Texas, especially cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, often find a place on lists of cities with the most car accidents. It is true that the DFW area sees thousands of car accidents per year, but just how common are car accidents? With over 7 million people living in the DFW area, how many accidents actually occur within the Dallas city limits? And how many accidents occur on the average day?
Our Dallas car accident lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm have looked into these questions. The following statistics come from the Texas Department of Transportation, and we’ve interpreted these statistics to help Dallas drivers understand their risks.
If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident in Dallas or anywhere in the greater DFW area, talk to a Dallas personal injury lawyer today. Call The Queenan Law Firm today at (817) 476-1797 for a free case review.
Dallas Car Accident Statistics 2021
From 2012-2021 (the most recent 10-year period of full data available in the DOT’s statistics), in the entire State of Texas, there were 5,883,335 car crashes recorded by Texas’ Department of Transportation (DOT) from police reports throughout the state. These crashes affected 11,725,227 vehicles (including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bikes), and over 15 million people – approximately 1.52 million people per year. Note that these numbers are in the millions; Texas car accidents affect more people per year than the populations of most cities.
Over these 10 years, there averaged around 588,333 crashes per year. In Dallas alone, there were 38,988 car accidents in 2021 (the most recent full year of data as of the writing of this article). These crashes involved 80,902 vehicles and 98,075 people. In total, Dallas’ car accidents accounted for around 6.15% of the state’s total accidents in 2021.
Deadly Crashes in 2021
2021 was also the worst year so far for deadly car accidents. In 2021, there were 4,059 deaths reported from car accidents. That is up by 4.18% from 2020’s 3,8096 deaths (which is itself up 7.54% from 2020’s 3,896 deaths). The closest year on recent record to the high levels from 2020 and 2021 was 2003 with 3,833 deaths. From 2012 through 2021, there was an average of approximately 3,670, so 2020 and 2021 were both exceptionally high by comparison to the average of the past 10 years on record.
People Injured Per Crash
On average in Dallas in 2021, there are about two vehicles involved in each accident and about 1.21 people injured in each accident. This shows us that many of the accidents are two car crashes, as opposed to single cars crashing on their own or traumatic pileups. Also, since the average accident has fewer than two people injured, we can see that many of these crashes involve one “at-fault” driver and one victim, as opposed to seeing both drivers injured in every accident.
Accidents Per Day in Dallas
Dallas averaged around 34,753 accidents per year from in 2012 through 2021. This can be reduced to 95.2 accidents per day, 3.96 accidents per hour, or about one accident approximately every 15 minutes.
Accidents By Population in Dallas
Looking at the number of accidents, scaled for population, it is clear that Dallas has more accidents than the rest of the state at large. For every 100,000 people, there are an average of 2,144 accidents in Texas as a whole and 2,849 in Dallas.
Arlington Car Crash Statistics 2021
Like Dallas, Arlington has a high population and high traffic. According to the same statistics, Arlington had 72,183 crashes from 2012 through 2021 (compared to Dallas’ 347,531) for an average of 7,218 per year (compared to Dallas’ 34,753).
Total Accidents
In 2021, Arlington saw an average of 6,942 crashes involving 13,993 vehicles and 17,819 individuals. These crashes were responsible for killing 136 people (compared to 587 deaths in Dallas and 10,701 deaths statewide).
Accident Rate
As a rate, there were around 1,747 crashes per 100,000 residents in Arlington in 2021. As mentioned, the rate per 100,000 people in Dallas was 2,849 and the rate for Texas at large was 2,144. This means that, overall, Arlington is a safer place to live and drive, with fewer accidents per person. On average over the 10 years examined in this article, this also holds true: Arlington is, on average, safer than Dallas when it comes to the overall number of traffic accidents.
Deadly Crashes
However, one troubling factor is that .73% of accidents involved a fatality in Arlington in 2021 compared to 0.55% of crashes in Dallas and 0.65% of accidents throughout Texas. So, while you are less likely to be involved in a crash in Arlington than in Dallas or anywhere else in Texas, the risk of that accident being deadly is slightly higher.
2021 is also a statistical anomaly for deadly crashes. While 2012-2020 has shown an average of 25.5 deadly crashes per year, Arlington had 51 deadly crashes in 2021 alone – double that typical average for the preceding 9 years.
Crashes Per Day
With an average of 7,218 crashes per year from 2012 through 2021, there were an average of 19.77 crashes per day. That’s a total of about one accident every 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Compensation for Car Accidents
Since car accidents are so incredibly common in Texas, it is important for residents of Dallas to understand their rights after a car crash. If you are injured in a car accident in Dallas or anywhere in Texas, talk to an Arlington car accident attorney. After seeking medical attention for your injuries, you may want to consider how your medical expenses will be paid for. If the other driver caused the accident, you might be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
While car insurance is often available to pay for some damage and injuries in a car accident, insurance often fails to cover all of your needs. If you or a loved one was severely injured, the best way to recover damages might be to take the other party to court. Personal injury lawsuits for car accidents are able to cover injuries for lost wages and pain and suffering on top of your medical expenses. Many insurance policies may cover reduced wages but will not cover pain and suffering. Because Texas puts no limits or “caps” on pain and suffering damages, you may be missing out on substantial compensation if you don’t take your case to court.
With over 500,000 crashes in the average year, Texas courts are used to handling car accident cases. Covering the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, our car accident attorneys cover one of the highest car accident areas in the country. Whether you or a loved one is suffering from whiplash injuries, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, or other car accident injuries, our attorneys may be able to help.
Texas Car Accident Lawyers Offering Free Consultations
If you suffered physical injuries in a car accident in the Dallas area, talk to an attorney. Never accept a settlement from an insurance company or the other driver before talking to a lawyer to find out what your case is worth. The Texas personal injury lawyers at The Queenan Law firm offer free consultations on new cases. Call (817) 476-1797 today to schedule your free consultation with one of our lawyers.