Across Texas, there is a statewide push to bring down the number of people killed on Texas roadways and highways.
It’s a crisis that is plaguing the nation and there is a statewide campaign to “End the Streak” of traffic fatalities.
“There’s around an 18% increase in traffic fatalities around the nation and we are seeing a similar amount here in Arlington too,” said Lt. Paul Rodriguez with the Arlington Police Department. “That’s very concerning for us as we have three major roadways that go through our city and we are an entertainment hub for the DFW area.”
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In Arlington, the city has already surpassed last year’s number of fatal crashes and two more people died over the weekend.
A major trend in crashes is excessive speed.
“When I talk about speed, we’re seeing unprecedented speed on the highway, sometimes twice the posted speed limit. So, if the posted speed limit is 65 we have vehicles traveling at 130 miles per hour,” Rodriguez explained. “It’s the same on the surface roads. We’re seeing speeds of 70 or 80 miles an hour on our major thoroughfares in the city.”
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“We are seeing more people post-COVID being impaired on the roadway,” Rodriguez added.
Across the nation, the pacing suggests we could reach more than 40,000 traffic deaths this year.
“We are seeing folks that are not wearing their seat belts. Forty to 50% of our fatality accidents involve people who are unrestrained in their vehicles that probably would have survived the accident if they would have been wearing their seat belt,” Rodriguez said.
