Dallas County recorded 54,919 motor vehicle accidents in 2022, accounting for nearly one of every ten crashes in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Thirty-nine percent of the auto accidents in Dallas County involved an injury or death, according to the TDOT Annual Texas motor vehicle crash statistics. Across Texas, 35 percent of car, truck, or motorcycle accidents led to injury or death. The estimated economic loss from motor vehicle accidents in Texas in 2022 was $55.9 billion.
When Texans are injured or killed in car accidents in the Dallas area because of someone else’s negligence, the car accident attorneys at Kraft & Associates, Attorneys at Law, P.C., help the unjustly injured demand fair compensation for their losses and medical expenses. If you were injured in an accident that was not your fault, please contact our legal firm at (214) 999-9999. An experienced personal injury lawyer can answer your questions free of charge and discuss whether you have a right to pursue compensation for your accident-related medical bills, lost work income, pain and suffering, and more.
Top Reasons for Car Accidents That You Need to Know
The majority of automobile accidents are caused by driver error in one form or another. Drivers may make negligent decisions while driving, such as by speeding, making an unsafe turn, distracted driving, or driving while impaired by alcohol (drunk driving) or fatigue (drowsy driving).
According to TX DOT, the top crash-contributing factors across Texas in 2022 were:
- Failure to Control Speed (too fast for conditions), causing 136,165 crashes, including 577 fatal crashes and 42,738 causing injuries.
- Unsafe Speed (driving faster than 25 MPH over the posted speed limit), causing 23,633 crashes, including 457 fatal crashes and 8,297 injuries.
- Speeding (driving over the posted speed limit), causing 2,599 crashes, including 299 fatal crashes and 1,627 injuries.
- Driver Inattention (distracted driving), causing 84,887 crashes, including 332 fatal crashes and 24,943 causing injuries.
- Unsafe Lane Changes, causing 45,833 crashes, including 91 fatal crashes and 8,558 causing injuries.
- Failure to Drive in Single Lane, causing 45,632 crashes, including 830 fatal crashes and 13,194 causing injuries.
- Failure to Yield Right of Way to Oncoming Traffic When Turning Left, causing 35,674 crashes, including 23 fatal crashes and 14,670 causing injuries.
- Failure to Avoid a Collision, causing 21,735 crashes, including 273 fatal crashes and 7,451 causing injuries.
- Following Too Closely (rear-end collision), causing 20,681 crashes, including 11 fatal crashes and 6,191 causing injuries.
- Driving Under The Influence of Alcohol, causing 15,402 crashes, including 714 fatal crashes and 6,618 causing injuries.
Drunk Driving Accidents: How Many Crashes Involve Intoxication?
The Texas DOT reports that 15,404 traffic crashes in the state in 2022 involved a driver under the influence of alcohol. Further, TX DOT says 9,011 crashes involved a driver who “had been drinking.”
DUI crashes made up 2.77% of car wrecks in Texas in 2022. But the 714 DUI fatalities represented 16% of the 4,481 fatalities statewide in 2022.
Speeding-Related Accidents: What Percentage of Car Crashes Involve Speeding?
The 26,232 speed-related accidents, including the 23,633 crashes involving a driver exceeding the speed limit by 25 MPH or more, represented nearly 5 percent of traffic crashes statewide in 2022.
Add 136,165 crashes with a driver driving too fast for conditions, and you have 162,397 crashes, or just about 30% of all motor vehicle crashes in Texas recognized as speeding-related crashes.
How Many People Don’t Wear Seat Belts During a Car Accident?
The TX DOT says that of 4,481 people killed in car accidents in the state in 2022, it is known that 1,259 crash victims were not in restraints (lap and/or shoulder seat belt or car seat) while 1,362 were restrained. (For another 336, seat belt use was unknown, and 1,524 are listed as non-applicable in accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians.
In total, 1.4 million people were injured or killed in motor vehicle accidents in Texas in 2022. Among them:
- 1,230,898 were properly restrained — 85%
- 26,129 were unrestrained — < 2%
- 150,486 car accident victims had unknown seatbelt status — 10.5%.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that in 2022, the seat belt use rate was 90% or higher in 26 U.S. states. In Texas, the seat belt use rate was 90.4%.
The TX DOT says that 1,259 of the people killed in motor vehicle accidents in Texas in 2022 were not wearing lap and shoulder seat belts or restrained in a car seat.
When Do Most Car Accidents Occur?
Car accidents occur at any time of the day or night. However, TX DOT records show a distinct rise in the number of car accidents involving injuries between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., which encompasses after-school and after-work rush hour commuting times.
Fatal accidents begin to increase at about 3 p.m. and continue to be higher until midnight.
Fatalities in Car Accidents: Who Are the Victims?
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), many more men than women die each year in motor vehicle crashes. This is because men typically drive more miles than women and are more likely to engage in risky driving practices, including speeding, not using seat belts, and driving while impaired by alcohol.
Male drivers often get into crashes that cause more severe injuries than those involving female drivers. However, women are more likely than men to be killed or injured in crashes of similar severity.
According to NHTSA figures, 72% of people killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2021 were male. Male drivers accounted for:
- 72% of passenger vehicle driver deaths
- 48% of passenger vehicle passenger deaths
- 97% of large truck driver deaths
- 67% of large truck passenger deaths
- 70% of pedestrian deaths
- 86% of bicyclist deaths
- 92% of motorcyclist deaths.
Car Accident Statistics by Age: Who Is Most at Risk?
Figures presented by the National Safety Council show that vehicle occupants ages 25-44 accounted for the highest number of motor-vehicle collision deaths of any age group in 2021. People in that age group represented more than a third of the overall deaths in the U.S. The number of traffic deaths was lowest among children less than five years old.
According to the NHTSA, of 42,939 people who died in traffic fatalities in the United States in 2021:
- 1,184 (3%) were children 14 and younger. Of those 1,184 children, an estimated 294 (25%) were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes.
- 2,116 (4.9%) were young drivers aged 15 to 20, an 11% increase from 1,899 in 2020.
- 7,489 people were aged 65 and older, 17% of all traffic fatalities.
Which Types of Car Accidents Are Most Likely to Be Fatal?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in July 2023 that speed-related fatal crashes had reached a 14-year high in 2021 and made up almost one-third of all traffic fatalities.
Many drivers in speeding-related crashes engage in other risky driving behaviors, the NHTSA said. Drivers in fatal crashes who were speeding were also impaired by alcohol more frequently than drivers who were not speeding. Additionally, more than half of speeding passenger vehicle drivers were not wearing a seat belt, as compared to 23% of non-speeding passenger vehicle drivers.
As the IIHS explains, high speeds make a car crash more likely. Drivers have less time to react to avoid a collision, and speed increases the distance required to stop a vehicle. The resulting collisions are more deadly because modest increases in speed cause large increases in crash energy.
Drivers who speed tend to be younger drivers. Male drivers are more likely than female drivers to speed, the IIHS says. Twenty percent of male drivers involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash, compared with 13 percent of all female drivers in 2021. The proportion of drivers who were speeding in fatal crashes decreased with increasing driver age.
Get Legal Help from Our Experienced Car Collision Lawyers in Dallas
The Dallas car accident attorneys at Kraft & Associates, Attorneys at Law, P.C. have been helping injured people handle personal injury claims for more than 50 years. Our car accident lawyers have seen the combination of speed, alcohol, and inexperience upend many lives in the Dallas Metro area. We seek maximum compensation for clients who have been seriously injured because of other drivers’ negligence or for the families of fatal car accident victims.
Insurance companies that are obligated to the victims of serious car accidents can be difficult to negotiate with when catastrophic injuries call for expensive payouts for medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. Serious injuries can make dealing with an insurance company more difficult. Our law firm has the experience and resources to conduct a car accident investigation and develop a persuasive car accident lawsuit. Our attorneys negotiate aggressively for the appropriate payout while preparing to go to court if necessary.
Our goal is to help our clients demand financial compensation and hold those responsible for their injuries financially accountable. Therefore, we work on a contingency fee basis when we pursue car accident cases. Clients don’t owe us anything unless their personal injury lawsuit is successful. To begin the process of filing your car accident claim, please call us at (214) 999-9999.