Recently, the federal government released fatality data for the third quarter of 2021, showing that roadway deaths are on the rise, disproportionately impacting people of color, Native Americans, low-income communities, and people living in rural areas. Almost 4,000 Texans died on the roads last year — the highest in nearly four decades — adding more tragedies to a year of devastation.
Fortunately, we know what policy, infrastructure, and technology tools can let us face this perpetual challenge.
We must confront the everyday risks we face on our roadways.
The last time Texas’ traffic deaths were this high was 1984, the year before Texas started requiring all front-seat passengers to wear seatbelts. The new policy yielded immediate results: deaths among front-seat occupants dropped 8 percent in its first year. Texas was heralded as the national leader in adopting this lifesaving technology, meriting a 1987 headline in the New York Times: “Seat Belts Becoming The Thing To Wear In Texas.” Other measures like anti-drunk driving laws, improved road designs, and new safety technologies also reduced the baseline of traffic deaths over time.
But now traffic fatalities are on the rise again, especially for people traveling on foot. Research by GHSA recently found that pedestrian fatalities soared by 46% from 2010-2019, while all other traffic deaths increased by 5%. We must redouble our efforts to save lives and protect the most vulnerable people on our roads.
Moreover, the tools are within our reach: a suite of infrastructure improvements, encouraging safer driving behaviors, driver-aiding technologies like lane assist and auto emergency braking, and more advanced technologies like fully autonomous vehicles (AV) could help Texas reclaim national leadership in traffic safety. And, in the process, we can leverage these technologies to deliver better transportation outcomes including cleaner air and more equitable access.
Texas is a hub for autonomous vehicle technology, which has the future potential to significantly reduce crashes caused by human error, driving under the influence, and reckless driving. In Houston, a company named Nuro has autonomous delivery vehicles that are already helping Houstonians access groceries, prescriptions, and hot pizza. Affordable grocery deliveries will especially benefit low-income families living in Houston’s Third Ward and other neighborhoods categorized as food deserts, where access to fresh and healthy food options is limited.
AVs could also allow for the introduction of new vehicle designs that are lighter, narrower, and more space-efficient. In addition to reducing crashes caused by human error, a recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that the hardware and designs of zero-occupant vehicles could help avoid 60% of injuries and deaths just by replacing shopping trips with deliveries from these new types of vehicles.
However, many federal and state vehicle laws were written when self-driving vehicles were considered science-fiction. By moving quickly to modernize outdated regulations, the U.S. can maintain global leadership in the technology that will define the 21st Century. The benefits for America’s workforce and economy will be significant: from 2025-2035, it is estimated that the autonomous delivery vehicle sector could create and sustain 3.4 million jobs annually and unlock $1.1 trillion of investment in the U.S. economy. This is why I worked with my colleagues this legislative session to pass HB 3026, which removes unnecessary equipment requirements for vehicles that will never have a human driver or occupants.
Redesigning roads to prioritize safety is a simple measure that can also improve daily trips. Every traveler benefits when potholes are filled, missing road signs are replaced, faded lane stripes are repainted, and safe places to walk and bike are created. All of these actions make traveling safer and more comfortable for everyone — pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers — and gives us freedom to choose how we travel around a community.
Additionally, policymakers must pursue policies to address unsafe driving behaviors including speeding and red light running. Higher speeds not only make crashes more likely, but increase the severity of crashes when they do occur. In 2019 alone, 9,478 deaths occurred in speed-related crashes in the U.S.— accounting for more than a quarter of all traffic fatalities that year. Equitable and properly designed traffic enforcement programs can help reduce risky driving behaviors, making roads safer for everyone.
Since the U.S. Congress passed the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reinvest in the nation’s transportation infrastructure, these issues must remain top of mind. Wise investments in safer, well-maintained roads will pay dividends for the American people, leading to healthier communities and preventing avoidable traffic deaths. Congress has the opportunity to create a regulatory framework for the U.S. to be globally competitive in the semi and fully autonomous vehicle technology that will define the future of transportation, while making our roads safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users.
As we wade through this pandemic, we have a crucial decision to make: will we correct the preventable tragedies unfolding daily on our roadways, or will complacency rush us back to the status quo?
It’s time for us all to drive smarter and to end the streak. November 7, 2000 was the most recent deathless day on Texas roads, but it does not have to be the last.
Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by state Rep. Terry Canales of Edinburg, Texas. Canales chairs the House Committee on Transportation. The column appears in The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service with the permission of the author. Canales can be reached by email via: Curtis.Smith@house.texas.gov.
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