November 7, 2000: For many, that may seem like an otherwise innocuous date, but if you’re from Texas, it means a bit more than you may realize. It was the last day no one died on the state’s roads. Indeed, for nearly 25 years, at least one person has died every single day on the streets and highways of the Lone Star State, a statistic that adds up to at least 9,000 lives lost.

In response, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) recently launched its #EndTheStreakTX campaign, designed to raise awareness around that hard-hitting fact and encourage Texans to take road safety much more seriously.

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The Real Cost of Texas Roadway Deaths: What We Learn from the Numbers

In 2023 alone, 4,289 people died on Texas roads. Looking a little closer, the following details come to light:

  • 1,467 people died as a result of someone speeding
  • One in four deaths were related to drunk driving
  • Hundreds were killed in instances of distracted driving
  • More than a thousand people died because they weren’t wearing their seat belts

Most individuals tend to accept traffic-related fatalities as an unfortunate inevitability, but these facts show that many of the inciting accidents aren’t random; they are, instead, outcomes of specific choices drivers make.

As the #EndTheStreakTX campaign motto reminds us, “Every day, a child, a parent, a spouse doesn’t come home.” These are lives cut short, futures erased, and families broken, all because of car crashes that could have been prevented on the state’s roads.

You Have the Power to Save Lives

Any Texas motorist can do his or her part to prevent the majority of these deaths. Make sure you do the following:

  • Wear your seat belt at all times
  • Drive at a safe speed
  • Never drive after drinking
  • Put your phone away while driving

There is no special training or fancy equipment required, merely an application of common sense and an adherence to the rules of the road. Together, these four simple actions could save thousands of lives if everyone followed them while driving.

The Actions of the #EndTheStreakTX Campaign

TxDOT is not solely asking people to drive better. It’s also doing its part to make the roads safer through smart design choices, such as:

  • Adding rumble strips that make noise when a car drifts off the road
  • Setting up barriers between lanes to stop head-on collisions
  • Installing flashing signs and radars to prevent wrong-way driving

Furthermore, beyond making the roads more forgiving to reckless driving behavior, TxDOT is also running driver education campaigns. Some of the most dangerous crashes happen because of the choices drivers make, which means teaching and reestablishing the importance of road safety is crucial.

Break the Death Streak on Texas Roads

A streak can end as quickly as it begins. For Texas, all it would take to end a nearly 25-year run of daily deaths is a single day in which everyone in the state drives safely, no one drives drunk, everyone wears his or her seat belt, and people keep their eyes on the road instead of their phones.

Getting 29 million people to drive safely all at once is obviously a tall order. But that’s why TxDOT created the #EndTheStreakTX campaign: to remind everyone of what’s at stake when they don’t.

Most drivers don’t want to hurt anyone—they just don’t think about the risks they’re taking. However, talking about the streak helps people connect their driving choices to real consequences. You may not be able to control other drivers, but you have power over your own actions. And if enough people make safe choices, the streak will end. That would be a day worth celebrating.