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Houston exceeds the national average of traffic fatalities and serious crashes

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Rockets34Legend, Apr 18, 2004.

  1. Rockets34Legend

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    Area's traffic crashes sobering

    `Severe problem' highlighted by fatality statistics


    The old jokes about Houston drivers have punch lines like "Red lights are optional" or "Just go 90 mph until you hear glass." Every day, the Houston area far exceeds the national average in the number of traffic fatalities and serious crashes.

    The carnage contributes to skyrocketing medical costs and gives Harris County the most expensive auto insurance rates in Texas, making it no laughing matter for the region's transportation planners.

    Harris County drivers put their lives at greater risk every time they get behind the wheel than drivers in any other major city because the area is growing and moving faster than roads can be improved or patrolled, according to local collision statistics.

    And now drivers are crunching into the new MetroRail trains, putting Houston on course to top the national high for light rail collisions.

    But whether by train or automobile, the Houston area far exceeds the national average in the number of serious traffic collisions. The carnage contributes to skyrocketing medical costs and gives Harris County the most expensive auto insurance rates in Texas.

    "We lead the state in crashes no matter how you define them," said Ned Levine, transportation safety program coordinator for the Houston-Galveston Area Council. "We are among the worst in the country. I haven't found a metropolitan area that's higher than ours."

    The HGAC has spent almost three years gathering collision statistics from numerous local, state and federal agencies. Among the findings:

    ·The eight-county Houston region has an average of 242 serious crashes every day.

    ·For every serious crash -- defined in Texas as involving a death, injury or property damage of at least $1,000 -- there are two to three times as many minor ones.

    ·Houston drivers are 2 1/2 times more likely to be hurt or killed in a traffic collision per mile traveled than the national average.

    ·Nearly 600 people a year die on the region's highways, and some 90,000 are injured.

    The HGAC data goes through 2000, and the council now is crunching 2001 numbers.

    Tom Lambert, Metropolitan Transit Authority police chief, said the string of wrecks along the Main Street light rail line, including one Saturday that injured two rail passengers, has begun to spark conversations about how to fix it. The numbers, he said, reflect that "you're seeing a lot of folks not following fundamental traffic-safety rules. That's something we collectively have to work on."


    Education, engineering, enforcement critical

    Saying definitively whether Houston is the nation's most dangerous big city to drive in is impossible. States tally crashes differently. Traffic statistics, however, are almost always calculated per capita or per miles traveled to account for population differences.

    "If we had the same crash risk as Dallas/Fort Worth, we would have 15,000 fewer crashes a year," Levine said. "We have a very severe problem here."

    Safety experts refer to the "three E's" that are critical for collision prevention: education, engineering and enforcement. Dave Willis, director of the Center for Transportation Safety at Texas A&M's Texas Transportation Institute, said Houston appears to be deficient in all three.

    He and other experts cite four primary reasons drivers are more likely to get into a wreck here:

    ·Sprawl: Houston's population growth and suburban sprawl leads to more cars on the road, longer commutes and frequent congestion. The development has spread into areas not equipped for large traffic volumes, highway builders are unable to keep up with demand, and mass transit is inadequate. The area also has a large number of illegal immigrants with no driver's licenses or training.

    "All that stuff really contributes to a much more dangerous driving environment, especially as you get into suburbia and exurbia," Willis said.

    The sprawl has turned many roads designed for low rural traffic volumes, often with only one lane in each direction, into congested commuter arteries. Crash statistics show rural roads, with higher potential for head-on wrecks and intersection or driveway collisions, are more dangerous than the 10-lane limited-access superhighways crisscrossing the city.

    On freeways, crashes are most often caused by gridlock. As traffic backs up, drivers' stress goes up, as does the number of rear-end collisions.

    "Everyone in Houston is in such a dire hurry," said Sgt. Teresa Curry, a supervisor in the Houston Police Department's 2-year-old Traffic Enforcement Unit. "Nothing is close, and because they are in a hurry, they are willing to take that chance."

    The Texas Department of Public Safety reports it is a statewide phenomenon.

    "In the large metropolitan areas, people are in a big hurry to get where they are going, and they feel a lot of pressure to be places," said DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange. "They don't leave themselves enough time to get there, so they drive too fast and take a lot of risks that end up contributing to or causing wrecks."

    Proponents of "smart growth" believe roads will be safer if future development is concentrated inside Loop 610, where dense, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods connected by mass transit would make it easy to move around without cars. Though Metro's first light rail line is actually contributing to the collision problem now, many see rail as one of the greatest ways in the future to reduce crash risk.

    "Metro has set safety records with its bus fleet year after year and is one of the safest transit systems in the nation," said Metro Chairman David Wolff. "We'll continue to do whatever is necessary to make this the safest at-grade rail system in North America."

    ·Less investment: Houstonians have invested less in safety improvements than people elsewhere. That means dangerous elements persist, from tiny, hard-to-see traffic signals to streets that haven't been repaved in decades.

    "It's an issue of a very large and growing population on an infrastructure that is at its capacity," said Gary Norman, spokesman for Houston's Department of Public Works and Engineering. "Really, there are only two things you can do: build more capacity or you get people to take advantage of public transportation to lessen the burden on the capacity."

    Norman said that in the coming fiscal year, his department and Metro will work on the Regional Computerized Traffic Signal System and upgrade all other traffic lights not part of the Metro project. Better flow should make it less likely drivers will want to speed or run red lights, officials believe, and intersections will be safer when tiny, outdated signals are replaced with larger, state-of-the-art LED panels that are easier to see and burn out less frequently.

    The Texas Department of Transportation's Houston District said it has 22 ongoing safety projects, among them adding paved shoulders and turn lanes, placing dedicated merge lanes at freeway connectors, constructing new overpasses, and replacing signs with a new material that is easier to see at night. The city and the Transportation Department also are banning trucks from the left lane of several freeways.

    Alan Clark, the HGAC's chief transportation planner, said his agency's mapping of crash "hot spots" will, for the first time, help "identify places where there are deficiencies in the infrastructure that can help reduce the frequency and severity of crashes."

    ·Less enforcement: Many observers note the paucity of police officers patrolling Houston highways. HPD's Traffic Enforcement Unit has only 40 motorcycle officers. With two weekday shifts and after accounting for officers in court, on vacation or out sick, there might be 15 across the city during any given rush hour. On weekends, not a single motorcycle officer is on duty.

    "There's no question Houston has got a crash problem," said David Saperstein, Mayor Bill White's traffic czar. "But there's also a major problem with enforcement. I think the mere fact that a red light to most people in Houston means `look both ways' is certainly a bad sign.

    "The joke I've always heard is, `You just go 90 mph until you hear glass.' "


    Motorcycle officers: Houston and L.A.

    Saperstein points out there are more than 400 motorcycle officers in Los Angeles, a city with more people than Houston but covering 151 fewer square miles.

    Houston police say they are doing the best they can given limited resources. Calls regarding crimes in progress and highly visible neighborhood patrols to prevent crime "certainly take priority over trying to catch the guy traveling 10 mph over the speed limit or who just ran the red light," Curry said, but added: "Knowing there's not a lot of enforcement, people are willing to take the chance to run that light if they figure nothing's going to happen to them anyway."

    Saperstein is pushing for a major increase in traffic officers. Paying for them will be problematic, however, because the city faces a budget deficit of more than $150 million.

    "We're looking to the federal government for help," he said.

    Texas has only 41 troopers posted to Harris County. Mange said the state police are more useful in areas that don't have as many local officers.

    Other cities have added traffic cameras to catch speeders and red-light runners. Although Metro supports the concept and would like to install such cameras along its light rail line, the Texas Legislature has rejected the idea in the past two sessions.

    ·Poor driver education: Lambert said part of the reason so many crashes are happening with Metro trains is that light rail is brand new to Houston and has existed in Texas only since 1996, when Dallas' system began operating.

    The Texas Education Agency, which creates driver-training curriculum for schools and private companies, doesn't include instructions on how to move safely around light rail. The state driver's handbook, published by the DPS, also lacks such information.

    Metro is working with Dallas Area Rapid Transit to get rail safety tips in front of drivers as both plan major system expansions in coming years.

    "We want to see this as an opportunity, longer term, to change behavior," Lambert said. "Soon you're going to have rail operating throughout the entire region."
     
  2. Rockets34Legend

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  3. Dave2000

    Dave2000 Member

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    Not surprise, with all of this construction and merging lanes, its expected.
     
  4. wizkid83

    wizkid83 Member

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    YEAH!!! WE'RE NUMBER 1 BABY !!!!!

    Sorry, just had to do it.
     
  5. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

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    sheesh dont need light rail hey. maybe we do... get some of those cars off the highway. dang it
     
  6. mrpaige

    mrpaige Member

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    Or it might make it worse by diverting funds needed to expand the current road system to handle the traffic it receives now and will receive in the future for a very expensive rail system that will take decades to reach a large percentage of the city's population and will likely never take that many cars off the road.
     
  7. mateo

    mateo Member

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    I believe that is Mr. "A Train To Katy Is a Bad Idea" Culberson's fault.
     
  8. mrpaige

    mrpaige Member

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    Even if such plans were in the works without opposition, it would take a long, long time and an extremely large amount of money to produce a comprehensive rail system.
     
  9. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

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    How exactly do they calculate "the national average of traffic fatalities and serious crashes"? Is it just an average? That'd be a pretty bogus way of comparing cities wouldn't it? Houston is the 4th largest cities, so of course they'd be ranked higher. How abouta "per capita" type number instead? Maybe I missed the answer in the article...
     
  10. SmeggySmeg

    SmeggySmeg Member

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    damn you terrorising trains!!!!!
     
  11. mrpaige

    mrpaige Member

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    There is this in the article: "Saying definitively whether Houston is the nation's most dangerous big city to drive in is impossible. States tally crashes differently. Traffic statistics, however, are almost always calculated per capita or per miles traveled to account for population differences."

    Plus, I think it's based on Metro areas rather than within the city limits, so Houston would be a little further down the list, rather than 4th.
     
  12. rudager

    rudager Member

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    I love how they blame the long commutes and small traffic signals (?), when the problem is obviously that people aren't taught how to drive properly. They're allowed to pass on the right, few use turn signals and it seems no one knows the dimensions of their vehicle--I can't believe how many people pull ten feet away from a parked car to get around it or simply cannot parallel park.

    Everyone in this country gets a license. If the tests actually gauged driving skills in a strict way--like those of England and Sweden--we wouldn't have 30,000 road deaths a year. A huge portion of the English population has to commute long distances, on highways and on very narrow roads. But, because they're actually taught how to drive, I feel far more comfortable doing 100 in the fast lane on the M5 then I do doing 60 in the "slow" lane on I-10.
     
  13. AntiSonic

    AntiSonic Member

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    Not to sound too harsh, but the less drivers clogging our freeways the better.
     
  14. krosfyah

    krosfyah Member

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    Yup, yet another anti-rail myth is bebunked.

    Myth #1: It is too dangerous...they say.

    No, the drivers are too dangerous! The accident rate has not increased since installing Light Rail. An illegal left hand turn is illegal if there is a train there or not. Running a red light results in accidents any way you look at it. It's just that the rail makes the accidents high profile...but the rate of accidents hasn't changed.

    The false myth that our street level rail system is inherently unsafe is demonstated WRONG yet again. This study supports the premise that our rail system is not unlike other street level systems accross the U.S. and accross the world.

    Myth #2: Building rail to Katy (or other suburbs) is the only way to reduce congestion. Most of the people live in the Metro service area occur inside 610 and around the Galleria. (Check out the slide from HGAC) Much of the heavy traffic is a result of that. If you can take those cars off the road for the short trips, that will leave more room of the commuters.

    Also, many people will decide to move into the city along a rail cooridor once the infrastructure is built up enough. That WILL take commuters off the road. When they sell one of their 2-3 cars in the garage, that will offset the cost of a private school and/or the added cost of the house itself.

    Myth #3: You have to build rail to the suburbs first. That is NOT the way any major rail project in any city is ever built. They are built inside out. Toronto started in 1954 w/ an 8 km segment. It now covers most of the city (not all) and people have options to avoid the traffic. Nobody can afford to build a comprehensive rail system all at once to serve such a wide geographic area.

    Additionally, the suburbanites chose to move far away from the city. In many instances, such as the Woodlands and Kingwood, these areas are outside of the Metro service areas. Why should Metro spend my tax money to serve these areas?

    But according to an HGAC study, the two major commuter routes in Houston are SW towards Sugarland and West towards Katy. Both of those cooridors are being addressed. Culbertson is making sure that no rail will go out to Katy but it will have a new freeway. Sugarland already has a newly completed freeway and is finding ways to finance a commuter rail that connects to light rail. Notice, that they are looking for funding options...not Metro. Metro will cooperate w/ cities but it isn't in their jurisdiction to provide transportion outside of their service areas. That has to come from local entities, like Sugarland is doing for themselves. Katy would rather build an ugly, treeless, heat attracting 400 lane superhighway that forces citizens into a single mode of transportation...the car. Walking accross the street isn't even an option. But that is why they moved out there...to get away from the city. Enjoy.
     
    #14 krosfyah, Apr 19, 2004
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2004
  15. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    Even TXDOT"S plan (Culberson's) leaves open the possibility of a rail line, as I understand it. I live on the I-10 corridor at Kirkwood and I-10 and I've tried to keep up with the debate....but I think the rail would run right down the center of the freeway....having said that, that's not even on Metro's 2020 plan....that's light years away from now before they even begin that.
     
  16. krosfyah

    krosfyah Member

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    So why not gain the benefit and cost savings of building it now rather than retro fitting something later?

    And to me, building rail down the center of a highway is extremely unfriendly. Isn't the idea that people walk on and off the trains. How does one get to it if it is surrounded by freeway?

    I haven't heard that he left that possibility open. But at an expense of $1.2 billion for the Katy expansion (and already additional cost overruns estimated at 17% and they barely started), you'd think they could find money to build a commuter line (that is 1/3 to 1/5 the cost of light rail) through there. If you just removed one lane of traffic, that would probably pay for it.

    But no, Culbertson would rather push his agenda then build a more comprehensive plan that gives the region transportation options.
     
  17. IROC it

    IROC it Member

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    Houston exceeds the national average of people per square mile, too.

    :rolleyes: Duh.
     
  18. Major

    Major Member

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    Houston exceeds the national average of people per square mile, too.

    Duh.


    Doesn't explain LA...

    Saperstein points out there are more than 400 motorcycle officers in Los Angeles, a city with more people than Houston but covering 151 fewer square miles.

    I'm pretty sure Houston is far more spread out than other major metropolitan cities.
     
  19. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    Chciago runs some of their trains down the middle of the freeway. It works alright. You get on the platform by stairs from an overpass.
     
  20. BrianKagy

    BrianKagy Member

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    What? Kingwood's not outside of Metro's service area. There's at least one Metro terminal there and I think they added a second one at some point since I left for college 12 years ago.

    And you should spend your tax dollars to serve that area (and others like it) because its ratio of commuters vs. total population is extremely high, and because your tax dollars are already being spent on addressing the consequences caused by 10 or 20,000 Kingwood-to-downtown commuters a day.

    Not to mention the fact that Kingwood is now a part of Houston whether you or they like it or not. Meaning that because it contributes to the city's tax income, it is entitled to full city services including Metro light rail when/if applicable.
     

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