About Us
Drive Aware North Texas is an educational campaign aimed at improving negative driver behaviors that are the leading contributing factors for serious injury and fatality crashes in the North Central Texas region.
2019-2023 16-County Crash Totals
What’s Causing So Many Crashes?
Contributing Factors for Serious Injury and Fatality Crashes
Note: The Contributing Factor Analysis above includes Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Contributing Crash Factors on limited access facilities in the NCTCOG 12-County MPA only. Speeding has been the number one contributing factor for all analysis done from 2010-2020. For more information on contributing factor trends for previous years, please visit the NCTCOG Safety Program webpage.
Speeding
Speeding crashes occur when drivers either exceed speed limits or drive at unsafe speeds for road conditions. As of May 2023, speeding was an identified crash factor in 478,697 total crashes, 4,117 fatal injury crashes, and 15,623 suspected serious injury crashes in the NCTCOG region from 2019-2023, by far the most common crash factor. Speeding crashes occur the highest before and after common work hours (7 a.m. and 5 p.m.).
Impaired Driving
Crashes involving a driver impaired by alcohol, illegal drugs, legal medication or drowsiness have remained one of the top ten contributing factors in both the state of Texas and NCTCOG region. As of May 2023, impaired driving was identified as a contributing factor in 66,784 total crashes, 4,006 fatal crashes and 5,317 suspected serious injury crashes in the NCTCOG region from 2019-2023. Impaired driving increases into the nighttime and peaks dramatically at 2 a.m.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving can be any activity that takes a driver’s attention away from the roadway. Distractions can include texting, talking on a mobile device, using social media, eating, drinking, putting on makeup, shaving, reading, programming a navigation system, watching a video, adjusting the radio, and even talking to passengers. Although believed to be under-reported, as of May 2023, distracted driving crashes were reported in 281,430 total crashes, 1,034 fatal crashes and 7,958 suspected serious injury crashes in the NCTCOG region from 2019-2023.
Wrong-Way Driving
The National Transportation Safety Board identifies wrong-way driving crashes on high-speed divided highways as the most serious type of highway collision. Although wrong-way driving collisions occur less frequently than other crashes, they are more likely to result in fatal and serious injuries than other types of crashes. Wrong-way driving crashes (also known as head-on collisions) involve two motor vehicles traveling straight and in opposite directions prior to the event of impact. As of May 2023, wrong-way driving crashes were the identified crash type in 495 total crashes, 44 fatal crashes, and 34 suspected serious injury crashes in the NCTCOG region from 2019-2023.
Distracted Driving Tips
Drive Aware North Texas offers these tips to prevent distracted driving that can lead to a ticket, or worse, a crash:
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Always give driving your full attention.
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Pull off the road entirely and come to a complete stop before you talk, text, or use social media.
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Put your smart device or phone away, turn it off, or use an app or your phone settings to block texts and calls and/or send auto reply texts while you are driving.
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Tell friends, family and coworkers you won’t respond to calls or texts when you are behind the wheel.
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Remember that all distractions are dangerous, so pay full attention when behind the wheel.