Houston Traffic Accidents Are On The Rise, Study Shows

HOUSTON, TX — Traffic and weather are big deals in Houston, and if one listens to local radio and watches area TV news, the daily litany of tractor-trailer crashes, pick-up truck rollovers, and major backups and jams caused by crashes becomes part of the zeitgeist. Yes, traffic in the Houston area can be atrocious.

A study from the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) adds yet more evidence that things are getting out of control on the roadways in and around the Bayou City. Specifically, traffic crashes in the region increased by 62 percent from 2011 to 2016, and crash rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled jumped by nearly 39 percent.

The council said it hopes the study's findings would help contribute to its efforts to improve transportation infrastructure in the greater Houston area.

The study includes a few interesting tidbits, including that Friday is the most dangerous day of the week on Houston-area roads and October the most dangerous month, based on data from 2009 through 2015.

The HGAC's Regional Safety Council, which was established to improve road safety in the region, seeks to promote information-sharing, establish safety goals and performance measures, coordinate safety efforts across the region's jurisdictions, and identify policy issues concerning safety." It will hold a meeting on Wednesday, April 26, beginning at 1:30 p.m. at 3555 Timmons Lane in Houston. For further information, contact Stephan Gage at 713-499-6692.

— Image: Wikimedia Commons/Ed Edahl