Speeding was leading cause of Texas' traffic deaths in 2024; Campaign cracks down enforcement
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Texas Department of Transportation is partnering with law enforcement agencies across the state to crack down on speed limit enforcement.
TxDOT is implementing "Operation Slowdown" starting on Friday. The operation is a "high visibility speed limit enforcement period" that will run from July 18 through August 3, according to TxDOT.
Law enforcement officers will write tickets and spend extra time driving the roads to remind motorists what a safe speed looks like, the release noted.
Speeding is the number one contributing factor in traffic crashes in Texas, according to a press release from TxDOT. It was also the leading cause of crashes that resulted in deaths last year.
In 2024, there were 158,362 speed-related crashes in Texas, and 1,467 people were killed as a result of speeding. The total death toll from crashes in 2024 was 4,150.
That means a little over a third (35.349%) of all crash fatalities in Texas last year were a result of excessive speeding. TxDOT said speed-related crashes resulted in 5,921 serious injuries.
"Speeding is a major problem in our state," Cathy Kratz, Deputy Director for the Traffic Safety Division at TxDOT, said at a press conference Wednesday morning.
Kratz said an average of more than 430 crashes every day in 2024 involved motorists driving too fast.
"But these tragedies are preventable," Kratz said. "That's because speeding is a choice. It's not an accident. When you choose to drive at an unsafe speed, you put your life at risk, as well as the lives of others, every other person on the road with you, and unfortunately, in Texas, many don't recognize the risk associated with speeding, and that's why speeding is so common."
Kratz said TxDOT crash data revealed that the majority of drivers in speed-related crashes were men and younger people, and that they "may not believe the worst case scenario will ever happen to them," or that they "may feel invincible."
"Our goal with this campaign is to convince drivers they are not invincible, and that getting somewhere just a little faster isn't worth the risk," Kratz said. "Speeding doesn't save time, it costs lives, and if our safety messages don't convince them, maybe the risk of an expensive ticket will get drivers' attention."
According to TxDOT data, Travis County was the fifth-highest county in Texas when it came to fatal crashes that were a result of speeding in 2024.
The five counties with the speed-related fatal crashes were:
- Harris: 176
- Dallas: 118
- Tarrant: 86
- Bexar: 66
- Travis: 42
Lieutenant William White with the Austin Police Department said speeding was a factor in nearly 9,000 traffic crashes that resulted in 92 fatalities and another 444 serious injuries within the TxDOT Austin District.
"These numbers aren't just statistics. They represent real people with families, friends and coworkers who cared, loved them and will forever miss them," White said.