Amarillo, TX

History of Accidents in Amarillo

Amarillo's accident history over the five-year period between 2014 and 2018 can be characterized as experiencing an initial increase but then remaining relatively stable year after year, with only small fluctuations to annual accident rates. This is typical of a larger, countrywide trend where there was an increase in accident volumes from 2014 through 2016 and then a slow but steady decline through the two following years.

Amarillo's 2014's figures represent the lowest number of accidents during this time frame with just 2,631 accidents recorded, with the biggest jump coming between that year and the next when 2015's accident rate was 3,153 for the year. The large jump between 2014 and 2015 is thought to have been caused by brightening economic conditions in Texas and around the country, especially when it came to the cost of gas in 2015, which was around 49 cents a gallon cheaper than it was in 2014.

In Amarillo, accident volumes in 2016, 2017, and 2018, while higher than 2015, were moderately stable at just 3,292, 3,208, and 3,214 respectively. This seems to be indicating that coming years are likely to be relatively stable when it comes to annual accident rates as well, though there are of course always instances that might cause sudden spikes or drops. Yet so far this is also in line with the overall accident trend for the United States according to most figures.

History of Fatalities in Amarillo

Amarillo's fatality rates, in comparison to the city's accident history, is much less stable. Fatalities remained unchanged from 2014 to 2015 at 14 deaths per year, but began to rise in 2016 to 15 deaths. Then, in 2017, a major increase to 18 deaths represents the most dangerous year out of the five. However, in 2018, death rates plummeted to just 10 per year, a marked improvement. Yet the difference between 2017 and 2018 fatalities seems arbitrary when compared to the almost identical accident rates for those two years as well, indicating that something else may be at play affecting fatality numbers in Amarillo. This is especially true considering that most national accident fatality data shows that fatality rates increased in 2015 and 2016 before beginning to decline in 2017, with the trend continuing into 2018.

There could be any number of issues that could have caused Amarillo to have an off year in 2017, though with 2018's fatality figures in the city coming into line nationally there seems little cause for alarm in the long run. With Texas leading the nation in car accident deaths to other factors such as struggling from traditionally high cases of pedestrian deaths compared to the national average, it seems like Texas gets the worst of it when it comes to traffic safety.