Fatalities/Square Mile (All Crash Types)
The Technical Advisory Committee of H-GAC presented the Regional Safety Report on March 15th addressing the increasing number of crashes and safety concerns in Houston. Patrick Mandapaka mentioned that the number of regional crashes in 2015 was 144,068, which is a 62.1% increase from 2011. The fatalities in all crashes were 615 in 2015 from 551 in 2011. The cost of crashes to the region is approximate $6 billion. H-GAC proposes a regional safety plan with a goal to improve the safety of our region’s transportation system. It will require stakeholder involvement to work on strategies including 5 E’s (Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Evaluation, and Engineering). H-GAC also plans to launch a Safety Outreach Campaign to promote and educate diverse populations about transportation safety. The current safety program of H-GAC with the coordination of Regional Safety Council helped 986 DWI arrests since the inception of the program in December 2012. H-GAC plans to continue its analysis of the 2016 crash data to identify problem areas and work with Regional Safety Council to plan and develop the campaign and implement it in the region.