The Deadliest Cities for Speeding in Texas

From 2012 to 2017, 6,939 traffic fatalities were linked to excessive speed in Texas. However, some cities accounted for a large portion of these deaths, and Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Lubbock and Corpus Christi saw a combined 982 speeding-related traffic fatalities. These cities ranked as the five most dangerous cities in Texas, with a population of 250,000 or greater, for speeding fatalities.

1. Dallas, Texas

4.67 annual speeding fatalities per 100,000 residents

In Dallas, there were 377 speeding-related traffic fatalities from 2012 to 2017 — the highest number of deaths of any city in Texas. Dallas drivers are almost 50% more likely to be in a fatal speeding accident than drivers in Fort Worth, despite the fact that the two cities are directly adjacent. In terms of the deadliest roads for speeding in Dallas, I-35E, I-635 and Webb Chapel Road all share the top spot — registering seven fatalities during the time period we considered.

Worst roads in Dallas for speeding

2. San Antonio, Texas

3.68 annual speeding fatalities per 100,000 residents

In San Antonio, there are an average of 56 speeding fatalities per year, which, when adjusting for population, is 35% greater than the average across similarly sized cities. Furthermore, San Antonio's speeding fatality rate is 72% higher than that of Austin — 3.68 compared to 2.14 annual speeding deaths per 100,000 residents.

In this city, a handful of roads were the site of a disproportionate number of speeding deaths. One in four of the speeding fatalities took place in one of the five roads that saw the most of these fatalities from 2012 to 2017.

Worst roads in San Antonio for speeding

3. Fort Worth, Texas

3.13 annual speeding fatalities per 100,000 residents

Fort Worth is one of the most dangerous cities in Texas for speeding, though residents can find some consolation in the fact that they are significantly safer than drivers in Dallas. Compared to the suburb of Southlake, Fort Worth is more than six times more dangerous for speeding accidents. In recent years, the number of fatal speeding accidents has decreased. From 2015 to 2017, there were 78 accidents compared to 90 for the previous period — a decrease of 13%.

Worst roads in Fort Worth for speeding

4. Lubbock, Texas

3.06 annual speeding fatalities per 100,000 residents

The northwestern Texas city of Lubbock was the site of 47 speeding-related traffic fatalities from 2012 to 2017, which was enough for it to rank as the fourth most dangerous in the state. This city's speeding annual fatality rate of 3.06 per 100,000 residents is 12% higher than the average across all of the cities in Texas with a population of at least 250,000. In terms of dangerous roads, SL-289 — which loops around the city — accounted for one of every five speeding deaths in Lubbock.

Worst roads in Lubbock for speeding

5. Corpus Christi, Texas

2.65 annual speeding fatalities per 100,000 residents

In the coastal city of Corpus Christi, there were 52 fatalities that resulted from speeding-related traffic accidents from 2012 to 2017. This is more than double the number of deaths that occured in Laredo, Texas during the same period — a city that's only 20% smaller in terms of population. The good news for Corpus Christi residents is that speeding deaths have been decreasing in recent years: from 31 in the 2012-2014 period to 21 in the following period.

Worst roads in Corpus Christi for speeding

Small cities in Texas are the most dangerous for speeding

The five cities listed above are the deadliest cities in Texas with a population of at least 250,000 for speeding. However, our study looked at 211 cities across Texas. In order to make apples-to-apples comparisons, we separated cities by population into four size categorizations.

As a group, small cities in Texas are the deadliest for speeding fatalities. Drivers that live in cities with populations of 10,000 to 50,000 residents are 27% more likely to be killed in a traffic accident that involved speeding than those that live in large cities.

Deadliest and safest counties in Texas for speeding fatalities

The safest and deadliest counties in Texas are Fort Bend and Rusk, with annual speeding fatality rates per 100,000 residents of 1.42 and 11.63, respectively. From 2012 to 2017, over half of the speeding traffic fatalities in the state occurred outside of cities and towns. To account for this, we analyzed the number of accidents that occured in each Texas county.

Consequences of speeding in Texas

Speeding has been shown to be the leading cause of fatal accidents in the U.S. However, there are potential consequences for speeding even if you don't cause an accident.

In Texas, the most common consequence for being caught speeding is a fine ranging from under $100 to several hundred dollars — depending on how fast and where you were driving. However, the costs drastically increase when you consider that auto insurance rates go up by 14% after a speeding ticket. Additionally, in certain circumstances, excessive speed could be considered reckless driving — which is considered a criminal offence and could land you up to 30 days in jail.

Methodology

We gathered data on speeding-related traffic fatalities in Texas from 2012 to 2017, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System. To factor in population, we considered 2018 U.S. Census population estimates. In order to only compare similar-sized municipalities, we broke down cities into the following categorizations: