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Intensive oil exploration in the Permian Basin, Barnett Shale and Eagle Ford Shale regions of Texas has clogged rural highways with trucks and heavy machinery, causing a dramatic increase in commercial vehicle wrecks over the last 10 years, an analysis by The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson reveals.
Modern drilling and hydraulic fracturing is a highly industrialized process that places enormous burdens on rural roads and infrastructure that are not designed for such traffic. In the 10 years since the Texas shale revolution, truck crashes have skyrocketed in rural West Texas in and around the Permian Basin and in and around the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas.
Counties in these regions have been blindsided by a public safety crisis. In Glasscock County in the Permian Basin, for example, truck crash reports have increased 1200 percent since 2007. In McMullen County in the Eagle Ford Shale, truck crash rates have jumped 1000 percent. In Denton County, Barnett Shale production has caused a 276 percent increase, which represents an increase of nearly 700 truck crashes per year.
