Why Does Texas Have More Rural Road Fatalities Than Other States?

Texas is a leader in industry, population growth, cotton production, and even diversity.

Tragically we are also the number 1 state for something terrible: rural road fatalities, according to The Austin American-Statesmen.

So why does Texas have so many of these deaths, and is there anything we can do to prevent it? 

Although it shouldn't mitigate our concern, nor our need for action, part of the reason we lead in these types of deaths is simply because we have a lot of people and a lot of rural areas.

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Texas is second in population compared to California, so it makes statistical sense that we'd rank 1 in rural road deaths. California ranks #2.

When the population is accounted for Texas ranks #11 per capita in rural deaths, which is still an unacceptable number.

Part of the problem is infrastructure in desperate need of repairs as, "the country has a $198 billion backlog of necessary repairs and improvements to rural roads, highways and bridges."

Only a little over half of rural roadways in the U.S. were found to be in "good repair," per the national transportation research nonprofit TRIP.

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A road in need of repair or that was poorly engineered in the first place, can and eventually will prove deadly, particularly in inclement weather.

Texas can and should prioritize the repair of rural roads and bridges, as many Texans rely on these routes to get home, get to work, or just get from point A to point B. And as a whole, we all rely on rural Texas for our economy, and for many of the foods we eat, the energy we use, etc.

As individuals, we can prevent rural roadway deaths, too.

By driving cautiously, especially in bad weather. And I say this from personal experience, we need to always wear our seatbelts, even in our work pickups, even for short distances. You likely won't survive a rollover without it.