BEAUMONT, Texas — Two major accidents in Beaumont on interstate 10 had traffic backed up for several miles on Thursday.
In one of those accidents, a man's pickup truck was hit so hard that it flipped several times and end up over a barrier.
Thankfully, both drivers in these major accidents survived. But, that isn't always the case.
It seems like every time you look there's another accident on I-10, at least one local police department believes it has everything to do with speeding and they're preparing to take action.
Surveillance footage captured the terrifying moment of a truck going airborne on I-10, after being hit by truck Thursday evening.
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"That accident, I really was surprised even with the seatbelts, that the gentleman self-extricated himself only with minor injuries," Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll said.
Carroll believes this accident and others on I-10 underscore a major problem, which is distracted drivers and speed.
"We got higher speeds,” Carroll said. “The speeds on the highway use to be 55 miles an hour. Now, they're doing 75 miles an hour, we have drivers [distracted] with the cellphones, text messaging and not mention construction and other accidents on the roadway."
While Texas Department of Transportation was unable to provide any crash data at this time, the agency did acknowledge their commitment to looking into ways to reduce what has become an ongoing problem.
"Safety is our number one priority,” Sarah Dupre with TxDOT Beaumont said. “We're always trying to come up with better ways to make our road safer, different safety improvement things we can do our roadways.”
Texas recently reached a grim milestone. Every day for the last 20 years, a Texan has died on the road, totaling more than 70,000 lives lost.
That lead the TxDOT official to launch an information campaign called "end the streak."
"20 years is way too long to go without a death free day in Texas roadways,” Dupre said. “So, we're asking everyone to please do their part. Make sure that you are paying attention when you are on the roadway."
Carroll said his department plans to do their part to help with the creation of a special traffic enforcement program.
"Just watch your speed,” he said. “Speed is becoming more and more of an issue today in our accidents. It's the leading factor. We've had 3,600 deaths this so far this year in the state of Texas.”
TxDOT says the best advice for drivers is to drive to the conditions and always practice patient while out on the roadways.