Tarrant County sheriff, Texas DPS, area police team up on traffic crackdown
After 151 traffic fatalities and more than 26,000 crashes in Tarrant County this year, police departments countywide will step up their traffic enforcement, Sheriff Bill Waybourn said Thursday.
The initiative, called Safe City, Dangerous Roads, will heighten law enforcement presence throughout Tarrant County’s roadway system, Waybourn said. The increased presence is an effort to crack down on speeding and impaired, distracted or aggressive driving.
“You’re in one of the safest major counties in the United States, and it’s because of the incredible leadership of these chiefs standing behind me right now,” Waybourn said, indicating Arlington Police Chief Al Jones and Fort Worth Chief Eddie Garcia. “Our mission today is to make it a little bit safer.”
Both Jones and Garcia believe the coalition of police departments focused on traffic safety will lead to positive change, the chiefs said in their respective remarks.
In addition to the collaborative effort between local departments, the Texas Department of Public Safety will add 10 permanent highway patrol troopers to the efforts across the county, DPS Regional Director Jeremy Sherrod said.
Those 10 troopers will focus on “hot spots” for dangerous traffic in the county based on feedback received from area police departments, Sherrod said.
The initiative is not directed at the “98 percent” of “friendly, respectful, kind” drivers in the county, Waybourn said. “It’s that 2 percent that we’re coming after, because they cause havoc out there on the roadway.”
Tarrant County recorded 205 traffic fatalities in 2024, and current patterns suggest the county could see up to 31 more deaths this year, Waybourn said.
The initiative will be considered a success if it prevents those 31 projected fatalities before the year ends, Waybourn said.
