MIDLAND, Texas — Nov. 7, 2000 is the last time Texas went an entire day without a fatal crash on the roadways.
Just last year alone in the Permian Basin, there were 112 crashes that killed 138 people.
On Tuesday, local Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant Steven Blanco held a presentation regarding this topic and how to reduce traffic crashes in West Texas. His three main goals consisted of changing the public’s perspective on speed limits and fatigued driving, highlighting the dangers of distracted driving and highlighting the unique characteristics of commercial motor vehicles.
“That’s why we tell our motorists to follow the traffic signs, follow the traffic signals, follow the traffic control devices," said Blanco.
In 2022, the top three leading causes of fatal crashes in the Permian Basin were a lack of a seatbelt at 53 deaths, intersection fatalities at 30 deaths and distracted driving at 28 deaths.
“Many of our roads here in West Texas, you have oilfield traffic that is slowing down to enter lease roads, and many times drivers are striking those vehicles slowing down from the rear, which leads us to believe that you have distracted driving because, ‘how do you miss a vehicle that’s eight-and-a-half feet wide, 14 feet tall and weighs 80,000 pounds?’," said Blanco.
Over the last several years, there have been 52 deadly crashes involving commercial motor vehicles.
Blanco says that West Texas drivers are not bad, but there are traffic challenges present.
“We have overcrowded roadways, as most people are aware," said Blanco. "We have some aggressive driving. We have a lot distracted driving, but to say that West Texas drivers are bad, I don’t believe that’s a fair account. We do have areas that Texas drivers as a whole – including West Texas – can improve on, especially when it comes to distracted driving.”
When it comes to how to make our roadways safer, education is key.
“It starts with the adults all the way down to our youth drivers," said Blanco. "The adults are the gatekeepers of our communities, and when our teenagers see our adults on the cell phone, driving, that gives the ‘OK’ for our teenagers to be on the cell phone, our young drivers, so it starts with the adults.”
“It’s education, it’s safety, it’s awareness, it’s putting the phone down, it’s putting the seatbelt on," said Blanco. "There [are] a lot of different things that we can do throughout the Permian Basin to make our roadways safer.”
Blanco also said that they list them as crashes rather than accidents because the vast majority of them can be avoided.
His presentation was titled "It Starts With You," and that looks to be the case for everyone who gets behind the wheel.