Here’s a distinction you never want to get.

Everyone in Texas knows we have our fair share of rough roads here in the state. Don’t get me wrong, I do a lot of road tripping and to me, Texas has some of the best highways in the country as well, but we still have a way to go to improve infrastructure.

It’s become clear to me that people aren’t getting it through their heads that distracted driving kills. No matter how many PSAs are aired and signs are placed along the highway warning people to stay off of their phones while driving, I see it all the time.

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Pair distracted driving with outdated infrastructure and a minor mistake could cost someone their life. Not to mention, the ongoing shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic have also made the roads less safe.

Houstonia reports that there was a huge increase in road rage incidents during the pandemic and car crashes were up by nine percent last year in the Lone Star State. In fact, Texas has the unfortunate distinction of being the state with the most fatal car crashes last year.

Not to be all doom and gloom, but it gets worse. I-45 has been deemed as the most dangerous stretch of highway in the United States. The Houston stretch of the highway is actually the deadliest, with 73 people having lost their lives there in 2019.

The good news is that the shoddy infrastructure is being addressed with the North Houston Highway Improvement Project. Hopefully that will help, but it’s going to take all of us doing our part to make the roads safer.

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