MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas — The Texas Department of Transportation has been concerned by the rising amount of fatal crashes in the Permian Basin.
Every day since Aug. 10, there has been at least one fatal crash in the Permian Basin area.
According to TxDOT, two of the top contributing factors of fatal crashes are intersection safety accidents and speeding wrecks.
Meanwhile, other contributing factors include not wearing a seatbelt and failure to inspect one's car before going out to drive, among other factors.
“Being on your phone, being tired, trying to discipline your kids or talking to your kids, talking to someone else in your car [and] even eating can distract you enough to make you veer off your lane,” Maryann Cedillo,, TxDOT's public information officer, said.
However, one of the top contributing factors in fatal crashes were roadway and lane departures, something that TxDOT explained in layman's terms.
“Sometimes when you go to pass a vehicle, you depart from your lane and you’re in the opposite lane for traffic and you’re passing them, that’s vehicle lane departure," Cedillo said. "Swerving into someone else’s lane or going into someone else's lane when you’re distracted.”
The younger crowd is getting more and more involved in these crashes as well. According to TxDOT, 29% of fatal crashes and wrecks involve drivers 24 and younger.
“Younger drivers are less experienced than older drivers. They’ve been driving on the road for less time, so there are some rules of the road they may or may not be aware of," Cedillo said. "So when you are younger, you’re more apt to be less of a defensive driver and more of an offensive driver.”