Texas has some very long stretches of highway and thousands of surface streets. Crashes occur all over the Lone Star State for reasons ranging from impairment at the wheel to distraction. Such issues can put people at risk in any environment, but there are some places where collisions are more likely to occur.
High levels of traffic, difficult maneuvers necessitated by road layout and higher speed limits may all contribute to how dangerous a road is. When researchers look at the number of fatal collisions that occur on different streets, they can quickly establish what roads are the most dangerous in terms of the severity of the collisions that occur there and the frequency with which those collisions happen.
What roads are the most dangerous in Texas?
Highways and interstates are the deadliest roads
Plenty of collisions occur on surface streets in Texas, but these roads often have lower speed limits. Collisions at busy intersections can shut down traffic for hours and lead to thousands of dollars in expenses, but they won’t necessarily be as severe as crashes that occur at the high speeds people use on interstates.
The single deadliest road in Texas is I-10 between Exit 855A and Exit 849. Between 2018 and 2020, this four-mile stretch of highway saw 17 deaths in 17 different crashes. Austin is home to the second and third most dangerous sections of road, which are actually both on the same interstate. I-35 between Exit 238B and Exit 244 had 18 deaths in 16 crashes in the same three years, while the stretch of I-35 from Exit 235B to Exit 229 had 15 fatalities.
I-20, Fm 1093 in Houston, I-30 in Dallas, I-45 in Houston and I-10 in El Paso were also all on the list with multiple deaths in just three years.
How can you protect yourself in traffic?
While certain roads do have a greater likelihood of seeing a fatal collision, a crash can occur anywhere. How frequently you travel a street and your behavior, as well as the actions of other drivers, all influence your risk of a crash.
You don’t necessarily have to avoid interstate travel or even specifically avoid the sections of road acknowledged as having the highest rates of fatal collisions in the state. Instead, you simply need to be more aware of your crash risk in scenarios where your chances of getting hurt may be higher.
Paying very close attention to the traffic around you and learning more about crash statistics in Texas can help reduce your risk of a severe motor vehicle collision.