Killeen, TX

History of Accidents in Killeen

The city of Killeen, situated at roughly halfway between Austin and Waco, experienced a slight increase in the number of accidents over the course of the past five years. However, this increase seems to have been short lived, as the high-water mark for accident volume occurred in 2016; the years following this peak featured accident rates that were much lower in comparison. In fact, 2018 had fewer accidents than 2014 -- and if it weren’t for 2016’s high accident rate, volume fluctuations in Killeen would have changed by a total of 141 accidents over five years.

2014’s accident figures were indeed rather modest, even taking into account a city the size of Killeen. There were 2,267 reported accidents that year, and while that figure increased modestly in 2015 to 2,341 annual accidents, it wouldn’t be until 2016 before there would be a major, almost jarring jump. In fact, that year saw accident volumes rise to 2,486. Yet this increase would be quite short-lived, as 2017 and 2018 would see two consecutive reductions in accident volume, first to 2,298 and then to 2,220. This clearly shows that Killeen’s roads were safer in 2018 than they were in 2014.

In a general sense, Killeen’s accident figures are largely in line with the nation’s during this period of time. Brightening economic conditions across the US in 2015 and 2016 made it less expensive to own a car, and that led to more Americans getting out of the house and driving. With so many more cars on the road, it simply became more likely to be involved in an accident. This led to 2016 being the most accident-prone year in the US in nearly a decade before rates began to stabilize and decline once again through 2017 and 2018, a trend that is clearly replicated in Killeen’s annual accident volume data.

History of Fatalities in Killeen

Meanwhile, fatality rates in Killeen are a bit less in sync with national ones. US fatalities rose and fell in step with accident volumes, hitting a peak in 2016 before easing off, but 2016 was actually not the most fatal year for car accidents in Killeen as there were just 10 fatalities recorded that year. Instead, fatality rates were highest in the years directly preceding and following 2016, as there were 15 fatal accidents recorded in each of those years. Yet except for 2016 being the statistical outlier, Killeen’s fatal accident rates began low in 2014, increased, and then declined going into 2018, making the its fatalities fairly typical for a city of its size and location.