TxDOT Tyler District crash fatalities drop by 22 percent in 2024

In 2024, factors such as “failure to drive in a single lane”, “unsafe speed”, and “alcohol-related DUI” contributed to 147 fatal crashes and 164 total deaths in the Tyler District.

The 164 fatalities are a 22-percent decrease from the previous year, and the lowest total since 2019 (148).

The TxDOT Tyler District, which includes Anderson, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Rusk, Smith, Van Zandt, and Wood Counties, released preliminary numbers revealing the top five contributing factors of fatal crashes in 2024:

• Failure to drive in a single lane - 29 total fatal crashes.
• Unsafe speed – 22 total fatal crashes.
• DUI (Alcohol) – 21 total fatal crashes.
• Failure to control speed – 15 total fatal crashes.
• Wrong Side, Not Passing – 13 total fatal crashes.

The data in these reports represents the number of crashes that had at least one driver reported as having the indicated contributing factor. Crashes can have none or multiple contributing factors. Therefore, the total number of crashes for these reports will not equal the total number of crashes in the Tyler District.

“Although I was extremely pleased to see the decline in fatalities throughout our eight-county district in 2024, our fatality rates still rank among the highest in the state”, said Tyler District Engineer Vernon Webb.

We must continue to focus on making our roadways safer, educating drivers on the risks of poor decisions behind the wheel, and work with our law enforcement agencies to address poor driving behaviors. In 2024 we had our lowest number of fatalities in five years.

We will carefully analyze all the factors that made that possible and continue to work to decrease these numbers. However, we are already seeing an increase in fatalities in 2025. We simply cannot rest until not a single life is lost on our roadways.

Over the first 56 days of 2025, the Tyler District has had 19 fatal crashes, resulting in 20 fatalities.

Tyler District motor vehicle traffic crash overview – Calendar year 2024

• Rural traffic crashes accounted for 77 percent of the district’s traffic fatalities.
• 126 people died in rural traffic crashes in 2024.
• There were 39 alcohol-related fatalities in 2024 compared to 49 in 2023. A decrease of 20 percent.
• 46 fatalities were due to speed-related crashes. 28 percent of fatalities in the Tyler District.
• Single-vehicle, run-off-the-road crashes resulted in 49 deaths in 2024. That is 30 percent of all motor vehicle deaths in the district.
• There were 53 deaths involving unrestrained vehicle passengers. This figure represents crashes where restraint usage was applicable, and usage was known.
• 13 distracted driving deaths occurred in 2024.
• There were 18 pedestrian fatalities in 2024, down from 25 in 2023.
• There was one pedal-cyclist fatality in 2024 in the Tyler District.
• 42 people died in crashes occurring at intersections or related to an intersection. This was a 25-percent decrease from 2023 (56)
• 23 fatalities occurred in October 2024, the most of any month of 2024.