Dallas Office

Dallas is one of the most dangerous cities in the country—and is the most dangerous city in Texas—for driving. About 90% of trips in Dallas are made by car, and with the city’s growth rate exploding, road congestion could be on the rise as well. The City of Dallas has committed to a plan called Vision Zero that aims to eliminate all traffic deaths by 2030. But Dallas has a long way to go: about two people are killed every week on Dallas streets.

While Dallas is changing, the reasons for car accidents stay more or less the same. Aggressive and distracted driving, speed, driving under the influence, and failure to obey traffic laws top the list of accident causes year after year.

Lots of people are moving to Texas. Dallas is a main recipient of that growth. Jobs, affordability, low taxes, a thriving cultural scene, and mild winters are major draws to Dallas, which is on pace to gain around 1.4 million residents between 2020 and 2029, according to local movers ATB Moving. That puts Dallas on pace to surpass the size of Chicago in the coming years.

More people means more cars on the road in the Dallas metro area. Dallas residents travel by car 88% of the time. A high car use rate could be part of the reason why Dallas was recently rated the most dangerous city for driving in the United States.

Compared to the national average, you’re about 46% more likely to be involved in a car crash on Dallas streets. Dallas has the nation’s second-highest traffic fatality rate among the 15 largest cities, ahead of Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, and Austin, and trailing only Jacksonville, Florida. The latest data from the Texas Department of Transportation shows that Dallas had nearly 32,000 total crashes in a single year, including 205 fatal crashes and 959 serious injury crashes.

An influx of new residents is likely to strain the city’s already-stressed infrastructure. Dallas currently needs to spend $212 million more per year to keep street conditions from declining below current levels. Street maintenance projects could address changes in lane markings, street design, lighting, signage, and police traffic enforcement as part of the city’s Vision Zero project. The project aims to achieve, “The ability to travel safely throughout Dallas, without fear of collision or injury.” Specifically, the Dallas City Council has a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and cutting serious traffic injuries in half by 2030.

A Dallas Department of Transportation data analysis presentation to the city council found that over 60% of fatal and severe injury crashes in Dallas occur on just 8% of the city’s streets. According to the analysis, the top contributing factors in Dallas car accidents include: speed, driving under the influence, failure to drive in a single lane, and failure to yield when turning left.

This analysis explains in part why Dallas city streets have twice as many fatalities as Dallas interstates. Infrastructure concerns also help explain the high number of Dallas County work zone crashes. There were more than 2,605 Dallas County work zone crashes in 2020—the highest number in the state.

Road and infrastructure fixes may be able to improve road safety, but it is drivers who bear the biggest share of the blame for traffic accidents. Dallas is known for its fast and often reckless drivers. Over a single month in the summer of 2021, Dallas police issued hundreds of tickets to aggressive drivers, such as those who speed or make improper lane changes.

Distracted driving is another major contributor to Dallas car accidents. Statewide, 1 in 5 crashes involves a distracted driver. Texans have been prohibited from texting while driving since 2017, but despite the new law, rates of texting, taking photos, playing music, and even emailing and using social media behind the wheel have remained virtually unchanged.

While smartphone distractions are a relatively new phenomenon, alcohol-impaired driving is a perennial problem. Dallas County is near the top statewide in terms of DUI-related crashes, averaging around 2,000 per year to go along with dozens of related fatalities and hundreds of injuries. Across Texas, 25% of the people killed in motor vehicle crashes are killed in alcohol crashes.