Brand Story
26 Mar 2026, 20:52 GMT+10

Did you know that since November 7, 2000, not a single day has passed without a fatality on a Texas roadway²? In Austin, TX, despite being a leader in safety initiatives, we are not immune to this statistic and continue to contribute to it. Sandoval & James Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers has been a leading car accident law firm in Austin since 2016.

While much of the country has seen a decline in roadway deaths7, with national estimates projecting an 8.2% reduction in the first half of the year alone, preliminary data for 2025 shows that fatalities in Austin increased to 99 deaths. While this total is slightly lower than the 103 fatalities in 2024, any loss of life on our roadways remains a serious concern.

Sandoval & James Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers Austin

As we examine the localized 2025 data, a pattern emerges. Although the City of Austin has invested over $1.3 billion in 'safe street' designs since 20151, traffic fatalities remain persistently high. The primary causes of traffic deaths can be attributed to human negligence. Specifically, three behaviors, the 'Negligence Trio,' are responsible for the vast majority of these local tragedies.

Recent analysis for 2025 suggests that the 'Negligence Trio' is more prevalent in the Austin-Travis County area than many residents may realize:

● Impairment (~77%): Local Vision Zero reporting indicates that drug and alcohol impairment is present in over 77% of drivers killed in Austin.⁴ This suggests that state-level crash reports often undercount the true role of intoxication in our local tragedies.

● Speed: Speeding remains the #1 contributing factor in traffic deaths across Texas, with speed-related crashes accounting for roughly one-third of all fatalities. In Austin, past Vision Zero analyses have shown that speeding has been among the top cited factors in fatal crashes. Additionally, it is a primary driver of the 'Years of Life Lost' in Austin, which rose to over 3,320 years in 2025 alone.³

● Distraction: With Austin's rapid growth, driver inattention and distraction contribute to crashes on major roadways, including I-35 and the MoPac Expressway. TxDOT's Talk. Text. Crash. campaign highlights the dangers of distracted driving.⁵

A trend that is somewhat unique to Austin is the location of these accidents. While the city manages local streets, approximately 65-75% of Austin's traffic deaths occur on state-owned and maintained roadways such as I-35, MoPac, and Lamar Boulevard.⁶ These high-speed corridors are where the 'Negligence Trio' is most lethal, and where the need for accountability is highest.