Driving in the nation’s most dangerous major metro got considerably safer in 2018, a preliminary analysis of crashes shows, and officials are pledging more efforts to reduce roadway risks in the new year.

Though a few dozen late December fatalities are likely not reported to the state’s system, the nine-county Houston region is virtually assured of having its lowest number of roadway deaths since 2013 when 592 fatalities were recorded. As of Dec. 28, the Texas Department of Transportation’s Crash Records Information System listed 536 fatalities in the Houston region, which includes Harris County, its seven adjoining counties and Austin County to the west.

Harris County, where most crashes in the area occur, and Houston — home to about one-third of fatalities — are each on pace for steep declines even as their populations increase.

The decreases come as a Houston Chronicle investigation, “Out of Control,” found that the Houston region has the nation’s most dangerous drivers and roadways and examined some of the most significant reasons for the carnage, including residents’ penchant for speeding and driving impaired.

In the wake of the investigation, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office pledged to deploy more deputies to traffic enforcement.

“There is no question we must be doing more,” Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a recent interview.

After the launch of the Chronicle’s investigation in September, Gonzalez said his department focused traffic enforcement initiatives in two particularly dangerous areas: FM 2100 at Huffman-Cleveland and Texas 249 and Veterans Memorial Drive.

Combined, the corridors had been the site of crashes that killed 13 people in 2018, Gonzalez said.

Out of Control: Houston area roads are nation’s most deadly

During the six-week initiatives, neither area saw a fatal crash, the sheriff said.

For September, the month when Gonzalez launched the initiatives and the first two of the Chronicle’s stories published, the Houston metro area saw 36 fatalities, the first time in more than four years the monthly total dipped below 40.

Houston TranStar executive director Dinah Massie said the drop was likely a collection of factors but applauded the increase in public awareness.

“Sometimes we need to be reminded of the dangers of driving in this region,” said Massie, head of the agency that oversees traffic operations and emergency management on major Houston-area roads.

Declining deaths

Statewide, Texas is on track for fewer deaths than the past two years and might see a decrease alcohol- and drug-related crashes by nearly 200. Last year, 963 people died in alcohol- and drug-related wrecks. So far, the state’s crash reporting system logged 679, though the number will rise when holiday season crashes are included.

The state’s total is heavily influenced by the Houston area, home to about one-quarter of Texans. Unless December is an especially tragic month, the region is on track for its lowest number of alcohol- and drug-related deaths since at least 2010.

Out of Control: In Houston, 11 fatal wrecks, 12 deaths: An average week

Officials cited a host of reasons for the declines, notably programs in the past year to make drivers more aware of risks, respond faster to freeway crashes and route other travelers away from crash spots. In May, officials resumed offering free tows to stranded vehicles off Houston freeways. Programs that remove stranded vehicles or crash scenes reduce risk, with some studies showing the likelihood of a secondary crash — a crash caused by the congestion of the first stall or crash — increases by 3 percent for every minute of delay.

“So if a vehicle sits for 30 minutes, the likelihood for a secondary crash is 90 percent,” Massie said. “Getting incidents cleared quickly reduces secondary crashes. We have seen some horrific fatalities that are secondary incidents in which a driver plows into a stranded vehicle.”

Police and fire responders, along with TxDOT crews and tow truck drivers, have participated since mid-2018 in federally sponsored incident management training. Harris County deputies also increased “focus on freeway incident management using cameras at TranStar to secure crash scenes and better coordinate vehicle removal,” Massie said.

Since the towing program began, fatalities in Harris County have consistently dropped from about 38 deaths monthly to about 28 deaths monthly. Fatalities plummeted in September to 18 countywide, according to the state database, an unheard-of decline in the past decade.

More efforts coming

In an interview, Gonzalez rattled off a litany of efforts in hopes of further decreasing traffic deaths.

The sheriff’s office has allocated $51,750 to buy five speed trailers, which sit on the sides of roads and monitor motor vehicle speed, showing drivers how fast they’re traveling — and provide real-time feedback to speed enforcement officers.

This would double the number the department already deployed.

He said his department stepped up visits to local schools to stress the importance of safe driving to teens, who are particularly prone to crashes. Since September, the department has performed seat belt checks at 11 high schools in conjunction with the Kailee Mills Foundation, a local nonprofit that advocates for safer driving and increased seat belt use.

Gonzalez said he also plans to add deputies on both DWI and speeding enforcement next year. The Chronicle’s investigation found that departments across the region have just a few officers specifically dedicated to speeding or DWI enforcement. In September, the sheriff’s office’s DWI squad — one of the larger units across the region — counted five deputies.

“The results were positive,” he said. “Plus the multistrategy initiative of increased law enforcement present, plus the education piece of portable radar signs that provide real-time feedback … does seem to alter behavior.”

Out of Control: Houston area drivers driven to distraction, with little stopping them

Traffic safety advocates said measures beyond ticket writing — particularly education — would be necessary to curb fatal wrecks and make the area’s roads safer.

“We just don’t do a good job addressing speed,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, a national organization of state highway safety officials.

Gonzalez’s move bucked a nationwide trend of declining speeding enforcement, Adkins said, even as speed remains a factor in a third of fatal crashes. Gonzalez said he also hopes to convene a group of local law enforcement agencies, hospitals and other stakeholders to look at strategies to curb roadway fatalities.

Other traffic safety advocates cheered the department’s efforts to increase education, particularly among crash-prone teens.

“All those things are a step in the right direction,” said Jane Terry, senior director of government affairs at the National Safety Council. “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens across the United States. That’s a point parents don’t fully appreciate. Focusing on teens is great; strengthening enforcement and education is important.”

Other measures are also needed, including better road design and infrastructure improvements, such as cable medians, rumble strips on rural roads, and traffic-slowing roundabouts at busier intersections, Terry said.

Despite the reductions in fatalities, motorists continue to suffer on Houston roads. In late December, an accused drunken driver crashed into two Houston police officers, injuring both.

The driver, 23-year-old Cesar Collazo, faces two counts each of intoxication assault of a peace officer and failure to stop and render aid after causing serious bodily injury, which is the official charge for a hit-and- run. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Friday afternoon, northbound traffic on Interstate 69 was slowed on a relatively sleepy holiday weekend commute when an SUV driver plowed into a pole near Buffalo Speedway. He died at the scene.

On Saturday, a 2-year-old who was not properly restrained died in a wreck on Airline Drive in north Harris County.

dug.begley@chron.com

st.john.smith@chron.com