What Causes Most Car Accidents in Texas?

Any type of motor vehicle collision in Texas can result in serious and life-threatening injuries. When a crash does happen, it often results from a driver’s careless or reckless behavior behind the wheel. If drivers exercised more care and took safety into account more often, fewer accidents would happen on Texas roads and highways. However, motorists continue to behave negligently when they are on the road, and as a result, they cause severe accidents that result in a high rate of injuries and deaths. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (DOT), 2023 saw a slight decrease in roadway fatalities from the previous year, yet nearly 4,300 people were still killed in Texas traffic crashes and nearly 19,000 people suffered serious injuries.

When car accidents happen, it is important to determine the cause of the crash since causation is linked to liability. When another driver causes a crash, they can be held liable financially for personal injuries. What causes most car accidents in Texas? Our Texas auto injury lawyers can tell you more.

Alcohol Impairment 

Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of serious and fatal car accidents in Texas every year. According to the Texas DOT, alcohol impairment was the causal factor in more than 25 percent of fatalities. Those serious and deadly crashes occurred commonly in intersections and in head-on collisions. Alcohol-impaired collisions occurred in rural areas, as well as in suburban and urban areas across the state.

Distracted Driving 

Distracted driving is another leading cause of injuries in motor vehicle collisions in Texas. The Texas DOT definitively cited 403 traffic deaths as being linked to distracted driving, and thousands more nonfatal collisions resulted from distracted driving. It is important to keep in mind that texting while driving is a common cause of distracted driving, but there are many other forms of dangerous and deadly distractions. To be sure, any behavior that takes your eyes, hands, or mind away from the serious task of driving can result in a severe crash. Besides phone use, other frequent causes of distracted driving include eating while driving, grooming while driving, and having conversations with vehicle occupants.

Speeding 

Nearly 140,000 crashes occurred in Texas in 2023 as a result of speeding. Other forms of aggressive driving, such as following too closely or red-light running, are also causes of collisions in Texas. Approximately 30 percent of all collisions in the state are estimated to be speed-related. When a crash is caused by speeding, it may mean that the motorist was traveling at a speed that exceeded the posted speed limit, but it can also mean that the motorist was simply traveling at a speed that was too high to be safe under the conditions (and may have been well below the posted speed limit).

Contact Our Texas Car Accident Attorneys for Assistance

If you were injured in a motor vehicle collision in Texas, or if you lost a loved one in a crash, it is critical to seek legal advice about filing a claim for financial compensation. One of the experienced Texas car accident lawyers at John Reed, Attorney at Law can discuss the details of your personal injury case with you today and can ensure that you file your claim in a timely manner. Contact us today to begin working on your personal injury lawsuit.

Source:

txdot.gov/data-maps/crash-reports-records/motor-vehicle-crash-statistics.html