On November 7 of this year, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) commemorated an anniversary everyone in Texas should want to relive. You see, that marked the 18th anniversary of the last day in the state of Texas without a road fatality.
Here is their Tweet:
Since Nov. 7, 2000, at least one person has died on Texas roadways every single day. That’s 18 straight years of daily deaths on our roads. Not something to be proud of. #EndTheStreakTX. pic.twitter.com/OHBuFr6lfl
— Texas Department of Transportation (@TxDOT) November 7, 2018
That means, over the course of 18 years, at least one person has died in a car crash on a Texas road every single day. It’s a trend that TxDOT is anxious to see reversed.
San Antonio and Bexar County Accident Statistics
Unfortunately, Bexar County is doing only slightly better than the state as a whole. The fourth largest county in Texas based on population, according to data produced by TxDOT, our county could be doing better. While the number of fatalities on Bexar County roads dropped from 225 in 2016 to 163 in 2017, over the past several years, there have been two fatal crashes every five days.
Recently, TxDOT released data on all of the more than. 50,000 crashes that happened in 2017. There was a lot of useful information contained in the data regarding Bexar County, such as:
- The late summer through fall was the deadliest period, with 42 percent of crashes happening between August and November.
- November was the deadliest month on Texas roads last year, with 19 fatal crashes.
- One-third of all fatal crashes happened between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
- 18 of the fatal accidents happened between the hours of 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.
- About 10 percent of all fatal crashes involved drivers who were either 22 or 23 years old.
- In all, eight fatal accidents involved large commercial trucks, while 11 fatal crashes involved motorcycles.
Where Are the Deadliest Roads in San Antonio?
The data provided by TxDOT also including identification of the deadliest traffic spots in San Antonio. Not surprisingly, the highest number of fatal accidents occurred on roads featuring high speeds and heavy congestion, like I-10, I-35 and Loop 410, but the more than 50,000 accidents that occurred last year were spread throughout San Antonio and Bexar County in general and TxDOT helpfully apportioned them by Zip Code.
Here are the 15 locations with the highest number of crashes in San Antonio in 2017 :
#14 (tie) – Northwest Loop 410 and Rittiman Road & Northwest Loop 410 and Culebra Road – 51 crashes each.
#13 – Northwest Loop 410 and Highway 151 – 52 crashes.
#12 – West Loop 1604 North and Culebra Road – 54
#11 – Highway 151 and West Military Drive – 56
#9 (tie) – Northwest Loop 410 and San Pedro Avenue & Northwest Loop 410 and Wurzbach Road – 61 each.
#8 – Northwest Loop 410 and Walzem Road – 62
#7 – Alamo Ranch Parkway and Westwood Loop – 79
#6 – North Loop 1604 East and I-35 – 82
#5 – Northeast Loop 410 and I-35 – 90
#4 – West Loop 1604 North and Highway 16 – 92
#3 – U.S. 281 and I-35 – 108
#2 – Northwest Loop 410 and I-10 – 124
And the most dangerous location in San Antonio – at least the location with the most traffic accidents is:
#1 – Loop 1604 and I-10 – 216 crashes.
The number of accidents in San Antonio and Bexar County is going in the right direction, but we all have to do better. It’s been more than 18 years since the state of Texas saw a day without a road fatality, and that is something we should all strive to do again. We should all drive safely, drive sober and resist the distractions, for example. We should always concentrate on our driving, especially in the locations listed above.
As we head into the holiday season, the Hill Law Firm wants everyone in San Antonio to drive safely, so that everyone can arrive home alive and safe.