CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nearly 1,000 accidents have been reported this year along SPID, according to TxDOT's Crash Record Information System
KRIS6 analyzed this data with the help of artificial intelligence and found that between Ayers and Ennis Joslin on SPID, there have been 712 accidents this year.
KRIS6 News spoke with two drivers who use Highway 358 frequently.
"Man, that’s a lot. That’s really a lot," Victor Perez said.
Perez spends a lot of time near SPID, operating his windshield repair business seven days a week. He said distracted driving is common in the area.
"Not even going the speed limit and they’re just there looking at their phone," Perez said.
Speeding is the most common cause of these wrecks on Highway 358, followed by unsafe lane changing and failure to drive in a single lane.
Oscar Chapa said he notices a trend at specific times of day.
"It’s chaos in the morning and the evening time. A lot of traffic rolls right here. They don’t stop, they don’t care," Chapa said. "Man, that’s a lot of accidents in that maybe 4-5 mile stretch. I think people need to slow down and watch where they’re going."
CCPD said they have officers trying to crack down on speeding on SPID, but ultimately, it's up to the drivers to stay safe.
"We can tell people all day long: slow down. You’re operating a couple-thousand piece of machinery that’s not going to stop on a dime," CCPD PIO Jennifer Collier said.
The department adds that STEP, a federally funded grant allows officers to sign up for overtime to help mitigate these concerns.
"We also have the STEP program that we mentioned that officers are signing up for to work to always try to curtail the traffic and the accidents," Collier said.
KRIS6 News reached out to TxDOT, but they declined to comment.
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