Dallas sees fewer fatal crashes on deadly Loop 12 – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

At the start of a new year, Dallas has a new deadliest street with Loop 12 no longer holding the grim title.

Crash records from the Texas Department of Transportation analyzed by NBC 5 Investigates show a dramatic decline in traffic deaths on the loop after more than a year of stepped up traffic enforcement, efforts to lower speed limits and install new safety measures, and the series of “Driven to Death” reports that sparked action from city and state officials to address the stunning number of fatal collisions involving drivers and pedestrians.

TxDOT data shows a 52% decrease in traffic deaths on Loop 12 in 2025 compared to 2024 and 13 fewer deadly crashes than the year before.

That reduction in deadly crashes on Loop 12 played a major role in driving a significant citywide decline in traffic deaths in 2025. There were 53 fewer deadly crashes in Dallas than the year before — a 25% decrease.

In late 2023 and 2024, NBC 5 Investigates began to shine a light on the stunning number of deaths on Dallas streets and especially on Loop 12, where TxDOT data revealed 105 deadly crashes and at least 479 serious injury crashes in less than five years. On one stretch of the road, NBC 5 Investigates pinpointed a location where five pedestrians were fatally struck over 11 months.

As a result of the reporting, State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, convened town hall meetings to bring together city and state transportation leaders. The city of Dallas City Council and TxDOT also lowered the speed limit on portions of the road.

Dallas Police then stepped up traffic enforcement on the southern stretch of Loop 12, issuing more than 800 traffic tickets in the two months following the speed limit change.

Meanwhile, TxDOT is installing new traffic signals at 16 locations, to create safer pedestrian crossings and reduce dangerous speeds.

Reporting from NBC 5 Investigates showed many pedestrians running across the middle of the road in places where you would have to walk a long way to get to a crosswalk.

Transportation officials acknowledge there’s still more to do, not only on Loop 12 but on other roads on the list of the deadliest in the city.

The latest data analysis from NBC 5 Investigates found fewer fatal crashes on most Dallas roads in 2025, except for US 75/Central Expressway, another roadway that has been a focus of the “Driven to Death” series.

After NBC 5 Investigates clocked drivers often exceeding 100 mph on Central, TxDOT and the city lowered the speed limit on one stretch of the road north of downtown Dallas. But data showed that there were still six more fatal crashes in 2025 than in the previous year.

In 2025, Interstate 35E was the city’s deadliest roadway with 14 fatal crashes recorded, according to TxDOT records.

In a statement to NBC 5 Investigates, Dallas Police said the department issued 3,847 road-rage enforcement citations and 921 school-zone speeding enforcement tickets in 2025. The department credited those efforts and “ongoing Vision Zero initiatives through Transportation and Public Works” for the reduction in crashes citywide over the past year.