According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), fewer people died in 2024 compared to 2023 in traffic crashes. The state’s total traffic deaths fell by 3.29%, from 4,291 to 4,150

However, this number still means that Texas recorded a reportable traffic accident every 57 seconds. These collisions caused a traffic death every two hours and seven minutes, or roughly 11 fatalities per day, every day, throughout the year.

Table of Contents

What Is a Traffic Fatality?

Before getting into the statistics, you must first understand what they cover. TxDOT uses car accident reports to compile its traffic accident statistics. Traffic fatalities in Texas include any death that results from injuries sustained in a traffic crash within 30 days of the collision.

This definition undercounts traffic deaths in Texas. If someone suffers a brain injury in a collision with a semi-truck and falls into a coma, TxDOT counts his or her death as traffic-related only if it happens within 30 days after the crash. It does not count as a traffic death if the victim survives for three months before succumbing to the injuries.

Additionally, TxDOT’s statistics include injuries from pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, and single-vehicle accidents. In 2024, TxDOT reported deaths in the following crash types:

  • 19 deaths in collisions with animals
  • 1,008 deaths in collisions with fixed objects like concrete barriers and guardrails
  • 27 deaths in collisions with other objects
  • 13 deaths in crashes involving a train
  • 356 deaths in rollover accidents
  • 31 deaths in non-collisions, such as running off the road into a ditch
  • 47 deaths in crashes with parked cars
  • 80 deaths in collisions with bicycles
  • 701 deaths in crashes into pedestrians

Of the 4,150 deaths reported in 2024, only 1,868 resulted from a collision between two or more vehicles in transport.

Using these numbers, you can calculate the following averages for 2024:

  • 1.9 pedestrians died each day
  • 0.2 bicyclists died each day
  • 5.1 motorists died in collisions with other vehicles each day
  • 4.1 motorists died in single-vehicle accidents each day

While these averages are illuminating, traffic deaths do not occur uniformly throughout the year.

Measures of Fatalities and Time

If you divide the total deaths by 365 days, you can calculate an average of 11.4 traffic deaths per day. Traffic deaths in Texas tend to decrease during the winter and increase in the spring, summer, and fall. In 2024, January averaged 9.7 deaths per day, while October averaged 12.7 deaths per day.

According to the state’s fatalities calendar, Texas had no deathless days in 2024. January 19 was the only day with one traffic death. Two days—May 24 and October 27—each had 27 traffic deaths.

May 24 is significant because it occurs during a holiday period. Car accident deaths tend to increase during holidays. The state’s statistics for 2024 include the following holiday fatalities:

  • 55 deaths over Memorial Day weekend, or 13.8 deaths per day
  • 64 deaths over Independence Day weekend, or 12.8 deaths per day
  • 40 deaths over Labor Day weekend, or 10 deaths per day
  • 39 deaths over Thanksgiving weekend, or 7.8 deaths per day
  • 23 deaths over Christmas, or 11.5 deaths per day
  • 26 deaths over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, or 13 deaths per day

Fatalities also vary throughout the week. More deaths tend to occur on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays than on weekdays. This might seem counterintuitive since more people drive on weekdays as they commute to work.

The explanation is impaired driving. It’s a major contributing factor in car accident deaths. Since drinking increases on weekends, drunk driving also increases. In 2024, 49.3% of fatal crashes happened on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, even though these days only account for 42.3% of the days in the week.

Traffic Deaths in Texas

Every traffic death is tragic, but they are not random events. The patterns throughout the year show that increased driving in the spring, summer, and fall leads to a rise in the state’s traffic deaths.

Likewise, drunk driving on weekends and holidays tends to push up the fatality rates. Finally, road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists are more likely to suffer a fatal injury in a collision than motorists due to their added vulnerability.