AUSTIN, Texas — With Thanksgiving now just days away millions of people will be traveling near and far to see loved ones and enjoy a good meal with family. As AAA Texas projects most of those people will be driving, they teamed up with the Texas Department of Transportation to remind drivers of the best ways to stay safe on the roads.
TxDOT says it’s been 23 years since no one died on Texas roads. With that in mind, they’re sharing how drivers can help end the deadly streak and make it to their holiday destination safely.
AAA is expecting four million people to gas up and hit Texas roads for the Thanksgiving holiday. They say 90% of those who are heading out will do so in an automobile, so they want drivers to avoid distractions and drive safely.
“Between tomorrow and Sunday AAA expects to rescue more than 20,000 motorists on the roadside here in Texas and the top reasons for that- dead batteries, flat tires, and engine problems,” said Daniel Armbruster with AAA.
Daniel Armbruster with AAA says seeing a mechanic before traveling can help reduce the risks of getting stuck on the side of the road. Drivers are also encouraged to prepare for the unexpected and keep an emergency kit in their car.
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“Tragically last year there were a total of 114 fatalities on TxDOT roadways during the holiday season and nearly 40% of those happened over Thanksgiving weekend,” said Tucker Ferguson the district engineer for TxDOT’s Austin District.
During a holiday travel and winter weather update Tuesday -the Texas Department of Transportation says drivers should also be aware of how the incoming cold weather could impact driving conditions.
“The last thing you can do is check driveTexas.org before you travel to find out all of our road conditions,” he said.
But if you find yourself in a jam- Austin’s Highway Emergency Response Operator team known as Hero will be standing by to help.
“We prop up provide fuel if your vehicle is out of gas, jump batteries, water for over overheating engine. While you guys are out there to holiday seasons hero will be out there as well assisting wherever needed,”
You can reach HERO by calling 512-974-hero or 4376. TxDOT also reminds drivers and passengers to wear a seatbelts, never drive drunk, and follow the slow-down move-over law to help keep the road safe.
Rents nationwide have cooled from historic highs, according to the latest inflation figures. Austin, Texas, is one of the places where rents are showing a downward trend, but lower-income families say their rents are often staying the same or even increasing. Blair Waltman-Alexin of Austin PBS reports.
Elon Musk’s tunneling company, The Boring company is destroying Texas’ natural beauty and has worsened the life quality of rural Texans, according to Bastrop residents, where the company is located.
“It is beyond heartbreaking, I could start crying just talking about it,” Flynn, 62, a Bastrop resident, told The London Times. “We had these incredible vistas of outstanding natural beauty. It was breathtaking — you’d pull over and cry because it’s so pretty. And now, it’s gravel mines.”
Boring moved to Bastrop in 2021, the town has about 12,000 people and is located east of Austin.
According to Flynn and her husband, since Boring arrived, the landscape has worsened, with trucks operating everywhere, earth mounds scattered in the fields, heavy machines, and new gravel and sand mines erected to support the company’s operations.
Also, there have been numerous environmental concerns about the company’s operation, the company has applied for a permit to dump 145,500 gallons of treated wastewater per day into the Colorado River. The company has also received complaints regarding its handling of wastewater in the area.
Other residents have expressed concern over the rising cost of living produced by the arrival of more Austin newcomers.
“[T]he Austin people are now having to move to Bastrop, the people in Bastrop are having to move out in the country somewhere,” Kenneth Kesselus, the town’s former mayor, told the Times. “We’ve got some houses that in a giant hurry went from half a million dollars to a million.”
However, Flynn hopes that there still will be people who fight to preserve the environment.
“I have three children and don’t want them to think it’s all over,” Flynn said. “I’m a big believer in the pendulum swinging back, and right now we’re in an extreme time of bullying and bad behavior and bad decisions and greed. But it’s going to swing back.”
Flynn owns a farm in Bastrop and an organic site in Austin.
Anybody with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the APD Homicide tip line at 512-974-8477. This marks Austin’s 27th homicide of 2024.
Originally published on mytexasdaily.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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