Texas Has The Most Dangerous Work Zones In The USA

Once again, Texas leads the pack - only this time, it's not in a good way. We have half of the most dangerous work zones, based on the number of fatal accidents, in the USA.

A list of the top 25 most dangerous work zones in the United States of America has 12 Texas counties on it. With drivers from all over the country and from Mexico, all having learned different methods and laws, I fully expected to see El Paso on the list.  Thankfully, (surprisingly), we're not on it.

Based on the number of fatal accidents within work zones Jefferson county, Texas leads the lone star state with 14.706 fatal work zone accidents per 100,000 residents. It's not a huge county, (its biggest city, Beaumont, only has 112,000 residents), and a big chunk of it is taken up by a large wildlife refuge so; that ratio is scary big.

According to corradinoandpapa.com, here's how the other Texas counties in the top 25 stacked up:

• Bell County, TX—11.098 per 100,000
• McLennan County, TX— 9.768 per 100,000
• Galveston County, TX—7.275 per 100,000
• Nueces County, TX—7.111 per 100,000
• Smith County, TX—6.612 per 100,000
• Denton County, TX—5.932 per 100,000
• Dallas County, TX—5.803 per 100,000
• Hays County, TX—5.574 per 100,000
• Travis County, TX—5.047 per 100,000
• Fort Bend County, TX—4.837 per 100,000
• Lubbock County, TX—4.721 per 100,000

Texas Has 0 On The Top 25 SAFEST Counties List.

If you applied the Jefferson County numbers ... 14 people killed per every 100K ... to El Paso's population of almost 700,000; the total number of fatalities here would be almost 100. Please be careful driving in work zones.

April 21-25 Is "Work Zone Awareness Week"

The TXDoT campaign reminds Texas drivers that traffic fines double in work zones when workers are present. It also encourages folks to slow down, stay alert, watch for road crews, don't tailgate ... rear enders are the most common accidents in work zones ... and allow extra time to get where you're going.