Road Safety - $30 Million Is Needed, But Is It Coming?

Dallas is in a bad spot when it comes to road deaths, and the scale of the challenge has now been expressed in numerical form. Dallas News recently reported that the city authority had requested $30 million in order to prevent traffic deaths entirely by 2030 - a huge sum, but not unforeseen when considering the scale of Dallas traffic death problems. 2030 is a long way off, however, at least when people are dying every day on the roads. The good news is that actions are being taken today to prevent deaths, and they are having a positive impact.

Using the law

There is currently a great deal of private litigation provided towards solving the road traffic fatality question. Texas law is notably flexible in its application, and drivers can expect to engage in mediation in personal injury settlement cases which can sometimes result in measures such as new driving lessons for the offending driver. More needs to be done, however, and there are arguments that this should come from a federal level. Indeed, NBC DFW reports that Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, would be allocating significant resources to changing road laws in a way that benefits safe drivers and is prejudicial towards drivers breaking the safe system. This, along with infrastructure spending, are providing an important bridge to safety today.

Highway safe infrastructure

Part of the infrastructure bill stipulates spending considerable amounts on highway safety - including smart measures. This could include smart signal and sign systems that demand slower speeds, warning systems that can beam directly to smart cars as they travel through the network, or systems that will interact with the electric vehicles of the future. Ideas are being fielded and will be a necessary part of the infrastructure upgrades that America is soon to embark on, including the densely packed metro areas around Dallas and other Texan conurbations. These measures can come in simply, too; the simple construction of points along the network that can beam instructions will create a dip in fatalities.

Improving the maintenance

Texas has always had bitterly cold winters, but they were dry. The state relies on its hot weather when assessing risks on the road, and it's not used to the impact of freezing and cold snaps and what that does to drivers. The impact of these events is now being seen; the Dallas Morning News have reported huge spikes in the amount of accidents, especially involving large trucks, due to slippy and slick roads. A simple shift in attitude across the state could help to prevent these, as could the retention of gritting teams for next time temperatures dip below zero.

Dallas needs to improve its roads. This change has to come from a range of sources; relying on long-term change isn’t enough. Through attitude changes and embracing the new normal of driving conditions, a lot of change can be made while funding makes its way to the right departments.