Texas Roads Haven't Had A Death-Free Day Since 2000

Photo: Tamir Kalifa / Stringer (Getty Images)

The Texas Department of Transportation recently launched a new safety initiative called, “Be Safe. Drive Smart,” that’s focused on getting drivers to slow down. Based on the press release, it sounds like a pretty standard safety campaign that most people are going to ignore until they get ticketed during a period of more aggressive traffic enforcement. And then they’ll go right back to driving the same way they always have because why wouldn’t they?

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Just check out these absolutely groundbreaking recommendations TxDOT has for drivers:

Match your speed to road conditions if there’s bad weather or you’re driving through a work zone.Slow down and allow for more distance to stop when traffic is heavy or roads are slick.Watch for road signs alerting you of reduced speed limits ahead.

Technically, they are good tips. Driving too fast for conditions is a great way to end up on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck. But it’s not like anything really jumps out at you or grabs your attention. Do you even remember the three tips you just read? Of course you don’t. And yet, buried at the bottom of the entirely forgettable press release, is a fun little fact that definitely gets your attention. Apparently, Texas has had at least one road death per day since 2000.

Yes, you read that correctly. The last time Texas went an entire day without someone dying on its roads was November 7, 2000. Bill Clinton was still president back then. You weren’t yet sick of hearing Lifehouse’s “Hanging by a Moment.” Florida State still thought it had a shot at winning back-to-back national championships. Babies born that day can legally drink alcohol now. That’s a long period of time to go without having a single day where someone isn’t killed on the roads.

Granted, Texas is a big state with a lot of people, but come on. How is that something you leave for the very end of a press release? Maybe it’s been reported so many times that even TxDOT no longer thinks it’s notable? Are Texas residents so desensitized to people dying in their state that it no longer gets their attention? Clearly, there’s something wrong with Texas. Although, there’s also something wrong with our entire country since we’re the only developed nation in the entire world where the roads continue to get more dangerous.