It’s Been 23 Years Since Texas Made It a Day Without Any Fatalities

When I first heard this, I was in awe - it's been over 23 years since Texas has gone a day without one single fatality. Yes, every day there are deaths caused by crashes on the Texas highways. It is just over 23 years ago when we had a day with not one single fatality.

The eye-opening fact is that on average there are no less than 12 roadway deaths occurring daily on the roads statewide.

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While fewer roadway fatalities are worth noting, the heartbreaking fact remains that it's been since November 7, 2000, that we had a death-less day on the Texas highways. The sad fact remains that the streak of daily deaths has continued since November 7, 2000.

However, our state legislators have invested over $17 billion dollars on roadway safety improvements. While today's Texas roadways are much safer, we must all work together to improve our driving skills to save more lives.

Some small noticeable improvements have helped lower the traffic fatality numbers. One is that the state has increased the size of pavement striping from four inches to six inches. That extra two inches enhances the visibility of striping on the roads, encouraging drivers to slow down.

Other safety changes and contributing factors are:

• Providing a wider centerline buffer between double yellow stripes
• The addition of rumble strips or raised pavement markers on undivided highways to alert drivers when they cross the centerline
• Building innovative intersections like roundabouts can decrease fatalities at intersections by 90%
• Implementing a “Safer by Design” program to give roadway designers a way to model safety performance from most of the key design elements used in projects
  Source: TXDOT.gov