Plano, TX

History of Accidents in Plano

Accident rates in Plano for the past five years have been relatively stable, staying between approximately 3,500 and 4,400 accidents a year. The fewest number of annual accidents occurred in 2014 with just 3,558, while the high-water mark was 2016 when there were 4,467 accidents in a 12-month period. 2015, 2017, and 2018, meanwhile, were all within a few hundred accidents of one another with accident rates of 4,218, 3,945, and 4,044 respectively. This indicates that Plano is more or less the same as it's been over the last five years, albeit with some minor but notable fluctuations. Overall the city might be only slightly more dangerous than it was in 2014 when it comes to accidents, but not much.

Compare this to the national averages, which have been much more volatile, and the picture becomes much clearer. The fact that Plano experienced a modest increase between 2014 and 2016 of less than 1000 additional accidents annually puts it ahead of the curve for the rest of the US, as accident rates reached a new eight-year high in 2016. Reasons behind the sudden surge have been pinned to Americans having more disposable income to spend as the economy brightened slightly, which made driving an affordable option. Lower gas prices also contributed to this as well during this period, as the combination of the two put more cars on the road. This high volume led to higher accident rates.

History of Fatalities in Plano

Fatality rates in Plano, however, have been all over the place from 2014 to 2018, showing a much less uniform look than the city's accident rates and one that is not nearly as favorable as annual fatalities in the US. 2014 saw 14 fatalities occur despite it being the safest year judging by the number of yearly accidents. both 2015 and 2017 tied for deadliest with 16 fatalities each, while 2016 was second-lowest with just 11 deaths. Meanwhile, 2018 had the fewest fatalities at just 5 for the year. It seems that no matter how relatively stable accident rates may be in Plano, fatality rates most certainly don't seem to share that characteristic, instead exhibiting a high level of unpredictability.

There are a few correlations between US fatality rates during this period and those of Plano. 2015 saw the largest jump, with 2016 increasing as well, before 2017 beginning what looks like a slow nationwide decline. Preliminary data for 2018 shows that trend continuing. There may certainly be more at play here than just national trends, as contributing factors such as distracted driving or driving under the influence have come to be very influential on how dangerous it can be behind the wheel in a specific city. Ironically, distracted driving crash counts, according to the Texas Crash Records Information System, were at their highest in 2014 and have declined steadily year-on-year!

Whatever the end result, Plano's accident rates seem to be in line with national averages and will likely stay that way based on data from the last five years. Fatality rates, meanwhile, may fluctuate a bit but are still close enough as well, indicating an incoming drop in annual deaths as well.