Flags displayed in remembrance of lives lost in roadway crashes
Yesterday marked a somber anniversary for the State of Texas. November 7, 2000, was the last deathless day on Texas roads and more than 79,000 lives have been lost to preventable fatal crashes since then.
In the 17 South Plains counties served by the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Lubbock District, 222 lives have been lost to vehicle crashes in just the past two years. That’s 13 deaths a county. A flag representing each life will be on display throughout the week at the TxDOT Lubbock District headquarters located at 135 Slaton Road in Lubbock. A snowplow featuring the #EndTheStreakTX logo and message will also be on display.
“It’s a hard thing to hear, but people are dying on our roadways every day. We’re losing mothers, husbands, children, friends and coworkers in crashes that are 100 percent preventable.” said Steve Warren, P.E., TxDOT Lubbock District Engineer. “This week, we’re remembering the lives lost on roads in our communities with a flag display, and hope it serves as a reminder that we have the power to save lives by practicing good driving behaviors.”
Most traffic crashes are preventable and caused by driver mistakes like driving at an unsafe speed, drunk driving and distracted driving. Drivers can help end the streak of daily deaths on our roadways with a few simple diving habits: wear seatbelts, drive the speed limit and drive to weather conditions, put away your phone and other distractions, and never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“For several years, an average of 10 people died on Texas roadways every day. That number is now at 11 daily roadway deaths. It’s heartbreaking and we need to start working together to reverse this trend,” Warren said.
As part of its efforts to end roadway deaths, TxDOT continues to improve its engineering standards when we design, build or repair our highway system and the Lubbock District has added cable median barrier to its major divided highways across the district in an effort to prevent one of the most severe type of crashes—head-on collisions.
Together we can #EndTheStreakTX.
