San Antonio is largely a car-dependent city. If you live and work here, chances are you drive a car to and from work. Commuters utilize their personal automobile more than 90% of the time in San Antonio, compared to 3% who use public transportation and 2% who walk. That’s the highest car commuter rate in Texas. And the overwhelming majority of the city’s commuters make the drive alone, according to the San Antonio Report.

San Antonio’s dependency on the single-occupancy vehicle is understandable when you consider the large land size of the city. Over the years, it’s continued to spread out as more people move to San Antonio, which is one of the ten fastest-growing cities in the nation. The Alamo City’s population grew by 1.3 percent from July 2019 to July 2020. By 2050, the San Antonio metro area is expected to have more than four million people.

The I-35 corridor is the nation’s fastest-growing region. But congestion along Interstate 35 could threaten San Antonio’s economy. Over the last two decades, the number of cars traversing the Loop 1604-Interstate 10 interchange doubled.

Bexar County is in line for major infrastructure projects, including expansions of I-35, Loop 1604, I-10, and U.S. Highway 90. Although this could ease congestion in the long term, in the short term, it increases the risks of work zone crashes and injuries. Bexar County has the second-highest number of work zone crashes in Texas, averaging more than 2,000 per year.

The City of San Antonio is striving to become less dependent on the single-occupant vehicle as part of its SA Tomorrow plan. San Antonio also embraces Vision Zero, a project to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries on City roadways. Infrastructure enhancements, including those that focus on pedestrian and cyclist safety, are a central part of Vision Zero, but automobile accidents account for the majority of fatalities and serious injuries by a wide margin.

The Vision Zero crash map shows where San Antonio car crashes tend to cluster. A large number of crashes occur within the city core; along the northern portions of Loop 410 and IH-10; along south IH-35; and along the northern part of Loop 1604.

There were more than 33,000 San Antonio car crashes in 2020, per TxDOT. The good news is, that number is down from more than 45,000 in 2014. The bad news is, there are nearly 100 crashes in San Antonio every day.

Compared to other Texas cities, San Antonio ranks eleventh for driver safety, with 8.81 fatal accidents per 100,000 residents. It’s the twelfth most dangerous city in the state for drunk driving and second most dangerous for speeding. The worst roads for speeding in San Antonio, reports Value Penguin, are I-410, I-35, I-10, US-90, and US-281.

San Antonians are generally known as a friendly bunch. On the road, their manners appear to be less cordial. A survey of 2,000 Texans gave San Antonio a score of 4.2 out of 10 for how drivers rate their relationships with other drivers. Nationwide, Allstate ranks San Antonio 138 out of 200 for its Best Drivers Report. San Antonio drivers go an average of 8.2 years between collisions and have a collision likelihood that’s 29% above the national average, says Allstate.

There’s no two ways about it: San Antonio is one of the worst cities in the country for driving.

This fact does not excuse the actions of individual drivers. Car accidents happen for many reasons. The common cause in almost every case is drivers acting carelessly.

Statistically, during the time that you own your current car, you’ll be involved in a San Antonio car accident. After a crash, things may not get any easier as you deal with the insurance company. Insurance companies act like they’re on your side—until you need them to step up. Instead of paying you on time and in full, they might delay, deny, or underpay your claim.

The insurance company wants to pay you as little as possible. Jim Adler & Associates wants to make sure you get every cent of compensation you deserve. We don’t just say we’re on your side. You’re important to us, and that’s how we’ll treat you. Our 300-member team of San Antonio personal injury attorneys and support staff are on a mission: to make sure you’re treated fairly and compensated fully. That’s the Adler Advantage.

Jim “The Texas Hammer” Adler has helped thousands of injured Texans since 1973. Find out how we can help you and your family during a free case review.