Crash Reports Online:
Houston, TX

As a major city, Houston's annual accident rates can be sometimes two or three times higher than many smaller Texas cities, yet examining its accident rates reveals that they have been relatively stable over a five-year period when compared to the rest of the country's accident trends. In fact, the jump in Houston's accident figures between 2014 and 2015 -- an increase from 12,102 accidents per year to 14,073 the next year, is in line with a general increase nationally of 7.2 percent according to the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Trafic Safety Administration.

This nationwide jump, the largest in 50 years, is thought to be partially caused by lowered gas prices and an economy that made it less expensive to own and operate a car more often. Going forward from 2015, though, the next few years saw much more modest shifts in accident rates. 2016 accidents in Houston rose only slightly to 14,127, again in line with national increases of 5.6 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, 2017 and 2018 actually declined modestly to 13,628 and 16,466 respectively. It's true that 2018 has produced more accidents overall than they did in 2014, representing an overall upward trend. However, this slow but sure decline from 2015 onwards bodes well for Houston's drivers in the future.

Unlike Houston's accident rates, there seems to be absolutely no rhyme or reason when it comes to the number of annual deaths recorded in the city as a result of these accidents. In fact, while 2014 had the least number of accidents on Houston's roads, it had the highest fatality rate at 44. 2015 was significantly less deadly with only 35 fatalities, even as there were more accidents in the city than last year. This actually bucked the national trend, where fatalities across the US increased in 2015 by 3.7 percent.

Meanwhile, fatality rates in 2016 and 2017 would not follow the trend established in the previous year. rose to first 40 and then 41 before dropping to a five-year low of 28. Ironically, as the number of fatalities rose in Houston from 2016 to 2017, national fatality rates declined by around 2 percent. As far as what might have been behind the number of fatal crashes in Houston, data from TxDOT reveals that in 2017, factors such as driver inattention and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol were some of the biggest contributing factors.

The drop to 28 fatalities for the year in Houston is a welcome sign that highway safety in the city is perhaps beginning to align with the rest of the country, especially with the size of Houston. Environmental factors, such as Hurricane Harvey destroying nearly a million vehicles in a city that relies heavily on transportation, can't be discounted either. Pulling those many vehicles off the road in such a short period of time does indeed have an impact on how many accidents would have occurred that year. Still, the disparity between accident rates and the number of fatalities on Houston roads shows that one may have little to no bearing on the other in every circumstance.

Unlike Houston's accident rates, there seems to be absolutely no rhyme or reason when it comes to the number of annual deaths recorded in the city as a result of these accidents. In fact, while 2014 had the least number of accidents on Houston's roads, it had the highest fatality rate at 44. 2015 was significantly less deadly with only 35 fatalities, even as there were more accidents in the city than last year. This actually bucked the national trend, where fatalities across the US increased in 2015 by 3.7 percent.

Meanwhile, fatality rates in 2016 and 2017 would not follow the trend established in the previous year. rose to first 40 and then 41 before dropping to a five-year low of 28. Ironically, as the number of fatalities rose in Houston from 2016 to 2017, national fatality rates declined by around 2 percent. As far as what might have been behind the number of fatal crashes in Houston, data from TxDOT reveals that in 2017, factors such as driver inattention and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol were some of the biggest contributing factors.

The drop to 28 fatalities for the year in Houston is a welcome sign that highway safety in the city is perhaps beginning to align with the rest of the country, especially with the size of Houston. Environmental factors, such as Hurricane Harvey destroying nearly a million vehicles in a city that relies heavily on transportation, can't be discounted either. Pulling those many vehicles off the road in such a short period of time does indeed have an impact on how many accidents would have occurred that year. Still, the disparity between accident rates and the number of fatalities on Houston roads shows that one may have little to no bearing on the other in every circumstance.