The Texas Rear End Crash Index

One in Four Reportable Texas Crashes Is a Rear End

In 2025, TxDOT's Crash Records Information System lists 136,250 rear end crashes among 539,112 reportable crashes, as queried September 23, 2026. Rear end crashes accounted for 25.3% of the total, the most frequent manner of collision category in CRIS. [TX-001, TX-002, TX-003]

TxDOT's published 2025 Crash Facts total is 538,860 reportable crashes, processed through April 7, 2026. A CRIS public query run on September 23, 2026 returned 539,112, a difference of 252 crashes, or 0.05%, consistent with later processed reports. [TX-002]

This is a statewide and city level analysis prepared from TxDOT's public CRIS query data. TxDOT's annual Crash Facts reports do not include a manner of collision table. The figures on this page were calculated directly from TxDOT's Crash Records Information System and checked against TxDOT's published totals.

Rear end crashes have declined faster than crashes overall since 2019. Rear end crashes fell 15.7%, compared with a 4.1% decline in all crashes. [TX-006]

Where Rear End Crashes Hit Hardest in 2025

Among the 12 selected cities in this study, rear end was the most frequent manner of collision category in 11 during 2025. McAllen had the highest rear end share, at 31.8%, while Midland had the lowest, at 20.2%. On a per resident basis, Odessa had the highest rate: 713.1 rear end crashes per 100,000 people. [TX-019, TX-014, TX-015]

The population rates use the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 population estimates from its Vintage 2025 release. Lubbock was the only selected city where rear end crashes ranked second rather than first among manner of collision categories. [TX-007, TX-020]

As a check against TxDOT's published figures, every city's 2025 CRIS crash total was within 1.0% of the TxDOT Crash Facts 2025 city table. The totals matched exactly for Midland, Laredo, and McAllen. The small differences elsewhere reflect reports TxDOT processed after its April 7, 2026 snapshot. [TX-021]

Frequent, Usually Survivable, and Still Deadly at Scale

Rear end crashes were about half as likely as the average Texas crash to be coded fatal or suspected serious injury. In 2025, 1.73% of rear end crashes carried a fatal or suspected serious injury code, classified as KA crashes, compared with 3.32% of all Texas crashes. [TX-022]

Most rear end crashes were coded by the investigating officer as no apparent injury crashes: 68.1%. Another 40,405 rear end crashes in 2025 were coded as suspected minor or possible injury crashes.

Crash severity is a crash level code assigned by the investigating officer, based on the most severe injury observed. It does not capture injuries reported, treated, or diagnosed after the crash.

State Highways Carry Most Rear End Crashes

Rear end crashes in this analysis were more likely than all crashes to occur on roadways coded in CRIS as part of the state highway system (On System Flag = Yes). In 2025, 71.1% of Texas rear end crashes carried that code, compared with 58.1% of all crashes. [TX-025]

The same pattern appears in all 12 selected cities. It also aligns with the Waco MPO Safety Action Plan, which found that rear end crashes accounted for 47% of injury crashes on TxDOT roads in Woodway, compared with 22% on city streets.

Austin's data shows the same distinction. In 2025, rear end crashes accounted for 39.6% of injury crashes on state system roads and 18.4% on other roads. [TX-027, TX-028]

Failed to Control Speed Was the Most Frequently Cited Factor

"Failed to control speed" was the factor officers cited most often in Texas rear end crashes. It appeared in 89,553 of the 136,250 rear end crashes recorded in 2025, or 65.7%. Driver inattention was cited in 17.9% of crashes, and following too closely was cited in 13.2%. [TX-029]

For 67,359 rear end crashes, about half of all rear end crashes, failed to control speed was the only factor listed. [TX-030]

Alcohol appeared in 190 of the 2,351 fatal or serious rear end crashes. It also appeared in 39 of the 297 fatal rear end crashes. [TX-031]

TxDOT's 2025 contributing factor table counted 20,429 crashes of every type that cited following too closely. [TX-032]

Contributing factors are coded by the investigating officer. A crash can list several, and they are not determinations of legal liability or of a single cause.

What Street Level Data Shows in Austin

Austin publishes its CRIS crash records as open data, which makes a more detailed local analysis possible. In 2025, the city's Full Purpose jurisdiction recorded 3,489 rear end crashes out of 12,006 total crashes, or 29.1%. [TX-033]

• Speed: 32.7% of Austin rear end crashes occurred on roads posted at 65 mph or higher. Another 30.0% occurred on roads posted at 50 to 60 mph. [TX-034]
• Work zones: 717 crashes, 20.6%, were coded with the CRIS road construction zone flag (road_constr_zone_fl = true). Crashes without the flag were counted as outside a zone. [TX-035]
• Time: Among Austin Full Purpose rear end crashes in 2025, the largest one hour interval was 4:00 to 4:59 p.m., with 287 crashes. Weekday crashes from 4:00 to 6:59 p.m. accounted for 637 crashes, or 18.3% of all Austin rear end crashes. Times are local US Central time. [TX-036]
• Cost: The City of Austin's cost estimates place the total cost of these crashes at $583,375,000, or 21.1% of the estimated cost of all Austin crashes in 2025. These are the city's comprehensive cost planning values, not documented damages. [TX-037]

When a Car Hits the Back of a Truck

The most detailed Texas analysis of truck rear end crashes comes from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and covers 2017 through 2021. No newer edition had been published.

The study counted 33,132 two vehicle rear end crashes involving a heavy truck. In 51.2% of those crashes, a passenger car struck the rear of the truck. [TX-039, TX-040]

When a car struck a heavy truck from behind, the crash was about 3.8 times as likely to end in death or serious injury as the average rear end crash. On rural roads, it was about 7 times as likely. [TX-041]

Rear End Crashes in Linked Health Records

The Texas Department of State Health Services links crash reports with EMS and trauma registry records. In its most recent linkage, for 2023, the two rear end codes accounted for 1,038 of 8,297 linked patients, or 12.51%. A 2024 edition had not been published as of September 23, 2026. [TX-042]

Scope note: DSHS reports do not provide a consistent year to year series. The 2021 trauma only linkage, covering 16,105 patients, used a different design from the 2023 crash, EMS, and trauma linkage. Inclusion rules changed again in 2022 and 2023.

The 2021 three dataset report is the closest match, but the shares across years should not be interpreted as a trend.

The Minimum Measurable Cost

For its Highway Safety Improvement Program, TxDOT assigns crash values of $4,290,000 for each fatal or serious injury crash and $360,000 for each minor injury crash in its 2026 program call. [TX-043]

These values establish a floor, not a complete cost estimate. TxDOT does not publish a value for possible injury, or C, crashes or no injury, or O, crashes. Those categories accounted for 115,412 of the 2025 rear end crashes.

TxDOT's figures are comprehensive costs based on National Safety Council values. The program call does not identify a dollar year. They are planning values used to rank safety projects, not medical bills, insurance payments, settlements, or verdicts.

What Texas Crash Reports Show

NHTSA's Standing General Order database contains qualifying incidents reported by manufacturers and operators; it is not a measure of all automated vehicle or driver assistance crashes in Texas.

Manufacturers and operators of automated driving systems and Level 2 driver assistance systems must report qualifying crashes to NHTSA. When the Standing General Order files are filtered to Texas, they show 261 crash reports for 2025: 120 involving fully automated systems and 141 involving Level 2 driver assistance. [TX-045]

In 10 reports, the automated vehicle was struck directly from behind. Under a broader definition that includes rear corner impacts, the total rises to 48 reports.

Automated vehicles struck another vehicle from behind in 3 reports. Under the broader definition, that total rises to 17 reports.

Austin accounted for 113 of the Texas reports, including 101 involving fully automated systems. The Austin records included 34 rear impacts to an automated vehicle under the broader definition. [TX-046, TX-047, TX-048]

These reports do not assign fault, and no mileage data is available to calculate crash rates. The counts were calculated by this project from NHTSA's incident files; NHTSA does not publish these Texas totals. They should not be used to compare the safety of automated and human drivers.

The Dataset Behind Every Number

The complete city by year dataset covers Texas and all 12 cities from 2019 through 2025. It includes all crashes, both rear end codes, and rear end crashes by severity.

Every figure on this page appears in the ledger with one of three labels:

• ORIGINAL: Calculated by this project from public records.
• SOURCED: Quoted from a cited document.
• DERIVED: Calculated from the original and sourced figures.

geography,year,all_crashes,rear_both_straight,rear_one_stopped,rear_combined,rear_share_pct,rear_k,rear_a,rear_b,rear_c,rear_o,rear_unknown,all_ka
Texas,2019,562258,86006,75659,161665,28.75,304,1931,13763,37220,107711,736,16210
Texas,2020,475275,63250,55027,118277,24.89,296,1642,9785,25192,80698,664,15665
Texas,2021,552707,76393,64991,141384,25.58,379,2213,13849,27462,96669,812,19799
Texas,2022,555691,75659,67166,142825,25.70,364,2078,15147,26400,97951,885,19272
Texas,2023,559734,77404,65005,142409,25.44,332,2026,16181,25586,97350,934,19105
Texas,2024,555039,77778,63077,140855,25.38,321,2084,17182,24721,95746,801,18694
Texas,2025,539112,76370,59880,136250,25.27,297,2054,17732,22673,92739,755,17878
Houston,2019,68850,15527,5792,21319,30.96,28,213,1565,5605,13673,235,1451
Houston,2020,58172,11415,4559,15974,27.46,29,191,1099,3872,10588,195,1448
Houston,2021,66887,13785,5157,18942,28.32,32,243,1470,4561,12407,229,1698
Houston,2022,67358,13854,5243,19097,28.35,27,243,1531,4628,12392,276,1629
Houston,2023,67498,14125,5016,19141,28.36,31,212,1508,4615,12469,306,1633
Houston,2024,66322,13832,4745,18577,28.01,34,228,1520,4662,11874,259,1619
Houston,2025,60379,12859,4172,17031,28.21,21,243,1404,4025,11097,241,1525
Dallas,2019,36825,6161,4126,10287,27.93,15,136,896,2423,6770,47,1080
Dallas,2020,31986,4862,2970,7832,24.49,19,115,676,1644,5332,46,1019
Dallas,2021,35326,5624,3262,8886,25.15,26,163,857,1689,6077,74,1282
Dallas,2022,33959,5267,3233,8500,25.03,31,150,857,1528,5871,63,1214
Dallas,2023,31638,5228,2816,8044,25.43,28,124,810,1441,5584,57,1157
Dallas,2024,26126,4389,2306,6695,25.63,15,129,788,1290,4446,27,1115
Dallas,2025,24685,4565,2137,6702,27.15,14,144,857,1147,4516,24,1048
Fort Worth,2019,14874,2390,1713,4103,27.59,6,63,339,1215,2459,21,429
Fort Worth,2020,12796,1839,1284,3123,24.41,7,70,321,854,1864,7,510
Fort Worth,2021,14720,2112,1530,3642,24.74,15,56,419,884,2256,12,554
Fort Worth,2022,13437,1902,1361,3263,24.28,10,66,435,730,2004,18,569
Fort Worth,2023,13519,1974,1370,3344,24.74,8,57,515,678,2080,6,546
Fort Worth,2024,12941,1964,1130,3094,23.91,10,57,458,590,1960,19,499
Fort Worth,2025,15679,2583,1537,4120,26.28,12,81,626,684,2692,25,582
Austin,2019,16028,2775,2275,5050,31.51,5,81,1060,1279,2607,18,575
Austin,2020,11819,1728,1424,3152,26.67,7,48,697,782,1602,16,453
Austin,2021,12571,1883,1462,3345,26.61,9,61,671,975,1612,17,559
Austin,2022,12938,1822,1618,3440,26.59,7,71,705,937,1707,13,574
Austin,2023,12327,1936,1500,3436,27.87,9,60,704,882,1767,14,507
Austin,2024,11401,1945,1397,3342,29.31,7,61,744,793,1718,19,459
Austin,2025,11143,1912,1320,3232,29.00,10,40,788,744,1637,13,371
San Antonio,2019,43096,6595,7021,13616,31.59,12,115,941,3892,8590,66,693
San Antonio,2020,33574,4300,4582,8882,26.45,12,69,603,2291,5869,38,585
San Antonio,2021,38852,5280,5206,10486,26.99,16,81,1073,2425,6816,75,726
San Antonio,2022,39646,5422,5432,10854,27.38,10,73,1280,2293,7113,85,734
San Antonio,2023,40345,5645,5302,10947,27.13,12,77,1346,2121,7293,98,705
San Antonio,2024,39690,5771,5002,10773,27.14,16,70,1649,1917,7008,113,754
San Antonio,2025,37304,5385,4673,10058,26.96,14,78,1636,1746,6501,83,654
El Paso,2019,16263,2374,2592,4966,30.54,5,20,336,976,3599,30,247
El Paso,2020,12497,1626,1644,3270,26.17,12,17,231,596,2366,48,194
El Paso,2021,15661,2144,2249,4393,28.05,12,28,463,634,3213,43,257
El Paso,2022,16299,2050,2506,4556,27.95,7,34,556,662,3279,18,292
El Paso,2023,15920,2066,2171,4237,26.61,10,37,669,593,2900,28,303
El Paso,2024,15205,2088,1966,4054,26.66,11,32,692,572,2731,16,279
El Paso,2025,14728,1998,1869,3867,26.26,6,47,702,519,2576,17,276
Midland,2019,4175,471,783,1254,30.04,0,6,108,256,883,1,75
Midland,2020,2520,248,372,620,24.60,2,5,60,128,423,2,65
Midland,2021,2628,250,371,621,23.63,4,14,67,101,433,2,76
Midland,2022,2818,327,384,711,25.23,3,5,60,158,483,2,100
Midland,2023,2933,329,354,683,23.29,1,7,72,151,449,3,91
Midland,2024,2677,307,290,597,22.30,1,10,86,103,395,2,79
Midland,2025,2643,246,289,535,20.24,2,12,69,93,358,1,88
Odessa,2019,3739,505,516,1021,27.31,3,10,108,132,768,0,81
Odessa,2020,2791,328,376,704,25.22,4,5,59,93,542,1,64
Odessa,2021,2909,277,467,744,25.58,3,9,82,100,548,2,70
Odessa,2022,3272,350,494,844,25.79,5,5,80,107,646,1,66
Odessa,2023,3493,368,505,873,24.99,0,7,96,111,656,3,60
Odessa,2024,3578,429,515,944,26.38,0,8,113,108,714,1,93
Odessa,2025,3533,409,466,875,24.77,1,7,137,93,635,2,70
Laredo,2019,5702,950,844,1794,31.46,3,8,173,340,1266,4,72
Laredo,2020,4418,666,602,1268,28.70,1,6,105,227,927,2,53
Laredo,2021,5527,772,790,1562,28.26,1,6,163,261,1121,10,76
Laredo,2022,6040,860,785,1645,27.24,0,7,197,235,1204,2,98
Laredo,2023,6312,962,720,1682,26.65,1,9,173,209,1285,5,77
Laredo,2024,6508,1093,720,1813,27.86,1,12,182,291,1304,23,76
Laredo,2025,6020,957,676,1633,27.13,0,10,168,259,1193,3,64
Lubbock,2019,6677,829,990,1819,27.24,3,3,82,669,1061,1,99
Lubbock,2020,6145,689,762,1451,23.61,0,10,78,526,836,1,86
Lubbock,2021,7448,839,941,1780,23.90,1,6,94,659,1018,2,115
Lubbock,2022,6623,779,809,1588,23.98,2,3,90,562,930,1,98
Lubbock,2023,6089,691,718,1409,23.14,1,6,78,580,740,4,97
Lubbock,2024,5167,582,569,1151,22.28,1,7,76,476,591,0,86
Lubbock,2025,5124,536,525,1061,20.71,0,8,66,429,558,0,87
Corpus Christi,2019,8177,1213,1423,2636,32.24,5,13,108,636,1870,4,132
Corpus Christi,2020,6788,900,1066,1966,28.96,0,9,106,459,1391,1,145
Corpus Christi,2021,7991,1115,1259,2374,29.71,1,12,191,443,1724,3,161
Corpus Christi,2022,7683,967,1149,2116,27.54,1,16,191,353,1551,4,157
Corpus Christi,2023,7440,931,1121,2052,27.58,1,17,224,333,1475,2,157
Corpus Christi,2024,7238,867,1047,1914,26.44,4,20,209,335,1343,3,153
Corpus Christi,2025,7245,903,936,1839,25.38,1,14,197,286,1340,1,159
McAllen,2019,2980,455,746,1201,40.30,0,14,162,732,291,2,68
McAllen,2020,2144,255,481,736,34.33,0,6,87,417,226,0,45
McAllen,2021,2610,302,575,877,33.60,1,4,139,465,267,1,48
McAllen,2022,2836,340,562,902,31.81,1,12,152,420,316,1,68
McAllen,2023,2968,313,647,960,32.35,1,4,168,437,350,0,48
McAllen,2024,2904,329,626,955,32.89,0,13,192,401,348,1,62
McAllen,2025,2798,340,550,890,31.81,0,3,196,365,325,1,51

How the Rear End Crash Counts Were Calculated

The study uses TxDOT's public CRIS query to count reportable crashes in Texas and the 12 selected cities for 2019 through 2025.

Rear end crashes include only the two CRIS manner of collision categories used throughout this study:

• Code 20: "Same direction, both going straight, rear end."
• Code 22: "Same direction, one straight, one stopped."

Statewide and city crash counts were checked against TxDOT's published Crash Facts totals. City results use the CRIS City field, which identifies the crash location city.

Query Specification

Population rates use Census Bureau Vintage 2025 July 1 population estimates. Severe crashes include K, fatal, and A, suspected serious injury, severity codes. "Fatal or serious" refers to the combined KA category.

The study relies on aggregate public records. It does not identify people involved in any crash.

Primary Texas Sources Used in This Index

Every source is a Texas agency, a Texas university, or a federal dataset filtered to Texas. Readers can review the underlying sources directly:

• TxDOT Crash Records Information System
• TxDOT 2025 Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts
• TxDOT 2025 Crashes and Injuries by City and Town
• TxDOT 2025 Crash Contributing Factors
• U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city population estimates
• TxDOT Highway Safety Improvement Program guidance
• City of Austin Crash Report Data, crash level records
• NHTSA Standing General Order automated driving system and Level 2 incident reports
• Texas A&M Transportation Institute analysis of heavy truck rear end crashes
• Texas Department of State Health Services EMS, trauma registry, and CRIS linkage reports
• Waco MPO Safety Action Plan

Public Interest Traffic Safety Research

The Texas Rear End Crash Index was prepared by J. Alexander Law Firm as public interest traffic safety research. It relies on aggregate public records and does not identify anyone involved in a crash. It is not legal advice.

Josh Alexander, founder and managing attorney of J. Alexander Law Firm, reviewed the index.

Related research includes The Texas After School Crash Window and The Texas Red Light Camera Shutdown.

This is Edition 1, published September 23, 2026, using a TxDOT CRIS public query accessed September 23, 2026. Planned updates include hour and weekday patterns, corridor hot spots, and post 2023 CRIS fields involving secondary crashes, clearance times, and responders struck.

For media or research inquiries, use the firm contact page.