Now that’s not a chant you’ll hear any time soon here. Why do we have so many automobile and truck wrecks here? And why do we have more than other state?
I’ve been practicing personal injury law in Texas for almost 34 years and have handled hundreds of collision cases .There are unfortunately more and more people getting hurt and killed on our roads.
Take a look at this photo just taken by The Dallas Morning News on the LBJ Freeway. Traffic came to a standstill because of seven collisions before frustrated drivers tried to turn around. Just when you thought traffic in the Metroplex couldn’t get any worse! There is a crash almost every minute of the day in Texas!
Here are more shocking statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation from 2012:
FATALITIES
* Almost 3,400 Texans were killed in crashes;
* This number was almost 11% higher than the previous year;
* One person was killed every 2 hours and 35 minutes; and
* Almost 1,100 of these people were involved in a collision where a driver was DWI (one-third of the fatalities)
INJURIES
* 230,506 people were hurt in accidents;
* That breaks down to a person being injured every 2 minutes and 17 seconds; and
* 87,000 plus of the injuries were reported as serious
Car wrecks are obviously not only a serious problem in Texas but all over the United States. About 10 million people will be in a car or truck accident this year.
Why? What causes all of these crashes? These are the top reasons I see: inattentive/distracted drivers, speeding, and drunk/drugged drivers.
1. Distracted Driving
This is the top cause of wrecks. Drivers who are talking on their cell phones are four times more likely to crash and those who text while driving are 23 times more likely to have an accident. Texas is one of the only states that still permits this often deadly behavior.
2. Speeding
It never ceases to amaze me how people would rather risk being in a wreck than simply slow down on the highway or stop for a traffic light. What’s the hurry?
3. Drunk Driving
Almost 1.5 million drivers were arrested in 2010 due to DWIs. Mothers Against Drunk Driving estimates that each day there are 300,000 incidents of drunk driving.