ODESSA, Texas — In the Permian Basin, car accidents happen far too often.
Bad driving habits like reckless driving and street racing only make the roads more dangerous.
The Odessa Police Department says roads start getting more chaotic during the evening hours on the weekend, but the problem doesn't limit itself to one area.
"The North, Northeast, Southeast, the West... I mean it really can happen anywhere at any time," said Steve Lesueur, the Odessa Police Department Public Information Officer.
The Department tightened up their laws back in 2014 to try and cut down on reckless driving but they say it's still a problem.
"Unfortunately we see serious accidents here in the area all the time that resulted from reckless driving or racing and in some cases, the person died so its something we take very seriously," said Lesueur.
Congestion is also a common problem on our roads.
While they understand some people have a "need for speed", the Odessa Police Department has a 'no tolerance' policy and will make arrests for reckless driving or street racing.
"Our goal isn't to make as many arrests as we can from reckless driving or racing our goal is to keep people from dying. Our goal is to save lives and prevent people from being seriously hurt," said Lesueur. "Where we live it's already congested as it is and you're not only risking your own life but also other innocent people's lives as well."
Driving recklessly is a class B misdemeanor offense.
The next time you're tempted to drive recklessly think about the life you could be saving... it could be your own.
