Safe driving has continuously been prioritized during every holiday season and this Christmas and New Year holiday are no different.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), an increase of law enforcement personnel will be scattered throughout busy roadways to combat reckless driving and the high rate of wrecks in Texas.
Community members who engage in the consumption of alcohol are encouraged to find alternative means of travel. Law enforcement personnel will be scattered throughout towns and busy highways monitoring drivers.
While wrecks are expected to occur, drivers are also encouraged to be mindful of public safety personnel working along side busy roadways and adhere to safe driving practices to ensure all parties are safe.
Additionally, drivers are encouraged to avoid distractions as emergency lights will be flashing at night and traffic may happen as public safety personnel work alongside busy roadways.
Restraints are always encouraged while driving regardless the distance traveled or how busy roadways are. Several vehicle rollovers throughout the area have reported individuals not wearing seatbelts during vehicle incidents.
Drivers traveling in unfamiliar areas are encouraged to be vigilante of construction and any necessary detours that need to be made. Traveling in unknown areas are high risk situations when distractions could take away the attention of a driver operating a motor vehicle.
Defensive driving has been a top priority for travelers this holiday season. Drivers are encouraged to pull off of the rod if fatigued and allow plenty of time to reach your destination.
On multi-lane roads, use the left lane for passing only. Not only is it courteous driving and avoids impeding traffic, Texas law requires slower traffic to keep to the right and use the left lane for passing only.
The Texas Department of Transportation (DOT) reported 2022 statistics regarding motor vehicle crashes throughout the year.
The Fatality Rate on Texas roadways for 2022 was 1.55 deaths per hundred million vehicle miles traveled. This is a 1.99% decrease from 2021. Texas experienced a decrease in the number of motor vehicle traffic fatalities. The 2022 death toll of 4,481 was a decrease of 0.36% from the 4,497 deaths recorded in 2021. There were 15,299 serious injury crashes in Texas in 2022 with 18,880 people sustaining a serious injury.
The annual vehicle miles traveled in Texas during 2022 reached 289.965 billion, an increase of 1.66% over the 285.224 billion traveled in 2021. Fatalities in traffic crashes in rural areas of the state accounted for 51.42% of the state’s traffic fatalities. There were 2,304 deaths in rural traffic crashes.
Single vehicle, run-off the road crashes resulted in 1,471 deaths in 2022. This was 32.83% of all motor vehicle traffic deaths in 2022. In 2022 there were 1,030 people killed in crashes occurring in intersections or related to an intersection. There were 636 people killed in head-on crashes in 2022. There were no deathless days on Texas roadways in 2022.
Based on reportable crashes in 2022: one person was killed every one hour and 57 minutes; one person was injured every two minutes and nine seconds; and one reportable crash occurred every 57 seconds. Of all persons killed in vehicles where restraint usage was applicable and usage was known in 2022, 48.03% were reported as not restrained when the fatal crash occurred. Roughly 244,092 persons were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2022. There were 562 motorcyclists (operators and passengers) killed in 2022. About 39% of motorcyclists killed were not wearing helmets at the time of the crash. Pedestrian fatalities totaled 828 in 2022.
In 2022, there were 1,163 people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes where a driver was under the influence of alcohol. This is 25.95% of the total number of people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. During 2022, more DUI - Alcohol crashes were reported in the hour between 2 a.m. and 2:59 a.m. than any other hour of the day. Also, more of these crashes occurred on Saturday than any other day of the week. In 2022, there were 484 people killed in crashes involving distracted driving. This is an 11.01% increase from 2021.