Many experts hoped that the trend of high numbers of deaths on American roads would be impacted by the pandemic in a good way. The hope was for fewer drivers on the road due to lockdowns to lead to fewer car crashes and deaths. Sadly, the opposite results are being confirmed as data is collected and compared between 2020 and 2021. This means Texas and Americans need to be wary as roads become more dangerous than ever before.
In 2020, the number of deaths on Texas and American roads soared higher during the pandemic. Approximately 38,680 people were killed on American roads. Nearly 4,000 of those fatalities were on Texas roads. The astonishing data gathered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that Americans drove over 430 billion miles less than in 2019, yet deaths rose by over 7%.
In 2021, the U.S. government has already gathered sufficient data to estimate deaths due to motor vehicle crashes to be over 20,000 in the first six months of 2021 alone. The total amount of deaths in the first six months of 2020 was approximately 18.4% less. This is an alarming growth of deaths that only points to a crisis that is out of control with reckless drivers making poor choices behind the wheel.
Families in Texas, specifically, are losing loved ones due to crashes at alarming rates, particularly in rural areas. There was not a single day in 2020 where a Texan did not die as a victim of a car crash. The top causes of death are known to be ones involving alcohol, distracted driving, and single vehicles run-off the road. Further, over 200,000 Texas were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2020. With the trends only pointing in the direction of more deaths and injuries, victims of car crashes need to be prepared to reach out to an experienced attorney immediately as insurance companies are busy processing thousands of claims with the goal of lowballing each and every victim.
If you or someone you know has been injured or killed as a result of a motor vehicle accident, please do not hesitate to contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling 713-222-7211 or toll-free at 1-800-594-4884 to see if you or your family have a claim.