North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) recently reported the number of traffic fatalities in Collin County increased by 51% in 2022.
According to the report (via The Dallas Morning News), fatalities were down approximately 6% in North Texas as a whole, but some areas such as Collin County became more dangerous. Commissioner Duncan Webb said most fatalities occurred on U.S. 75, U.S. 380 and Preston Road, calling the spike “mind-boggling.”
In 2022, Collin County experienced an increase in the total number of crashes, which rose by 11.63%. This increase placed Collin County second in terms of crash rate, trailing Wise County, which saw a slightly higher increase of 12.44%. Collin County reported 13,820 crashes in 2022, up from 12,380 crashes in the previous year. Meanwhile, Wise County's crash count grew from 1,021 to 1,148 incidents.
Sonya Landrum, NCTCOG program manager, said speeding was the number one factor in traffic fatalities and has been since the recording of the data first began in 2010. Driver-related crashes came in second, having the highest increase from 2021 to 2022.
“That includes things like distracted driving and other negative types of driver behavior,” Landrum said during the meeting. Landrum highlighted the Drive Aware North Texas campaign to educate drivers about behaviors that cause serious injury and fatal crashes.
In 2022, Collin County recorded a total of 77 traffic fatalities, which was 26 more than the county experienced in 2021. Meanwhile, Dallas County saw a slight increase in fatalities compared to the previous year, with 355 deaths in 2022 compared to 354 in 2021. Wise County also reported two more fatalities in 2022 than in the preceding year, with the number rising from 21 to 23.
Specifically in Collin County, the data shows that Preston Road was the site of five fatal accidents, while U.S. 75 witnessed six fatalities, and U.S. 380 crashes resulted in seven deaths, according to TxDOT's crash query tool. Additionally, State Highway 121 in the county saw six fatal accidents in 2022.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), based on reportable crashes in 2022: in the state, one person was killed every one hour 57 minutes, one person was injured every two minutes nine seconds and one reportable crash occurred every 57 seconds.
Starting in October, the Texas DPS North Texas Region will initiate an educational campaign via its Facebook page. The campaign will emphasize traffic violations and provide guidance to drivers on safety measures they can take.