Brownwood News – Brownwood City Council joined the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in the department’s efforts to promote safe driving and end daily deaths on Texas roadways by proclaiming November 11-15 as End The Streak: Safe Driving Week in Brownwood.  TxDOT’s #EndTheStreakTX campaign is being emphasized this month as the grim anniversary of November 7, 2000, the last deathless day on Texas roads, is recognized.  Mayor Stephen Haynes presented Brownwood District Engineer Elias Rmeili and Public Information Officer Lisa Tipton with the proclamation at this week’s city council meeting.

Pictured are (L-R) TxDOT Brownwood District Engineer Elias Rmeili, Public Information Officer Lisa Tipton, Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes.

Tipton informed the council and those attending, “Since November 7, 2000, nearly 67,000 people have died on our state roadways, many due to prevenatable contributing factors, such as being distracted while driving, speeding, not buckling, or driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”  She asked those attending to join the campaign by making responsible decisions, being careful and focused on the road while driving.  “We don’t want to see a 20th anniversary of this milestone.”

For the past 19 years straight, at least one person has died every single day in often preventable and tragic crashes. Texas Transportation Commission and TxDOT recently lauched the annual #EndTheStreakTX campaign that asks all Texans to join the effort to end this deadly 19-year streak.

 

TxDOT is committed to invest in the best engineering practices to make our roads safe, in fact, TxDOT will dedicate an additional $600 million for more safety improvements along Texas roadways over the next two years. The effort includes widening some roads and adding rumble strips that alert drivers if they are veering out of their lane or off the road. We will also add reinforced shoulders and select turn lanes, and deploy new technology that will increase safety on the entire system of roads.

In May, the Texas Transportation Commission approved a goal aiming to end all fatalities on Texas roads by 2050, with an interim goal to reduce them by half by 2035.

Since Nov. 7, 2000, fatalities resulting from vehicle crashes on Texas roadways have numbered almost 67,000. The leading causes of fatalities continue to be failure to stay in one lane, alcohol and speed. Texans can play a major role in ending fatal crashes with a few simple driving habits:

  • Buckle seatbelts – all passengers need to be buckled
  • Pay attention – put phones away and avoid distractions
  • Never drink and drive or do drugs and drive –get a sober ride home
  • Drive the speed limit – obey speed limits and drive slower when weather conditions warrant