Every Day For Over 23 Years A Person In Texas Has Died Doing This

Get our free mobile app

November 7, 2000. It is a date that is stuck in the memory of officials in Texas with the Texas Department of Transportation.

Why?

That was the last day where someone didn't die driving or being in a vehicle on a Texas roadway. That's more than 23 years ago and since then at least one person every single day on Texas roadways according to the Texas Department of Transportation. According to KXAN, the string of deaths almost ended this year back in February when just one death was reported. Sadly, there is an average of 12 traffic fatalities each day on Texas roadways.

More than 83,000 Texans have died in Texas traffic accidents in the last 23 years. According to KXAN, nearly half of the deaths are due in part because people were not wearing seatbelts. There are safety efforts underway. Those efforts will cost up to $17 billion dollars over 10 years.

Officials added TxDOT’s latest 10-year plan allocates $17 billion toward safety efforts on state roads. Those include:

• Increasing pavement striping size from four inches to six inches, which officials said improves visibility and can inadvertently encourage drivers to slow down
• Creating wider centerline buffer separating double yellow stripes, as well as adding rumble strips/raised pavement markers on undivided highways to notify drivers when they veer over the centerline
• Constructing innovative intersections like roundabouts, as possible, to try and minimize intersection fatalities

Of course we all play a part in this. TxDOT encourages people to always wear seatbelts while in a vehicle, adhere to traffic laws, and don't drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

TxDOT is hoping to End The Streak of deaths on Texas roadways.