BISHOP, Tx — Three accidents — that's how many accidents have happened since the beginning of August in the Bishop stretch of Highway 77. On the Texas Department of Transportation's Crash Query, it shows that there have been 20 accidents this year so far with five in the past two weeks.
Bishop Police Chief Edward Day shared what some of the leading causes have been this year.
"Driving behaviors. So either distracted driving, speeding, following too closely, improper lane change, just people not paying attention," Day said.
According to DPS Safety Education and Media Communications SGT Rob Mallory, there have been about 100 accidents in that stretch in the past three years. Day added that none have been fatal, but still, many have left drivers hurt.
"We have had some serious injury accidents that we’ve responded to over the past year, and the majority are minor injuries. We’ve seen everything from a fender bender with very minor damage all the way up to completely totaled vehicles rolled over and everything in between," Day said.
Day said the accidents they see are a mix of local drivers and travelers passing through. Weather also plays a factor. Day said that every time it rains they expect to possibly see and respond to an accident.
"When it’s wet, it totally changes the game. After 50 miles per hour, your vehicle wheels are losing contact with the pavement and your hydroplaning," Day said.
Day said that with the numbers looking up this year, he expects more accidents this year than in previous ones. But to prevent that, Bishop police will have more active patrols in that area to get drivers to slow down.
"There are some vehicles you look at and wonder how did someone walk away from that. Vehicles can be replaced, property can be replaced, but people can’t be replaced," Day said.
The Bishop Police Department urges all residents and travelers to use caution when driving down that stretch of Highway 77, especially with school right around the corner for kids at Bishop CISD.
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