Traffic accidents are on the rise, especially those that involve a fatality. For residents of Texas, these pose a significant threat to the health and safety of the public.
Traffic accidents
For the last few years, many people have felt that the roads were more dangerous, and that for drivers as well as pedestrians, the risk of an accident has gone up. There is research and data to back this up. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analyzes how many traffic fatalities take place each year. 2021 was the most dangerous year on record, with over 42 thousand fatalities. That makes it one of the most dangerous years on record for traffic deaths, as well as a sharp increase from the year before. All kinds of different accidents went up, from single-vehicle crashes to large, multi-vehicle incidents with trucks.
Traffic fatalities can be shocking and unexpected. Generally, car accidents have some kind of human error involved. Whether that be intoxication, distraction, or a driving mistake, the causes of accidents are rarely just the environment. That means many of the traffic fatalities that take place are avoidable and preventable if all drivers were careful and took the right precautions. It is not clear exactly why last year was so much more dangerous than ordinary, and it remains to be seen if the trend will continue. Some cities and states are taking extra care to pass laws and redesign roads in ways that should help reduce accidents.
Regardless of those actions, the people behind the wheels of cars and trucks are still a significant source of mistakes that lead to fatal accidents.