DALLAS, Texas — A new analysis by Angel Reyes & Associates is revealing where commercial truck crashes are most likely to occur, and where they turn deadly.
“Texas is one of the top trucking states in the country, and this analysis shows the risk is not spread evenly across our roads,” said Angel Reyes, founder and managing partner. “Many of the deadliest corridors are rural state highways where trucks make up nearly half of traffic and posted speeds approaching 75 miles per hour. Drivers who use these roads every day should learn about the increased risk of potential crashes. The findings should push us toward a serious conversation about how freight traffic is managed on them.”
Examining five years of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) data, the firm mapped nearly 58,000 miles of state highway into 25-mile segments, uncovering exactly where severe crashes and fatalities are most concentrated.
Deadliest Stretch
SH 349 between Patricia and Midland in the Permian Basin is the deadliest stretch in the study by fatal crash rate, with nearly three in 10 truck injury crashes (29.2%) involving a death. By overall crash rate, SH 158 through Midland ranks first, at 56.5 truck injury crashes per 100 million truck miles, or 3.9 times the study average.
Key Findings
- The Permian Basin dominates. Stretches of SH 349 and SH 158 around Midland are the only segments to rank on both the crash rate and fatality rate lists, and eight of the 11 deadliest segments in the study are in the region.
- Dallas has the most crashes, but not the deadliest. I-635 recorded 285 truck injury crashes, the most of any segment in Texas and roughly one every six days, yet a crash there is less likely to be fatal than the study average.
- East Texas has the most lethal road. On US 79 near the Louisiana line, one in three truck injury crashes killed someone.
- Rural highways are the common thread. Nine of the 10 deadliest segments are rural, with trucks making up nearly 30 percent of traffic, compared with about 13 percent on the segments with the highest crash rates.
To view the complete rankings, the interactive map and the full methodology behind the analysis, click here.
In August, the firm outlined the most dangerous areas in the country for road rage incidents.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
