Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – The telltale red-and-blue lights in a driver’s rearview mirror can inspire shame and guilt. But those feelings don’t come close to the guilt speeding drivers feel after killing or injuring someone – or the pain a family feels when someone dies in a crash.
Speeding can kill, and someone is always left behind to deal with the painful aftermath.
Speed was a factor in more than 160,000 traffic crashes in Texas last year, and 1,456 people were killed in speed-related crashes. That’s a third of all traffic deaths in Texas.
Lanisa Dehn knows how lives can be forever changed when someone makes the choice to drive at an unsafe speed. In 2020, a young man driving twice the speed limit in Lubbock, crashed into her mother’s car as she tried to make a left turn. Her mother died at the scene.
“If that driver would’ve obeyed the law, my mother might still be here today,” said Dehn. “I hope other drivers will hear my story and protect their fellow Texans by slowing down and avoiding making the same mistake.”
Tragic deaths like that of Dehn’s mother are why TxDOT is partnering with law enforcement to launch its summer Be Safe. Drive Smart. campaign and encourage motorists to slow down.
“Speeding is one of the deadliest problems on our roads,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said. “Getting to the office, home or wherever you’re going a few minutes faster isn’t worth putting your life or the lives of others at risk”.
Speeding is not only dangerous, it can also be costly. The Be Safe. Drive Smart. campaign coincides with Operation Slowdown, a statewide, high-visibility speed limit enforcement period. From July 19 through Aug. 4, Texas law enforcement agencies will step up their efforts to get drivers to slow down or pay up. Be Safe. Drive Smart. means more than following the speed limit. Follow these tips to keep yourself and others safe, and avoid a ticket:
- Match your speed to road conditions, such as bad weather or driving through a work zone.
- Slow down and allow for more distance to stop when traffic is heavy or roads are slick.
- Watch for road signs alerting you of reduced speed limits ahead.
- TxDOT actively monitors roadways throughout the state to identify patterns that may help implement additional safety measures to prevent speeding. Working together, TxDOT, law enforcement, and drivers can save lives on Texas roads.
Be Safe. Drive Smart. messages will be broadcast this month on TV, radio, billboards, gas pumps, theater screens and social media. TxDOT is also hosting community events featuring an interactive exhibit of safety quizzes and video displays at select Buc-ee’s locations along major travel corridors.
Be Safe. Drive Smart. is a key component of #EndTheStreakTX, a broader social media and word-of-mouth effort that encourages drivers to make safer choices while behind the wheel to help end the streak of daily deaths. Nov. 7, 2000, was the last deathless day on Texas roadways.
| SPEED STATS FOR OUR SOUTH TEXAS TEXAS REGION |
| The number of traffic crashes in the *Pharr District in 2023 that involved speeding totaled 9,016. These crashes resulted in 40 deaths and 197serious injuries. |
| From 2022 to 2023, traffic crashes in the Pharr District involving speeding decreased 0.8%, while fatalities resulting from traffic crashes involving speeding decreased 9% and serious injuries decreased 19.3%. |
| *The TxDOT Pharr District includes the 8 southern most counties of Texas: Cameron, Willacy, Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata, Brooks, Jim Hogg & Kenedy. |
| In Brownsville in 2023, there were 1,137 traffic crashes that involved speeding, resulting in 10 fatalities and 37 serious injuries. |
| In Edinburg in 2023, there were 991 traffic crashes involved speeding, resulting in 3 fatalities and 17 serious injuries. |
| In Harlingen in 2023, there were 696 traffic crashes that involved speeding, resulting in 3 fatalities and 9 serious injuries. |
| In McAllen in 2023, there were 1,015 traffic crashes that involved speeding, resulting in 2 fatalities and 11 serious injuries. |
| In Pharr in 2023, there were 1,032 traffic crashes that involved speeding, resulting in 2 fatalities and 7 serious injuries. |
| In Weslaco in 2023, there were 335 traffic crashes involving speeding, resulting in 0 fatalities and 8 serious injuries. |
| STATEWIDE SPEED STATS |
| Are there any demographic groups that are more likely to be involved in a speed-related crash? |
| Men are a special focus of the campaign—especially young men—because they are overrepresented in traffic crashes. Last year, 60% of drivers in speed-related crashes in Texas were men, and drivers under 35 were responsible for half of these crashes. |
| Of the 163,516 drivers in Texas who were involved in crashes in 2023 where speed was a contributing factor: |
| 99,278 were men. |
| 49,064 were women. |
| (15,174 were of an unreported gender.) |
| 47,191 were under the age of 25. |
| 37,646 were age 25–34. |
| 25,561 were age 35–44. |
| 15,736 were age 45–54. |
| 10,721 were age 55–64. |
| 5,472 were age 65–74. |
| 2,629 were age 75 or over. |
| (18,560 were of an unknown/unreported age.) |
| Statewide Data (2023) |
| Speed* ranked as the number one contributing factor in traffic crashes in Texas in 2023. |
| In 2023, overall there were 559,292 traffic crashes in Texas, resulting in 4,280 fatalities and 18,752 serious injuries. |
| In 2023, speed was a contributing factor in 161,737 traffic crashes, resulting in 1,456 fatalities and 5,980 serious injuries. |
| This was a 0.4% decrease in crashes involving speed from the previous year (162,348 in 2022). |
| This was a 1.6% decrease in fatalities involving speed from the previous year (1,479 in 2022). |
| In 2023, 28.9% of all traffic crashes in Texas involved speed. |
| In 2023, 34% of all traffic crash fatalities in Texas involved speed. |
| *Speed data includes Failed to Control Speed, Speeding Over Limit or Unsafe Speed. |