
Representatives from various levels of law enforcement, all the way up to the District Attorney, were in attendance to bring awareness about the dangers posed on Texas roadways and how to prevent such tragedies from occurring.
A twisted and mangled car stood behind the presenters as a stark reminder of the severe consequences of highway-related accidents.
The goal of the End the Streak campaign is to stop fatalities from occurring on our roadways here in Texas. According to Randee Shields, Director of Traffic Operations, in 2022 alone, over 4,400 people died on Texas roadways, making an average of 12 people per day. This is the highest that number has been in years.
Fatalities can result from impaired drivers, distracted drivers and speeding drivers, who not only cause their own death but sometimes that of a pedestrian or bicyclist, according to Sergeant Marc Couch of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Sergeant Couch noted that the largest contributing factor to distracted driving in particular is cell phone use. Now, while Texas does prohibit the “operation of cell phones while driving,” it constitutes a law that is difficult to enforce. Instead, Couch hoped to warn that an average text takes about 4 second to write and send. In just four seconds, an average highway car could travel about 320 feet. Imagine driving with your eyes closed on the highway for 320 feet, and the possible consequences that could arise.
In addition to the dangers that cell phone use can pose, the most surprising fact from today’s conference was that 890 people have perished in the state of Texas alone, due to being unrestrained in their vehicles at the time of an accident. According to Sergeant Couch, the chances of survival increase by 45% when wearing a seatbelt in a sedan, whereas chances increase to 60% in SUVs.
The toughest part of the press conference was hearing the words of accident survivor Tyson Dever. Dever was a college student back in 2005 when he was struck by a distracted driver, who then barreled Dever's car into an oncoming cement truck.
Dever was left paralyzed from the waist down but remarked that “his work here on earth was not done.” Despite his injury, he is still one of the lucky ones who was able to survive a wreck of that magnitude. Dever ended his sobering warning with “every time we get behind the wheel, we have choices to make.”
If it’s not enough to worry about the loss of life, District Attorney Jim Hicks reminded all in attendance of the justice side of potential consequences. He remarked that he prosecutes impaired drivers on a daily basis here in Taylor County, with consequences ranging from a financial burden to a criminal record to incarceration and separation from family and loved ones.
As a result of the continuing increase of roadway fatalities, the Texas Department of Transportation has set aside $17 billion in funding through their 10-year plan to reduce fatalities.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Highway fatalities on the rise in Texas: let's #EndtheStreak
