Saturday marks 26 years without a single death-free day on Texas roads, and DPS troopers will hand out safety brochures

Saturday, Nov. 7, will be the 26th anniversary of the last day on which nobody died on a Texas roadway, and the Texas Department of Transportation is using the date to push its #EndTheStreakTX safety campaign.

Since Nov. 7, 2000, over 95,000 people have died in crashes the agency calls preventable, TxDOT figures cited by KTXS in Abilene show. In other words, at least one person has died on a Texas road every day for more than a quarter century.

What changes at traffic stops

Starting Saturday, state troopers will hand drivers safety pamphlets when they pull them over, whether the stop ends in a warning or a ticket, Sgt. Marc Couch of the Texas Department of Public Safety told KTXS. He said the pamphlets will remind motorists about seat belts, speed and distracted driving.

TxDOT districts have been holding local events ahead of the anniversary. In Amarillo, the TxDOT district kicked off the campaign Oct. 30, and district spokesperson Jason Britsch told KVII the problem is "happening across the state of Texas and right here in our own backyard." The Abilene District held its event Tuesday with police, firefighters, sheriff's deputies, DPS and a hospital partner.

The agency's checklist

TxDOT's campaign asks drivers to:

• buckle up
• put the phone down and avoid other distractions
• drive at a safe speed for conditions
• arrange a sober ride before drinking
• move over or slow down for emergency vehicles

TxDOT Abilene spokesperson Alaisha Montanez told KTXS the department works on the engineering side too, adding sidewalks, resurfacing roads, improving lighting and replacing roads and bridges, and leans on local partners to spread the message. "It takes all of us to end the streak of roadway deaths," she said.

Sources

ktxs.com

abc7amarillo.com