CORINTH, Texas — Police departments along Interstate 35E are launching a high-visibility, coordinated enforcement effort in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents.
I-35E is notorious for the amount of accidents and subsequent gridlock.
"We had 622 accidents just on our two-mile stretch of the interstate last year. That's a lot of accidents," said Chief Jerry Garner of Corinth Police Department.
Corinth alone had eight fatalities on that stretch of road last year. Garner says speeding and inattentive driving are the root causes for crashes.
"We get a lot of complaints about the lane markings on the highway. We also have a lot fast moving traffic," said Chief Alan Sawyer of Lake Dallas Police Department.
There were 4,480 people killed on Texas roads in 2021, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. That is the second deadliest year since the state began tracking traffic fatalities in 1940.
"The increase in fatalities reflects a nationwide trend of growing numbers of highway deaths," read a press release from the Corinth Police Department.
It has been called the "Bermuda Triangle" because of the ridiculously high number of accidents in the area.
The only difference is law enforcement know what's causing the phenomenon.
Starting this week, the Lake Dallas, Corinth and Hickory Creek police departments are employing high-visibility patrols.
The Lewisville and Denton police departments have recently jumped on-board with the help of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
"We're not running speed traps to try to make revenue. We want to get peoples attention to slow down," Garner said.