Car Accident Rates Jump in Eagle Ford Shale Region with Oil Boom

Ford and Laurel Attorneys at Law,
San Antonio 6/18/14

With the promise of big paychecks, thousands of oil and gas workers have made their way to south central Texas, but the small towns and rural roads of this area haven’t been able to sustain the increase.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, in 2012 more than 2,723 catastrophic injury accidents with almost 250 fatalities occurred in Eagle Ford Shale region. Beginning in 2008, some counties have seen an increase in car accidents by 1,000%.

Karnes county sheriff David Jaluka, serving one of the areas with the greatest rises in traffic accidents has said, “You take your life in your own hands by being out on the road right now.” So many people were killed on Texas 239 southeast of Kenedy that it’s now known as the “death trap.”

Roads that previously saw one or two trucks a day now carry 500. The highways weren’t built expecting the constant heavy loads they now bear under so many commercial vehicles. Pot holes have become the norm in this part of Texas with grave consequences. In April of 2012, workers traveling along Texas 792 in the back of a truck bed were ejected when the truck hit a pot hole. Two were killed.

But it’s not just the road conditions causing car accidents and fatalities in the East Ford Shale Region. According to the Center of Disease Control the single greatest cause of death for oil and gas workers in the five-year period between 2003-2008 came from car crashes related to fatigue. Their long shifts create such fatigue that driving becomes deadly.
Picture courtesy San Antonio Express News.
County leaders know they have to balance the economic benefits of Eagle Ford drilling and road safety. Drilling companies have to do their part to maintain the roads and work to create safer driving practices by their employees. Car accidents and fatalities can only go down if county leaders and drilling companies work together. Public citizens affected by a car crashes in south central Texas can also contact local attorneys to better understand their rights in holding local oil and gas businesses liable.
If you have been involved in a Car Accident in the greater Eagle Ford Shale Area call Ford and Laurel for competent representation from a Car Accident Attorney.
Eaglefordshale.com/blog