PROTECT THE YOUTH

Texas is the 2nd most dangerous state for young drivers, new report says

Driving in Texas doesn't come without danger.

Make sure those seatbelts are fastened, folks. A new analysis has revealed just how dangerous driving can be for the younger generation in Texas.

Young drivers have made up 19 percent of all driver fatalities in the state between 2017 and 2021, according to the study commissioned by personal injury lawyer John Fitch. 2,292 young driver fatalities were recorded out of a total number of 12,028, which is the highest number in the nation.

Certain Texas highways have been named some of the most dangerous in the country, and San Antonio is on another list of the most dangerous cities for drivers in general.

Rhode Island took the No. 1 spot for the most dangerous state for young drivers, with 19.81 percent of driver fatalities being between 16 and 24-years-old. There were 41 young driver deaths out of a total 207 in Rhode Island between 2017 and 2021.

Rounding out the top five most dangerous states for young drivers is Utah (No. 3) with 163 young driver deaths out of a total 860 between the same five year period; California (No. 4) with 1,993 young driver deaths out of 10,578; and Delaware (No. 5) with 68 out of 364 fatalities being young drivers.

Fitch shared his thoughts on the study's findings, calling the trend a "concerning pattern of young road user involvement in fatal road accidents."

"While it is highly unlikely that we will ever eliminate all driver fatalities, it is important that we identify what certain states are doing differently that could be accounting for these varying rates of young driver deaths," Fitch said. "If larger states, such as Texas, achieved similar fatality rates to West Virginia, which ranked bottom, there would have been 805 fewer young driver deaths in the state over the same five-year period, which is quite a staggering statistic."

The top 10 most dangerous states for young drivers are:

No. 1 – Rhode Island
No. 2 – Texas
No. 3 – Utah
No. 4 – California
No. 5 – Delaware
No. 6 – Nebraska
No. 7 – Massachusetts
No. 8 – Idaho
No. 9 – Montana
No. 10 – Maryland

The bottom five states on the list, making them the safest for young drivers, are Minnesota (No. 46), Alaska (No. 47), Maine (No. 48), Oregon (No. 49), and West Virginia (No. 50). The young driver fatality rates are all under 13.6 percent, with West Virginia's at 12.36 percent.

Vehicle News

What to know about new car inspection requirements in San Antonio

Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

Texas is changing requirements for vehicle registration.

Beginning January 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer need to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration. House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, eliminates the safety inspection program for non-commercial vehicles.

We'll all be free, free, free of the oppression of the safety inspection process. However …

Under the new law, the $7.50 fee that drivers had to pay as a safety inspection fee has not gone away. It now appears on your registration notice under a new name: "Inspection Program Replacement Fee."

This name change comes courtesy of the legislature, who want to keep collecting this fee because the funds go to state programs such as construction and expansion of state highways — funds they previously collected from the Safety Inspection Fee.

And while the safety inspection is gone, state law will still require that drivers in 17 counties must pass an "emission inspection" on vehicles that are 2 to 24 years old, in order to get your vehicle registered. In Bexar County, the new requirement will go into effect in 2026.

But what does an "emissions inspection" mean?

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) details the following changes:

Safety inspection out, emissions testing in
Until December 31, 2024, safety inspections are required for vehicle registration in all 254 counties. Beginning January 1, 2025, noncommercial vehicles in Texas will no longer be required to have an annual safety inspection. Instead, vehicles will have to get an emissions inspection on gasoline-powered vehicles that are 2 to 24 years old.

What is no longer going to be "inspected"?
Texas Transportation Code §548.051 specifies the list of old-school inspection items which will no longer be checked. Moving forward, they will no longer be checking: tires, wheel assembly, safety guards, safety flaps, brakes, steering, lighting, horns, mirrors, windshield wipers, sunscreening devices, and front seat belts in vehicles on which seat belt anchorages were part of the manufacturer's original equipment.

What will still be inspected are listed as "Items 12–15": exhaust system, exhaust emissions system, fuel tank cap, and emissions control equipment. These will be part of the emissions inspection process in 17 counties.

Those 17 counties where this is relevant include:

Austin: Travis and Williamson
DFW: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant
Houston: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, and Montgomery
El Paso County

In Bexar County, emissions inspections will be required beginning on November 1, 2026.

Where will emissions inspections be obtained?
Emissions inspections can be obtained at DPS-certified vehicle inspection stations in the 17 emissions counties. These will be the exact same inspection locations we've been going to all along, when it was called a safety inspection. Emissions inspections are not available in the other 237 Texas counties.

DPS offers an inspection station locator online.

What is the estimated cost of an emissions inspection?
Vehicle owners will pay an emissions inspection fee of $2.50 annually to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) at the time of registration. The actual fee you'll pay at the inspection station (as listed on TCEQ’s website) will be $25.50. Just like the former "safety inspection" fee.

In short: There is little that's changing about the entire inspection process, except they won't bother making you honk your horn.

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