The statistic puts a stark perspective on the 41,252 people who have died in fatal traffic accidents on state roads during that time frame.
Texas Department of Transportation officials on Wednesday said the majority of wrecks on 80,000 miles of state roads were caused by people not wearing seat belts, drinking and driving and distracted driving.
"One fatality on a Texas roadway is one too many, and to see as many as eight or 10 in a single day is unacceptable," said TxDOT executive director Phil Wilson.
The Houston area alone has more than 10,000 miles of state-run roadways. Experts have historically called the area the nation's leader in alcohol-related road fatalities among populous cities, citing its limited public transportation and urban sprawl that causes people to drive many miles.
Road safety advocates point to legislation as a possible solution to decreasing traffic fatalities.
Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the National Governor's Safety Administration, said Texas' independent anti-government intrusion culture could be detrimental in preventing traffic deaths. He said 39 states have passed distracted driving bans. In 2011, Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a texting while driving ban.
Adkins also pointed to the dangers of a new toll road near Austin that allows motorists to drive 85 miles per hour.
"We have to create a culture in Texas and across the country where traffic deaths are not acceptable," he said. "Traffic crashes continue to kill people every day, and they are preventable."
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Source: Beaumont Enterprise (Mulvaney, 11/8)
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