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  • Deadly Roads

    SLIDESHOW See how traffic accidents are spiking

  • Deadly Roads

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    Graphic by Emily Albracht

    Since 2009, the number of fatal traffic accidents in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin regions has grown significantly.

  • Deadly Roads

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    Photo of TX-85 in Dilly, Texas by Tamir Kalifa

    The oil and gas boom is wearing down roads, forcing the repair of existing ones and necessitating the creation of new roads, often made out of crushed rock, to access remote areas. The result is more accidents and traffic jams that rival major Texas cities.

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    Graphic by Emily Albracht

    In 2013, commercial vehicles, such as trucks used in drilling operations, were involved in nearly a third of fatal traffic accidents in the Eagle Ford Shale and a quarter of accidents in the Permian Basin, compared with 15 percent of accidents statewide.

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    Photo of Interstate 35 by Tamir Kalifa

    Texas State Highway 85, just west of the Nueces River, is particularly torn up because it is one of the few highway roads that connects the oil boomtowns in the Eagle Ford Shale to a large trade route, Interstate 35.

  • Deadly Roads

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    Graphic by Emily Albracht

    The increase in fatal traffic accidents involving commercial vehicles in the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin regions is particularly pronounced. From 2009 to 2013, those types of accidents grew by 250 percent in the shale regions. The statewide increase was 50 percent.

In Drilling Towns, More Traffic Means More Deaths

Newly cracked, chipped and crowded roads in and between boom communities have meant more than just traffic jams for local commuters. They’ve also proved deadly.

Each day, as thousands of industry trucks and 18-wheelers transport flammable substances and equipment on roads ill-prepared to handle them, drilling regions are seeing an increase in deadly accidents — many of them involving commercial vehicles.

Use the slideshow above to see how the percentage of fatal traffic accidents in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin regions has changed — and how those rates compare with the rest of the state.

Editor’s Note: This story previously identified Texas State Highway 85 as Interstate 85.

Data analysis by Becca Aaronson, graphics by Emily Albracht, photos by Tamir Kalifa | Oct. 29, 2014

Permian Basin (west), Eagle Ford Shale (south)

The Shales by the Numbers

Eagle Ford Shale
2009 2013 Percent Change
Total traffic accidents 15,016 16,643 11%
Accidents involving commercial vehicles 987 2,023 105%
Fatal traffic accidents 140 170 21%
Fatal accidents involving commercial vehicles 15 52 247%
Permian Basin
2009 2013 Percent Change
Total traffic accidents 21,141 22,074 4%
Accidents involving commercial vehicles 1,145 2,125 86%
Fatal traffic accidents 162 252 56%
Fatal accidents involving commercial vehicles 18 62 244%
Statewide
2009 2013 Percent Change
Total traffic accidents 428,310 441,682 3%
Accidents involving commercial vehicles 25,000 29,198 17%
Fatal traffic accidents 2,821 3,038 8%
Fatal accidents involving commercial vehicles 301 452 50%
Source: Texas Department of Transportation