Car Accident Statistics in Texas
Car accident statistics measure the frequency, causes, injuries, fatalities, and trends of motor vehicle collisions in Texas. The statistics show how many car accidents occur each year in Texas, how many Texans die or are injured in crashes, and which contributing factors officers record most often.
The figures support traffic safety policy, public awareness, insurance risk modeling, and infrastructure planning. Texas peace officers reported 538,860 crashes in 2025, and 3,769 people died in them, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Texas statistics sit inside the national picture described in Car Accident Statistics, where the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 36,640 United States traffic deaths in 2025.
Every Texas figure on this page comes from the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (Form CR-3), which TxDOT collects in the Crash Records Information System (CRIS). The code values officers enter on that form are listed in the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report code sheet.
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- TxDOT CRIS
- TxDOT Crash Facts 2025
- NHTSA FARS
- TxDOT Crash Records
Last updated
3,769Source: TxDOT, Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts, Calendar Year 2025 (CR-3 data processed as of April 7, 2026)
Traffic deaths in Texas, 2025
1.20Source: TxDOT, Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts, Calendar Year 2025
Deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, 2025 (down 10.97% from 2024)
244,534Source: TxDOT, Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts, Calendar Year 2025
People injured in Texas crashes, 2025
538,860Source: TxDOT, Rural and Urban Crashes and Injuries by Severity, 2025
Reportable crashes in Texas, 2025
2025 figures are TxDOT's CR-3 data processed as of April 7, 2026 and may be revised as late reports arrive. TxDOT's 2024 death count moved from 4,150 in its 2024 summary to 4,159 in the 2003-2025 comparison file for the same reason. The NHTSA early estimate for Texas in 2025 is 3,775 deaths (DOT HS 813 800, Table 3).
Car accident statistics in Texas are counts and rates of reportable motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and deaths drawn from crash reports that Texas law enforcement officers file with TxDOT. TxDOT defines a reportable motor vehicle crash as a crash involving a motor vehicle in transport that occurs or originates on a trafficway and results in injury to or death of any person, or in damage to one person's property of $1,000 or more (TxDOT Annual Motor Vehicle Crash Data Report Definitions).
Key insight: Texas recorded 538,860 reportable crashes, 3,476 fatal crashes, 3,769 deaths, and 244,534 injured people in 2025. Failure to control speed appears in more crashes than any other contributing factor, and failure to drive in a single lane appears in more fatal crashes than any other contributing factor, according to the TxDOT 2025 Crash Contributing Factors report.
Leading Causes of Car Accidents in Texas
The table lists the contributing factors that Texas peace officers recorded most often on 2025 crash reports, grouped by the cause categories used on this page. Each row gives the number of crashes in which at least one driver carried the factor, the share of all 538,860 reportable crashes, the number of fatal crashes with the factor, and the share of all 3,476 fatal crashes. A crash can carry no factor or several, so the rows overlap and do not add up to the statewide totals.
| Cause category | TxDOT contributing factor | Crashes with factor | Share of all crashes | Fatal crashes with factor | Share of fatal crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speeding | Failed to control speed | 125,969 | 23.4% | 463 | 13.3% |
| Speeding | Unsafe speed | 22,037 | 4.1% | 420 | 12.1% |
| Speeding | Speeding (over limit) | 2,276 | 0.4% | 263 | 7.6% |
| Alcohol and drug impairment | Under influence: alcohol | 16,508 | 3.1% | 500 | 14.4% |
| Alcohol and drug impairment | Had been drinking | 4,838 | 0.9% | 162 | 4.7% |
| Alcohol and drug impairment | Under influence: drug | 2,009 | 0.4% | 224 | 6.4% |
| Distracted driving | Driver inattention | 76,918 | 14.3% | 229 | 6.6% |
| Distracted driving | Distraction in vehicle | 11,122 | 2.1% | 42 | 1.2% |
| Failure to yield | Failed to yield right of way: turning left | 35,194 | 6.5% | 152 | 4.4% |
| Failure to yield | Failed to yield right of way: stop sign | 30,913 | 5.7% | 117 | 3.4% |
| Failure to yield | Failed to yield right of way: private drive | 18,378 | 3.4% | 55 | 1.6% |
| Drowsy driving | Fatigued or asleep | 8,163 | 1.5% | 98 | 2.8% |
| Lane use | Failed to drive in single lane | 40,927 | 7.6% | 744 | 21.4% |
| Pedestrian behavior | Pedestrian failed to yield right of way to vehicle | 2,328 | 0.4% | 412 | 11.9% |
Failed to control speed is the most frequent factor, in 23.4% of crashes, and failed to drive in a single lane is the most frequent factor in fatal crashes, in 21.4% of them. Unsafe speed, speeding over the limit, alcohol and drug factors, and failure to drive in a single lane make up a larger share of fatal crashes than of all crashes, while failed to control speed and driver inattention make up a smaller share of fatal crashes. TxDOT records contributing factors as the investigating officer's opinion, using the 70 values of field 38 on the CR-3 code sheet.
Car Accident Summary in Texas
The table summarizes Texas car accident statistics for 2025, the latest year of TxDOT data, with a source named for each variable. Rows marked as computed are plain arithmetic on the cited annual totals, and rows for the cause of crashes use TxDOT's contributing factor counts, because TxDOT does not designate a single cause for a crash.
| Variable | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2025 (CR-3 reports processed by TxDOT as of April 7, 2026) | TxDOT |
| Total vehicle collisions in Texas | 538,860 reportable crashes (2025) | TxDOT Rural and Urban Crashes and Injuries by Severity |
| Car accidents per year in Texas | 538,860 (2025) | TxDOT |
| Car accidents per day | About 1,476 (computed: 538,860 / 365) | Computed from TxDOT |
| Fatal car crashes per year | 3,476 (2025) | TxDOT |
| Car accident deaths per year | 3,769 (2025) | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Car accident deaths per day | About 10.3 (computed: 3,769 / 365) | Computed from TxDOT |
| Non-fatal injury crashes | 165,731 (computed: 14,395 suspected serious, 76,106 suspected minor, and 75,230 possible injury crashes) | Computed from TxDOT |
| Percentage of fatal crashes | 0.65% of reportable crashes (3,476 of 538,860) | TxDOT |
| Leading cause of car accidents in Texas | Failed to control speed, a contributing factor in 125,969 crashes (23.4%) | TxDOT Crash Contributing Factors |
| Leading cause of traffic fatalities | Failed to drive in single lane, a contributing factor in 744 fatal crashes (21.4%); under influence of alcohol follows with 500 fatal crashes | TxDOT Crash Contributing Factors |
| Pedestrian deaths | 695 (2025), down 10.09% from 2024 | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Motorcycle fatalities | 559 motorcyclists killed (536 operators and 23 passengers); 31% of them were not wearing helmets | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Alcohol-related deaths | 906 deaths in crashes involving a driver under the influence of alcohol (24.04% of all deaths); 809 fatal DUI (alcohol) crashes | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025; TxDOT DUI comparison |
| Speed-related deaths | 297 deaths in crashes involving speeding over the limit (TxDOT's "speed over limit" category) | TxDOT Fatalities in Crashes Involving Speed - Over Limit |
| Distracted driving deaths | 308 deaths in crashes involving distracted driving, down 18.95% from 2024 | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Urban vs rural fatality share | Rural 1,889 deaths (50.12%); urban 1,880 deaths (49.88%) | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025; Rural and Urban report |
| Overall traffic fatality trend | Down from 4,456 deaths in 2021 to 3,769 in 2025 | TxDOT Comparison of Deaths 2003-2025 |
The 2025 totals describe reportable crashes only: crashes with an injury, a death, or $1,000 or more in property damage to one person. Minor collisions below that threshold do not appear in TxDOT's counts.
Car Accident Statistics by Texas Counties
County-level car accident statistics show where Texas crashes concentrate. The two tables rank the 20 counties with the most reportable crashes in 2025 and give each county's fatal crashes, deaths, and fatal share of crashes. TxDOT assigns a crash to the county where it occurred, which indicates the location only and does not imply that the county government could have prevented the crash.
Counties ranked 1 to 10, 2025
| County (rank by crashes) | Total crashes | Fatal crashes | Deaths | Fatal share of crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Harris County | 107,472 | 477 | 503 | 0.44% |
| 2. Bexar County | 46,744 | 182 | 190 | 0.39% |
| 3. Dallas County | 43,946 | 258 | 274 | 0.59% |
| 4. Tarrant County | 30,433 | 186 | 190 | 0.61% |
| 5. El Paso County | 17,848 | 67 | 70 | 0.38% |
| 6. Travis County | 15,939 | 136 | 143 | 0.85% |
| 7. Collin County | 15,533 | 60 | 65 | 0.39% |
| 8. Hidalgo County | 15,390 | 48 | 52 | 0.31% |
| 9. Fort Bend County | 12,801 | 52 | 57 | 0.41% |
| 10. Montgomery County | 12,393 | 52 | 58 | 0.42% |
Counties ranked 11 to 20, 2025
| County (rank by crashes) | Total crashes | Fatal crashes | Deaths | Fatal share of crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. Denton County | 12,118 | 55 | 57 | 0.45% |
| 12. Williamson County | 9,192 | 54 | 63 | 0.59% |
| 13. Nueces County | 8,005 | 47 | 50 | 0.59% |
| 14. Cameron County | 7,692 | 33 | 33 | 0.43% |
| 15. Jefferson County | 6,880 | 42 | 44 | 0.61% |
| 16. Galveston County | 6,532 | 33 | 33 | 0.51% |
| 17. Webb County | 6,256 | 15 | 15 | 0.24% |
| 18. Bell County | 6,068 | 46 | 49 | 0.76% |
| 19. Lubbock County | 5,856 | 36 | 38 | 0.61% |
| 20. Brazoria County | 5,709 | 37 | 42 | 0.65% |
Harris County recorded 107,472 crashes and 503 deaths in 2025, the most of any Texas county, and the 254 counties together recorded 538,860 crashes and 3,769 deaths. 26 counties recorded no traffic deaths in 2025: Willacy, Ochiltree, Childress, Yoakum, Haskell, Baylor, Donley, Mills, Floyd, Real, Shackelford, Sherman, Kinney, Sterling, Cottle, Terrell, King, Roberts, Briscoe, Jim Hogg, Throckmorton, Foard, Kent, Stonewall, Lipscomb, Collingsworth. The full 254-county list is in the TxDOT Crashes and Injuries by County report.
Fatal Car Accident Statistics in Texas
Fatal car accident statistics in Texas describe how often crashes kill, which factors appear in fatal crashes, and which people and places are most affected. TxDOT counts a fatality as a death within thirty days of the crash, so the figures below include people who died after the crash scene was cleared.
| Variable | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2025 (CR-3 data processed as of April 7, 2026) | TxDOT |
| Total traffic deaths in Texas | 3,769 | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Car crash deaths per year | 3,769 (all motor vehicle traffic deaths, including pedestrians, pedalcyclists, and motorcyclists) | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Car crash deaths per day | About 10.3 (computed: 3,769 / 365). No day in 2025 passed without a traffic death | Computed from TxDOT |
| A fatal motor vehicle crash occurs every | TxDOT reports one person killed every 2 hours 19 minutes | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Percentage of fatal crashes | 0.65% of reportable crashes (3,476 of 538,860) | TxDOT DUI comparison report |
| Most common cause of fatal crashes | Failed to drive in single lane, in 744 of 3,476 fatal crashes (21.4%); under influence of alcohol, 500 (14.4%); failed to control speed, 463 (13.3%) | TxDOT Crash Contributing Factors |
| Age group most affected | Ages 20 to 29: 790 deaths (21.0% of 3,769), the largest ten-year age band | Computed from TxDOT Fatalities by Age, Person Type, and Gender |
| Gender distribution | Male 2,703 (71.7%); female 1,059 (28.1%); unknown 7 (0.2%) | Computed from TxDOT Fatalities by Age, Person Type, and Gender |
| County with the highest fatalities | Harris County, 503 deaths | TxDOT Crashes and Injuries by County |
| County with the lowest fatalities | 26 counties recorded 0 deaths in 2025, among them Baylor, Briscoe, and Childress | TxDOT Crashes and Injuries by County |
| Share of deaths in rural crashes | 50.12% (1,889 deaths) | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Share of killed persons not restrained | 45.94% of persons killed in vehicles where restraint use applied and was known | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
Males account for 71.7% of Texas traffic deaths in 2025, and the 20 to 29 age band carries the most deaths of any ten-year band. TxDOT's definition of fatal injury (death within thirty days) is why the death count for a year can rise slightly after the year closes.
Non-Fatal Injury Statistics in Texas
Non-fatal injury statistics in Texas count the people hurt in crashes but not killed, sorted by TxDOT's three injury severity levels. Suspected serious injury, suspected minor injury, and possible injury are the injury codes A, B, and C in field 16 of the CR-3, and the table reports the 2025 totals for each.
| Variable | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2025 | TxDOT |
| Total injury crashes (non-fatal) | 165,731 (computed: 14,395 + 76,106 + 75,230) | Computed from TxDOT |
| People injured | 244,534 | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Suspected serious injuries (code A) | 17,418 people in 14,395 crashes | TxDOT Rural and Urban report |
| Suspected minor injuries (code B) | 105,837 people in 76,106 crashes | TxDOT Rural and Urban report |
| Possible injuries (code C) | 121,276 people in 75,230 crashes | TxDOT Rural and Urban report |
| Average injuries per day | About 670 (computed: 244,534 / 365) | Computed from TxDOT |
| Most common injury type | Possible injury: 121,276 people, 49.6% of the 244,531 persons in the three injury levels | Computed from TxDOT |
| Urban vs rural injury share | Urban 74.8% (183,029 persons); rural 25.2% (61,502 persons), summed over the three injury levels | Computed from TxDOT Rural and Urban report |
| Estimated economic cost | $54.2 billion for all motor vehicle crashes in 2025, rounded to the nearest hundred million; based on the National Safety Council's 2024 per-death cost | TxDOT Comparison of Deaths 2003-2025 |
Possible injuries, which TxDOT defines as an injury reported or claimed that is not fatal, serious, or minor, make up half of the injured persons. TxDOT does not record hospitalization, so a hospitalization rate is not part of the CR-3 statistics.
Car Accident Frequency in Texas
Car accident frequency in Texas measures how often a reportable crash, an injury, or a death occurs, expressed per day, per hour, and as the interval between events. The intervals come straight from TxDOT's 2025 crash facts, and the per-day and per-hour figures are the annual totals divided by 365 days and 8,760 hours.
| Variable | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A reportable motor vehicle crash occurs every | 59 seconds (2025) | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Car accidents per day | About 1,476 (computed) | Computed from TxDOT |
| Car accidents per hour | About 61.5 (computed: 538,860 / 8,760) | Computed from TxDOT |
| A person is injured every | 2 minutes 9 seconds | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| A person is killed every | 2 hours 19 minutes | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Fatal car accidents per day | About 9.5 (computed: 3,476 / 365) | Computed from TxDOT |
| People who die from car accidents daily | About 10.3 (computed: 3,769 / 365) | Computed from TxDOT |
| Average car crashes per year, 2021 to 2025 | About 552,185 (computed average of 552,677; 555,627; 559,616; 554,146; and 538,860) | Computed from TxDOT annual reports |
| Crash rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled | About 171.6 (computed: 538,860 crashes over 3,140.06 hundred-million miles); the death rate is 1.20 | Computed from TxDOT |
| Deathless days on Texas roadways in 2025 | None; at least one person died on every day of the year | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
A reportable crash occurs somewhere in Texas about every minute, and the 2025 interval of 59 seconds compares with 57 seconds in 2024 in TxDOT's 2024 crash facts. TxDOT does not publish a per-person annual probability of a crash.
Car Accident Trends in Texas
Car accident trends in Texas compare the annual totals of reportable crashes, fatal crashes, deaths, and injured people across the 2020 to 2025 reporting years. Deaths and the year-over-year change come from TxDOT's 2003 to 2025 comparison file, and crash and injury counts come from each year's annual summary, so the 2024 crash row reflects data as processed in April 2025.
Texas crashes, fatal crashes, deaths, and injured people, 2020 to 2025
| Year | Reportable crashes | Fatal crashes | Traffic deaths | Relative deaths | Change in deaths | People injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 475,273 | 3,545 | 3,898 | +7.62% | 205,725 | |
| 2021 | 552,677 | 4,028 | 4,456 | +14.32% | 239,779 | |
| 2022 | 555,627 | 3,968 | 4,410 | -1.03% | 244,349 | |
| 2023 | 559,616 | 3,874 | 4,291 | -2.70% | 250,489 | |
| 2024 | 554,146 | 3,762 | 4,159 | -3.08% | 251,977 | |
| 2025 | 538,860 | 3,476 | 3,769 | -9.38% | 244,534 |
Have car accidents increased in Texas? Reportable crashes rose from 475,273 in 2020 to a peak of 559,616 in 2023 and fell to 538,860 in 2025, a drop of 2.8% from 2024. Have traffic fatalities increased? Deaths peaked at 4,456 in 2021 and fell in each of the four following years, with the largest drop, 9.38%, in 2025, which brought the death rate to 1.20 per 100 million vehicle miles, the lowest value in TxDOT's 2003 to 2025 series (1.75 in 2003). TxDOT does not publish a primary trend driver, so this page does not assign one.
Road User Risk Breakdown in Texas
Road user risk breakdown statistics show how Texas traffic deaths divide across the people using the road, using TxDOT's person types from field 14 of the CR-3. Each death count is a 2025 figure, and the share column is the death count divided by the 3,769 Texas traffic deaths.
| Road user type | Deaths (2025) | Share of total fatalities | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drivers of cars, trucks, and buses (excluding motorcycles) | 1,840 | 48.8% | |
| Passengers (excluding motorcycles) | 563 | 14.9% | |
| Pedestrians | 695 | 18.4% | |
| Motorcyclists (operators and passengers) | 559 | 14.8% | |
| Pedalcyclists | 91 | 2.4% | |
| Other and unknown person types | 21 | 0.6% |
Drivers of non-motorcycle vehicles account for 48.8% of Texas traffic deaths, and pedestrians account for 18.4%. Pedestrian deaths fell 10.09% from 2024, while pedalcyclist deaths rose 13.75% to 91. TxDOT's injury tables break pedestrians and pedalcyclists out separately (2,863 pedalcyclist and 5,965 pedestrian crashes), but not the other road user types, so this table reports deaths only.
Light, Weather, and Road Surface Conditions in Texas Crashes
Crash conditions in Texas are recorded on the CR-3 as light condition (field 41), weather condition (field 40), and surface condition (field 45). The three tables give each condition's 2025 crashes, fatal crashes, and fatal share, where the statewide fatal share is 0.65%. Fatal share is fatal crashes divided by crashes in the same row.
Light condition
| Condition | Crashes | Fatal crashes | Fatal share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 369,293 | 1,390 | 0.38% |
| Dark, lighted | 100,778 | 832 | 0.83% |
| Dark, not lighted | 49,675 | 1,077 | 2.17% |
| Dawn | 6,268 | 57 | 0.91% |
| Dusk | 6,200 | 78 | 1.26% |
Weather condition
| Condition | Crashes | Fatal crashes | Fatal share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear/cloudy | 495,519 | 3,228 | 0.65% |
| Rain | 35,861 | 177 | 0.49% |
| Fog | 2,624 | 52 | 1.98% |
| Snow | 1,401 | 2 | 0.14% |
| Sleet/hail | 562 | 0 | 0.00% |
Surface condition
| Condition | Crashes | Fatal crashes | Fatal share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry | 479,707 | 3,165 | 0.66% |
| Wet | 51,299 | 278 | 0.54% |
| Standing water | 1,966 | 11 | 0.56% |
| Ice | 1,654 | 4 | 0.24% |
| Snow | 560 | 1 | 0.18% |
Dark roads without lighting carry the highest fatal share of the light conditions at 2.17%, compared with 0.38% in daylight. Most crashes happen on dry roads in clear or cloudy weather, which is where most Texas driving takes place, and the code values for each condition are listed on the CR-3 code sheet.
Road Safety and Prevention Statistics in Texas
Road safety and prevention statistics in Texas show how many deaths involve behaviors that drivers and riders can control: restraint use, helmet use, speed, alcohol, distraction, and lane position. The table gives TxDOT's 2025 counts for each behavior, and each count measures deaths in crashes where the behavior was recorded, not deaths proven to be caused by the behavior.
| Prevention area | Texas 2025 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seat belt and restraint use | 45.94% of persons killed in vehicles where restraint use applied and was known were reported as not restrained | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Helmet use | 559 motorcyclists killed; 173 of them (31%) were not wearing helmets | TxDOT Motorcyclist Fatalities and Injuries by Age Group and Helmet Use |
| Speed limit compliance | 297 deaths in crashes involving speeding over the limit; failed to control speed appears in 125,969 crashes | TxDOT speed-over-limit report; Crash Contributing Factors |
| Drunk driving | 906 deaths in crashes where a driver was under the influence of alcohol, 24.04% of all deaths; 596 of them were the DUI drivers themselves | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025; Fatalities in Crashes Involving DUI (Alcohol) |
| Distracted driving | 308 deaths in crashes involving distracted driving, down 18.95% from 2024 | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Run-off-road, intersection, and head-on crashes | 1,201 deaths in single-vehicle run-off-road crashes (31.87%); 955 in or at intersections; 555 in head-on crashes | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 |
| Pedestrians and pedalcyclists | 695 pedestrians and 91 pedalcyclists killed; 788 fatal crashes involved a pedestrian or pedalcyclist | TxDOT Crash Facts 2025; TxDOT pedestrian and pedalcyclist report |
How to prevent road accidents in Texas follows from the behaviors in the table: wearing a restraint, wearing a helmet on a motorcycle, driving at or below the posted limit, driving sober, and keeping attention on the road. The counts above are the Texas figures TxDOT publishes for these behaviors. Figures for vehicle safety technology and road infrastructure improvements are not part of the CR-3 and are not reported here.
Questions
Frequently asked questions about car accident statistics in Texas
The answers below lead with the verified Texas figure and name the source.
3,769 people died in Texas traffic crashes in 2025, according to TxDOT. Texas deaths fell from 4,456 in 2021 to 4,410 in 2022, 4,291 in 2023, 4,159 in 2024, and 3,769 in 2025 (TxDOT 2003-2025 comparison). NHTSA's early estimate for Texas in 2025 is 3,775 deaths (DOT HS 813 800), within 6 deaths of TxDOT's count.
39,254 people died in United States traffic crashes in 2024, and NHTSA's early estimate for 2025 is 36,640 (DOT HS 813 800). Texas accounts for 4,160 of the 39,254 deaths in 2024 in NHTSA's state table, which is 10.6% of the national total (computed). The national picture is in Car Accident Statistics.
3,476 fatal crashes happened in Texas in 2025, according to TxDOT. The count was 3,762 in 2024, 3,874 in 2023, 3,968 in 2022, and 4,028 in 2021, so Texas fatal crashes fell for four straight years. A fatal crash is any injury crash with one or more fatal injuries, and some fatal crashes kill more than one person, which is why 2025 had 3,476 fatal crashes and 3,769 deaths.
About 10 people die in car accidents per day in Texas, based on 3,769 deaths in 2025 (3,769 divided by 365 is 10.3). TxDOT reports one person killed every 2 hours 19 minutes, and no day in 2025 passed without a traffic death (TxDOT Crash Facts 2025).
Fatality rates compare deaths with crashes and with miles driven.
0.65% of reportable car accidents in Texas were fatal in 2025: 3,476 fatal crashes out of 538,860 reportable crashes (TxDOT). The fatal share was 0.75% in 2020, 0.73% in 2021, 0.71% in 2022, 0.69% in 2023, and 0.68% in 2024 (computed from TxDOT's annual summaries).
The Texas fatality rate fell to 1.20 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2025, the lowest value in TxDOT's series from 2003 to 2025. The rate was 1.75 in 2003, 1.26 in 2019, 1.50 in 2020, 1.56 in 2021, 1.52 in 2022, 1.42 in 2023, and 1.35 in 2024 (TxDOT Comparison of Motor Vehicle Traffic Deaths, Vehicle Miles, Death Rates, and Economic Loss). TxDOT defines the fatality rate as fatalities per 100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled.
TxDOT records contributing factors, which are the investigating officer's opinion of what contributed to a crash, and does not rank a single cause.
Failed to control speed is the leading contributing factor in Texas car accidents, recorded in 125,969 of the 538,860 reportable crashes in 2025 (23.4%), according to TxDOT's Crash Contributing Factors report. Driver inattention follows with 76,918 crashes (14.3%). A crash can carry several factors, so the counts overlap.
The most common contributing factors in Texas car accidents in 2025 are the following (crashes with the factor, TxDOT):
- Failed to control speed (code 22): 125,969 crashes, the most frequent factor of any kind.
- Driver inattention (code 20): 76,918 crashes, defined by TxDOT as a lack of attention to the roadway, highway, or traffic.
- Changed lane when unsafe (code 4): 50,503 crashes, where a vehicle on a multi-lane roadway moved out of its lane when the movement could not be made safely.
- Failed to drive in single lane (code 23): 40,927 crashes, and 744 fatal crashes, the most of any factor.
- Failed to yield right of way, turning left (code 37): 35,194 crashes, where a driver turning left did not yield to oncoming traffic.
- Failed to yield right of way, stop sign (code 35): 30,913 crashes, where a driver stopped at a stop sign and then failed to yield.
Each named factor is a numbered value of field 38 on the CR-3 code sheet, and the code number appears in brackets beside the factor. The generic value "Other (explain in narrative)" is excluded from the list.
Failed to drive in single lane is the leading contributing factor in fatal car accidents in Texas, recorded in 744 of the 3,476 fatal crashes in 2025 (21.4%). Under influence of alcohol follows with 500 fatal crashes (14.4%), and failed to control speed with 463 (13.3%). Pedestrians who failed to yield right of way to a vehicle appear in 412 fatal crashes (TxDOT Crash Contributing Factors).
TxDOT publishes crash rates per mile driven and does not publish a per-person annual probability.
TxDOT does not publish a per-person probability, and the 2025 statewide crash rate was about 171.6 reportable crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (538,860 crashes over 314.006 billion miles; computed from TxDOT). A reportable crash occurred every 59 seconds in Texas in 2025. The likelihood depends on the road type, the area, and the miles driven.
The odds of a crash vary with the highway system and the area, and TxDOT's 2025 crash rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled show the range (TxDOT Statewide Traffic Crash Rates):
- Interstate: 47.26 crashes in rural areas and 143.95 in urban areas.
- US Highway: 68.63 crashes in rural areas and 174.60 in urban areas.
- State Highway: 89.89 crashes in rural areas and 205.64 in urban areas.
- Farm-to-Market road: 115.00 crashes in rural areas and 245.79 in urban areas.
- Four or more lanes, undivided: 101.02 crashes in rural areas and 302.64 in urban areas, the highest rate among the road types TxDOT lists.
Urban rates exceed rural rates for every highway system and road type, and interstates carry the lowest crash rates per mile driven.
TxDOT does not publish the number of crashes per person, and the available count is 538,860 reportable crashes in 2025 across all Texas road users. The crash count measures crashes, not people, because one crash can involve several drivers and passengers (TxDOT).
Texas accident reports are the source records behind the statistics on this page.
A car accident report in Texas is the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (Form CR-3), the written report a law enforcement officer submits to TxDOT after investigating a crash that injured or killed a person, or damaged one person's property to the apparent extent of $1,000 or more. Texas Transportation Code §550.062 requires the officer to submit the report not later than the tenth day after the crash (TxDOT Crash reports and records). The general guide to car accident reports explains the report in every state.
A Texas car accident report records the crash date, time, and location, the units and persons involved, injury severity, restraint use, contributing factors, road and weather conditions, and the officer's narrative and diagram. The CR-3 is organized in four coded sections: identification and location, vehicle, driver, and persons, commercial motor vehicle, and factors and conditions (TxDOT CR-100 Instructions to Police for Reporting Crashes).
A Texas police accident report is the CR-3, and its numbered fields take only the values on the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report code sheet (Form CR-3CS). The code values for roadway system, body style, injury severity, contributing factors, and weather are listed in the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report code sheet.
TxDOT builds the statewide crash database from the CR-3 reports that law enforcement agencies submit, and the database supplies the statistics on this page. TxDOT's instructions to police state that crash data support problem identification, goal setting, resource allocation, and the evaluation of highway and vehicle safety countermeasures (CR-100). TxDOT publishes the annual summaries on its motor vehicle crash statistics page.
Texas accident reports are reliable for the crashes they cover and incomplete for crashes outside the reporting threshold. TxDOT returns a report with a blank mandatory field or an invalid code to the investigating officer for correction, and officers file a supplement when a person dies within 30 days or when alcohol or drug results arrive later (CR-100). TxDOT counts only reportable crashes, and its totals move slightly as late reports arrive, as the 2024 death count did, from 4,150 to 4,159. For other uses of accident reports, the narrative and contributing factors reflect the officer's opinion at the time of the investigation.
A Texas car accident report is purchased through the TxDOT Crash Report Online Purchase System, because TxDOT states that crash reports are not available for online viewing by the general public. A regular copy costs $6 and a certified copy costs $8, with a processing surcharge for credit card use (TxDOT). Texas Transportation Code §550.065 limits release to persons directly concerned in the crash, such as drivers, owners, insurers, and authorized representatives, and other requesters receive a redacted copy. To start a request through AccidentReports.com, use the find my report page.
Texas Car Accident Reports and Related Pages
Texas car accident reports are issued by the law enforcement agency that investigated the crash. The pages below cover the Texas state hub, the largest Texas cities, and the CR-3 code sheet.