The Most Dangerous Roads to Drive in Austin

Austin is considered one of the best cities to live in the United States. However, it also contains two of the most dangerous roads in Texas. Such is the number of accidents and deaths that the city government developed a program called “Vision Zero” that identifies the riskiest roads in the city and commits to making changes to reduce fatal accidents.

In this article, we identify the most dangerous roads to drive on in Austin, and the main causes of these accidents.

How many car accidents happen in Austin each year?

Considering Texas government statistics for the year 2023, the following data is reported:

• One person died from a car accident every two hours and three minutes.
• One person was injured every two minutes and six seconds.
• A car accident was reported every fifty-six seconds.

The good news is that accidents in Austin have been reduced from 2023 to 2024. According to official figures presented by the Vision Zero program, from January to June 2024, 4,923 car accidents were reported in Austin. While, in the same period in 2023, 5,840 accidents were reported. This means a reduction of almost 1,000 accidents!

Of these accidents, 181 resulted in serious injuries, whereas during 2023, there were 223 serious injuries. However, the most important figure of all is the number of deaths. From January to June 2024, there were 31. While in the same period of 2023, 42 people had already died as a result of car accidents. The safety measures implemented by the Vision Zero program have already saved lives during the first half of 2024.

However, it is essential that both Austin authorities and drivers remain vigilant and continue to consider road safety as a priority. For almost every month in the first half of 2024, crashes with serious injuries and fatalities have decreased compared to the average for the past five years. The only exception is the month of May 2024, when serious crashes increased from 55 to 63.

It is essential to remember that an untimely death due to a car accident is a tragedy that involves many years of life lost. In fact, the Austin government has calculated the years of life lost due to deaths following car accidents. In the first six months of 2024, it is estimated that more than a thousand years of life have been lost. This figure was calculated by adding the years of life lost for each death. Taking the life expectancy of 75 years as a reference, and subtracting the age at which the person died in the car accident, the figure of years lost is reached.

To reduce serious accidents and deaths, it is essential to know which are the most dangerous roads and the main causes of accidents in Austin.

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What is the High Injury Network?

High Injury Network, or HIN, is the network of streets and highways where the highest number of crashes with serious injuries or fatalities occur. Dangerous stretches of road in Austin have been identified by Vision Zero members, who have developed an interactive map so that drivers in the city can learn which areas are most at risk. This interactive map states that 60% of the city’s crashes happen on 8% of its streets. More than half of Austin’s fatal accidents happen on less than 10% of its streets. Knowing which of these highways are there will help Austin residents take the necessary steps to protect themselves and the lives of others.

What are the most dangerous roads in Austin?

Austin’s highways are freeways that crisscross the city, Texas and other states. The combination of varying speed limits, drivers traveling long distances and drivers moving within the city all contribute to making these highways prone to crashes.

• Interstate-35: I-35 is the second most dangerous highway in all of Texas. The section of this highway that runs through Austin is one of the most accident-prone routes in the city. Over the past five years, 290 people have died in car accidents on this highway. Thirteen percent of car accidents in Austin that resulted in deaths occurred on I-35.
• State Highway 130: With a speed limit of 85 miles per hour, this is the fastest highway in the country. So it’s no surprise that the portion that runs through Austin is also one of the city’s most dangerous and accident-prone stretches of road.
• US Highway 183: The section of US 183 that runs through Austin is one of the most dangerous roads in the city. The road is especially dangerous near intersections, especially with Highway 290.

What are the most dangerous intersections in Austin?

Austin contains two areas with particularly dangerous intersections for pedestrians. These are Downtown west of Congress Avenue and the other one east of Congress Avenue.

• Trinity and East 7th: The intersection of Trinity and East 7th is the most dangerous intersection for pedestrians in the entire state of Texas. Accidents at this intersection are usually hit-and-run accidents where a car hits a person walking on the sidewalk or crossing the street.
• West 4th and Lavaca: This intersection is the fourth most dangerous intersection in the state for pedestrians. At this intersection, pedestrians are at risk of being hit by motorists.

What are the main causes of accidents in Austin?

The top three reasons accidents happen in Austin are drunk driving, speeding, and distracted driving. The most dangerous thing about these causes of fatal accidents is that there’s usually not much that the people who aren’t responsible for the accident can do about it. Because even if you’re alert on the city’s deadly roads, you can’t predict where a drunk or distracted driver will be.

• Driving under the influence: According to information published by the Texas Government Data Portal, 37% of fatal accidents in Austin happened because one of the drivers was driving under the influence of alcohol. Texas law prohibits driving with a blood alcohol concentration above 0.08%. However, even having less than the legal alcohol concentration reduces the ability to drive safely.
• Speeding: 31% of Texas car accidents resulting in a fatality happened because at least one driver was speeding. Between 2018 and 2020, speeding resulted in 3,168 fatal accidents.
• Distracted driving: Driving with distractions such as looking at a cell phone, a screen, the radio, being on a call, among others, increases the possibility of an accident occurring. 9.9% of Texas accidents happened because the driver was distracted.

In conclusion

The most dangerous roads to be a pedestrian or ride a bike in Austinare the downtown area, east and west of Congress Avenue. The roads where the most accidents happen are highways that cross the entire state or even several states. The most dangerous are I-35, SH-130, and US-183. The activities that most often lead to a car accident are drunk driving, speeding, and distracted driving. Car accidents can result in serious, life-altering injuries or even death. If you, or someone close to you, has been in a car accident, our team of attorneys is here to help. Our consultations are completely free. We have a multicultural legal team ready to assist you in Spanish. And best of all, we don’t charge you anything directly, we only charge a percentage of the money we manage to get the insurance companies to pay you. At Abogado Dang – Accident Lawyer we will give the insurance companies a BANG no matter what language you prefer to speak or your immigration status. Contact us for your confidential consultation, in Spanish, and 100% free.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• In a traffic accident, who is to blame?
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Information verified by lawyer Loc Dang

Loc Dang is a founder and member of our legal team. In this blog, Attorney Dang shares his expertise to guide accident victims.