A TV station in Midland, Texas, recently did a report that looked at the increase in fatal car accidents in the Odessa area and whether they were linked to the oil boom. The story seemed to come to the conclusion that there was no direct connection, but I disagree.
http://www.kwes.com/story/19938802/special-report-fatal-accidents-on-the-rise-during-oil-boom
The report by KEWS gathered accidents statistics from six West Texas counties, and compared the numbers from 2007, last year and this year. There is no question that deadly accidents have risen. In 2007, there were 65 deaths from car crashes, compared with 86 deaths in 2011, according to KEWS.
And this year the statistics look like they will outpace last year. Year to date, there have been 87 fatalities. But the TV station’s report ends up not really putting any of the onus for these accidents on the oil industry.
An expert quoted by KEWS attributed the increase in fatalities to the region’s “immature transportation system.” So according to the TV station, the means the accidents “aren’t just oil field related.”
They may not be “just” oil field related, but I bet dollars to donuts that they are in large part oil field related. In fact, there are been several newspaper stories, including one by The New York Times, about how how fatal motor vehicle accidents have skyrocketed in towns where the oil field industry has exploded.
No. 1, in such towns there are now a lot more people, hence the chance of more accidents. Secondly, many oil field workers toil — or are made to work — more hours than they should, without sleep. These exhausted employees fall asleep at the wheel and crash. Their widows were quoted in some of these stories.
It’s the same situation with truck drivers for the oil industry: The business has an exemption from federal laws regarding how long drivers can be on the road without rest. Hence, oil truck accidents have skyrocketed.
Clearly, I’m not the only one who sees the link between the oil industry and death on the road. It’s too bad that KEWS let the industry off the hook so easily.