Speeding Crackdown Coming to East Texas Roadways Now Through August

(Tyler, Texas) - I promise I will not go into a huge rant about this but I hate speeders. Why? Because it's dangerous to everyone on the road around that speeder. I get you want to get where you're going as quickly as possible. You just can't do it in a way that risks the lives of everyone around you.

A new study has been released that shows just how dangerous speeding is in Texas. It has even been broken down by county so we'll get to see how bad it really is in East Texas. It's also prompted a new police initiative.

Speeding in Texas

In 2024, TxDOT released numbers county by county showing the dangers of speeding in Texas (KXAN). The report shows 13 sections of statistics from fatalities to injuries to total crashes. In total, there was 158,362 crashes that resulted from people speeding.

1,467 people were killed in Texas because of speeding with a total death toll 4,150 in 2024. Why do people speed? That's the real question that we may not get a true answer to.

Speeding in East Texas

Speeding in East Texas is a problem. We see complaints about it online on a daily basis. The TxDOT report shows how bad it truly is in East Texas. Below I'll give the numbers of the four major East Texas counties in 2024:

• Henderson County - 2 fatal crashes, 3 total fatalities, 324 total crashes
• Cherokee County - 4 fatal crashes, 4 total fatalities, 246 total crashes
• Gregg County - 5 fatal crashes, 5 total fatalities, 919 total crashes
• Smith County - 14 fatal crashes, 17 total fatalities, 2,124 total crashes

You can look up your county at txdot.gov.

Operation Slowdown

Operation Slowdown has begun across Texas and in East Texas. From now through August 3, police will be on the roadways specifically looking for speeders. Warnings will not be issued during this time. Everyone caught speeding will receive a ticket.

Police will also be on the roads showing what a proper speed limit looks like. This is being done because speed is the number one factor in traffic crashes according to TxDOT.

What Can Be Done About This?

That's a good question. As someone who recently went through it with my fiancé's daughter, getting rid of parent taught driver's education is a start. Every new driver needs to go through a proper driver's education to learn the actual rules of the road, not a bunch of myths that have become fact for many.

Another solution is for driver's to be mindful of everyone around them. Everyone is trying to get where their going in a safe manner. No one is trying to get in your way. Be patient and courteous behind the wheel.

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