Dallas drivers are terrible and are ruining the road for the rest of us. There must be a regional/cultural issue in effect and the worst drivers are here in our hometown. As a disabled Air Force veteran currently enrolled in Eastfield, I’ve been able to see things not very many people have, which allows me to have a broader view on the subject. 

I’ve traveled through various locations and some examples are Switzerland, Germany, Italy and various states in the United States. It’s safe to say I have had my fair share of run-ins with drivers. 

A Forbes article published in 2023 by Penny Gusner declared Texas has the No. 1 worst drivers in the country and another Forbes article written by Cassidy Horton in 2024 placed Dallas at No. 6 and Fort Worth at No. 9 on their list with facts from the statistics of six insurance agencies. It saddens me to know Texas is shamefully No. 1 in something and it’s not our football team.

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to La Porte, Texas, a town on the outskirts of Houston. However, as I passed Interstate 20, an uneasy feeling loomed and suddenly, I was in “Mad Max,” duking it out with Dallas drivers.  

I’m sure everyone reading this has witnessed this reckless behavior. For example, cars merging on the highway slowly and creating traffic jams, people watching videos or texting on their phones causing pileups in rush hour, and pig-headed drivers that get offended when someone signals to merge in front of them.

We, as drivers, have become numb to the multitude of vehicular manslaughter effigies that have popped up around us. Everyone passes by them every day, and they are adorned with flowers, ribbons, candles and photos of people who are no longer with us. Everyone needs to take a step back and reflect on how their driving affects the people around them. Just writing about this stirs up memories of my near misses with death.

Let’s go back to summer 2014. I had just separated from the military and my 2006 Suzuki SV1000S motorcycle had finally arrived from Germany and I was itching to ride it. I was taking classes in Irving at the time and I had no reliable transportation. 

I performed my usual maintenance before driving to get on southbound 75. All was well and my engine was purring at the stop sign. I see my opening and I ease on the clutch —  suddenly, the bike jerked out from under me and shot into oncoming traffic. 

I found myself lying on my back, disoriented, confused and staring at the sun. In disbelief of what exactly happened, I stumbled forward to pick up my motorcycle, and my mind screamed, “STOP!!!” as a car flashed between myself and the bike. A middle-aged woman with silver-streaked hair exited her car behind me, shouting: “Oh my GOD! I thought you had gone already, I am so sorry.” She gave me her insurance and a newfound fear of driving motorcycles on Texas roads.

Please put down the phones, invest in a good dashboard phone holder and pay attention to how your driving affects the people around you. As boring or obvious as that may seem, it does, in fact, save lives every day.