Texas highways are fast, but are they dangerous? Here’s what a national road study says

Dalia Faheid
·2 min read
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Texas is the state with the 10th highest rate of deadly crashes from speeding, a new study reveals.

To find out which state had the highest proportion of fatal crashes with speed as a contributor, business litigation and personal injury lawyers Heninger Garrison Davis analyzed the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Speed-related factors include a driver exceeding the speed limit, driving too fast for the road conditions or racing.

“The NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System is a vital tool in identifying how and where fatal crashes occur, which can hopefully be used to reduce the number of accidents on our roads, which includes speed related fatalities,” a spokesperson for Heninger Garrison Davis wrote in a news release.

In Texas, 21% or 857 of the 4,068 total fatal crashes involved speed. That rate is 21% greater than the national average. Speeding is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $500 in the state. TxDOT recently launched the statewide “Be Safe. Drive Smart” speeding awareness campaign, urging drivers to slow down to help save lives.

Wyoming topped the list with the highest proportion of fatal crashes, 28%, where speed was a contributing factor. Utah was second with 27% of deadly crashes involving speed, while Virginia was third with 26%. Missouri, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Delaware and Mississippi had the next highest proportions of fatal crashes before Texas. Idaho had the lowest proportion of fatal crashes due to speeding, at 4%.

“The faster you travel, the less time you have to react to developing situations on the road, making a collision much more likely. Traveling at a higher speed also makes it significantly harder to stop or maneuver around a collision ahead of you,” the spokesperson said. “Ensuring that you leave an appropriate amount of space in front and to the sides of your vehicle, should allow ample time to react to developing situations around you and minimize the risk of being involved in a serious accident.”