Vigilant effort begins to catch offenders

Note: Anyone who’s lived in the RGV for any length of time should find it hard to believe at the number of road wrecks, road fatalities, we see pass by on a daily, weekly basis. Doesn’t seem like a week goes by without news of another fatal wreck, courtesy of some dysfunctional driver behind the wheel.

Many of the wrecks tend to involve drunk drivers; drivers texting; drivers rolling a doobie while texting, steering with their knee; drivers speeding down the road with a blood-alcohol level of .20.

“I only had two beers.”

Sure.

If the wreck doesn’t involve a fatality, and the crash doesn’t occur during a No-Refusal period when blood will be drawn without their consent to check for alcohol, most will refuse a breathalyzer and plead innocent, and their subsequent DWI case will languish in a county court-at-law where taxpayers will foot the bill for a public defender. And so it goes.

The following press release via TxDOT came to The Advance this Tuesday, so we figured, why not give it a nice spot on the front page, below the fold.

It’s probably a safe bet that most people who will choose to drive in reckless fashion, drunk or sober, probably aren’t the sort who regularly read a newspaper, but you never know, so why not do our part to remind the public that speed can kill. Here one minute; gone the next. The family members left behind are never the same.

In the case of a drunk driver, the irony is, they’re typically the ones, not always, who walk away from the scene of the accident unscathed, leaving behind the devastation they caused.

Road racing is another problem in this era of Go-Pro cameras, where guys, mainly young guys with testosterone bump, measure their manhood by driving fast, shooting through the yellow lights, not caring who gets in the way. Typically, they have no car insurance.

Enough said for an introductory note to a press release, which was meant to be brief.

From TxDOT:
July 16, 2024

AUSTIN – The telltale red-and-blue lights in a driver’s rearview mirror can inspire shame and guilt. But those feelings don’t come close to the guilt speeding drivers feel after killing or injuring someone — or the pain a family feels when someone dies in a crash.

Speeding can kill, and someone is always left behind to deal with the painful aftermath.

Speed was a factor in more than 160,000 traffic crashes in Texas last year, and 1,456 people were killed in speed-related crashes. That’s a third of all traffic deaths in Texas.

Lanisa Dehn knows how lives can be forever changed when someone makes the choice to drive at an unsafe speed. In 2020, a young man driving twice the speed limit in Lubbock crashed into her mother’s car as she tried to make a left turn. Her mother died at the scene.

“If that driver would’ve obeyed the law, my mother might still be here today,” said Dehn. “I hope other drivers will hear my story and protect their fellow Texans by slowing down and avoiding making the same mistake.”

Tragic deaths like that of Dehn’s mother are why TxDOT is partnering with law enforcement to launch its summer “Be Safe. Drive Smart.” campaign and encourage motorists to slow down.

“Speeding is one of the deadliest problems on our roads,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said. “Getting to the office, home or wherever you’re going a few minutes faster isn’t worth putting your life or the lives of others at risk”.

Speeding is not only dangerous, it can also be costly. The “Be Safe. Drive Smart.” campaign coincides with Operation Slowdown, a statewide, high-visibility speed limit enforcement period.

From July 19 through Aug. 4, Texas law enforcement agencies will step up their efforts to get drivers to slow down or pay up. “Be Safe. Drive Smart.” means more than following the speed limit. Follow these tips to keep yourself and others safe, and avoid a ticket:

# Match your speed to road conditions, such as bad weather or 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.

Speed Stats

# The number of traffic crashes in the Pharr District in 2023 that involved speeding totaled 9,016. These crashes resulted in 40 deaths and 197 serious injuries.

# From 2022 to 2023, traffic crashes in the Pharr District involving speeding decreased 0.8%, while fatalities resulting from traffic crashes involving speeding decreased 9% and serious injuries decreased 19.3%.

# The TxDOT Pharr District includes the 8 southern most counties of Texas: Cameron, Willacy, Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata, Brooks, Jim Hogg & Kenedy.

# In Brownsville in 2023, there were 1,137 traffic crashes that involved speeding, resulting in 10 fatalities and 37 serious injuries.

# In Edinburg in 2023, there were 991 traffic crashes involved speeding, resulting in 3 fatalities and 17 serious injuries.

# In Harlingen in 2023, there were 696 traffic crashes that involved speeding, resulting in 3 fatalities and 9 serious injuries.

# In McAllen in 2023, there were 1,015 traffic crashes that involved speeding, resulting in 2 fatalities and 11 serious injuries.

# In Pharr in 2023, there were 1,032 traffic crashes that involved speeding, resulting in 2 fatalities and 7 serious injuries.

# In Weslaco in 2023, there were 335 traffic crashes involving speeding, resulting in 0 fatalities and 8 serious injuries.