Boom In Oil And Traffic Deaths

big rig

Nationwide, oilfield workers are far more likely to die on the road than other workers. Meanwhile, Texas has become the deadliest state in total traffic fatalities during the last five years. The rise in deaths are taking place during the state's ongoing fracking boom. This series explores why there are so many oilfield-related traffic deaths and the impact on loved ones left behind.

 

This is a joint investigation by the Houston Chronicle and Houston Public Media News 88.7.

Boom in Oil and Traffic Deaths

Triple Tragedies Rise On Dangerous Roads

Posted on · It was before dawn as the driver of a van load of six oilfield workers traveled Highway 72, a major asphalt artery of the Eagle Ford Shale, toward the boom town of Three Rivers, Texas in January. They'd left a fracking site near the town Tilden after completing an unusually long 24-hour shift.