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.
Posted on · The growth in fracking is opening huge energy reserves and bringing jobs to Texas. But traffic fatalities, some involving inexperienced and fatigued truck drivers, have surged. This is the national version from the "Boom in Oil and Traffic Deaths" series.
Posted on · Texas Transportation Commission plans to redirect funds from less "shovel ready" projects.
Posted on · A look into the investigative series, which has examined the risks to drivers, in and out of the oil industry.
Posted on · Oil worker road deaths slipped in 2013, but remain near 10-year high.
Posted on · Multiple deaths are becoming increasingly common as exhausted workers share their commutes.
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.
Posted on · Since 2009, Texas roads have become the deadliest in the country.
Posted on · Fatal crashes on Texas highways jumped 50 percent from 2009 through 2013.
Posted on · It was still dark as Daniel Zambrano drove a company van full of workers from an isolated fracking site along State Highway 72, an asphalt artery in the booming Eagle Ford Shale Play.