Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts for 2019

Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts for 2019

Yearly Report Gives Us an Overview of Accident Statistics from Across Texas

Not many people know it has been over 20 years since we have gone a day without a fatality here in Texas. The day was November 7, 2000 and since then we have unfortunately seen at least 1 death, a day on Texas roads. In that 20-year time-period our state has seen nearly 67,000 fatalities from vehicle crashes on our roads, freeways and highways.

According to data from the Texas Department of Transportation the overall numbers for 2019 reflect the following changes and trends:

• 1 person was killed every 2 hours 26 minutes. 1 person was injured every 2 minutes 3 seconds. 1 reportable crash occurred every 56 seconds;
• A total of 256,338 people were injured in car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and other forms of motor vehicle crashes;
• A total of 12,897 serious injury crashes were recorded, with a total of 15,843 people sustaining a serious injury (incapacitating injury as a result of a traffic accident in Texas);
• Crashes occurring in intersections or related to an intersection accounted for 731 deaths;
• A little more than half of all deaths resulting from car crashes, 51.69% were in rural areas of the state. The total number of fatalities from traffic crashes in rural areas was 1,866;
• 600 people were killed in head-on crashes;
• There was at least one traffic accident that resulted in 6 or more deaths;
• In total, Texas saw a slight decrease in total traffic deaths for the year, with 3,610 recorded for 2019. The year prior, 2018 saw 3,652 recorded deaths on Texas roadways;
• Deadliest day in 2019? Unfortunately there wasn’t just one. . . Wednesday, June 5th and Saturday, December 7th. Both days saw 21 people killed in traffic crashes;
• Deadliest month for traffic deaths in Texas? December recorded a total of 333 deaths;
• 25% of people killed in traffic crashes involved a driver under the influence of alcohol, accounting for a total of 886 deaths;
• Most DUI – alcohol crashes occur between 2:00am and 3:00am. Most of the crashes involving a drunk driver take place on Saturday’s;
• The number of traffic accidents involving distracted driving decreased 6% in 2019, however it still accounted for 377 people killed because of distracted drivers;
• Motorcycle operators and passengers were nearly 15% of the total traffic crash deaths in Texas in 2019. A total of 410 motorcycle operators were killed for the year.