Cars and trucks have never been safer. Features like forward-collision and blind spot warning systems are now standard features on most new models. Vehicles can alert us about objects we may not be able to see and can even brake automatically.
For decades, motor vehicle deaths declined as safety technology improved. However, in 2020, traffic deaths started to trend upwards again. And that was during a pandemic in which Americans were driving less. So, what happened?
No matter how many safety features our cars have, there’s a weak link in the safety chain: human beings. Ironically, while the technology in our vehicles has the potential to keep us safer, the technology in our hands—namely, our digital devices—are blamed for an increase in deadly distracted driving.
Evidence also suggests that aggressive driving is becoming more commonplace. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association reports that, over the last 10 years, fatal crashes linked to aggressive driving rose nearly 500%.
Whatever the specific causes of fatal crashes, the numbers don’t lie. Our roads are getting deadlier, as these statistics show:
- In 2020, more than 38,000 people nationwide lost their lives in traffic crashes—the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2007.
- Traffic fatalities rose again in 2021 (42,939) and fell only slightly in 2022 (42,795).
- Nearly 3,900 people died in Texas traffic crashes in 2020.
- 2021 was the second deadliest year on record for Texas motorists, with 4,497 people killed—the most since 1981 and an increase of 18.4% compared to 2020.
- The death toll on Texas roadways was 4,481 in 2022.
To put these numbers in perspective:
- In 2022, a person was killed every 1 hour and 57 minutes on Texas roads.
- The last deathless day on Texas roadways was November 7, 2000.
And to drive home the point that human error is the leading cause of deadly accidents:
- 1,522 of the 4,480 Texas road deaths in 2021 (34%) were caused by speeding.
- Other leading causes of Texas traffic fatalities are driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and distracted driving.
- In 2022, 26% of people killed in motor vehicle crashes were killed by drunk drivers.
- Also in 2022, there were 484 people killed in crashes involving distracted driving—an 11% increase from 2021.
Today’s cars and trucks may be marvels of technology, but they can’t overcome every bad decision drivers make behind the wheel. Good, old-fashioned caution, courtesy, and common sense save lives, and are the key to making good on TxDOT’s #EndTheStreakTX campaign.
Deadly crashes don’t just involve one vehicle colliding with another, either. They also involve cars colliding with pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcycles, and workers on the side of the road. In addition to Texas’ rise in motor vehicle traffic fatalities, the state is seeing an uptick in bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities and work zone fatalities.
The persistence, and indeed the rise, of fatal car accidents caused by negligent drivers underscores the need for Texas wrongful death lawyers with a proven track record of verdicts and settlements in this area.
