The Most Dangerous Times to Drive in San Antonio

People ask me if there's a "safe" time to be on the road. Honestly? Every drive carries some risk. But the data is clear that some hours are far worse than others.

Here's a number that stops me cold. According to TxDOT, the last day nobody died on a Texas road was November 7, 2000. That's a streak of 25 years. More than 91,000 people gone since then.

In 2024 alone, somewhere in Texas there was a reportable crash every 57 seconds -- and someone was killed every two hours and seven minutes.

So when is it worst? Let me break it down.

Late Night and Early Morning, Especially on the Weekend

If you're driving home from downtown or the Pearl at 2 in the morning on a Saturday, your guard should be all the way up. TxDOT found that across Texas in 2024, more drunk-driving crashes happened in the 2:00 to 2:59 a.m. hour than any other -- and more happened on Sunday than any other day. That's bar-close hitting the road.

The Holidays You'd Expect

The long holiday weekends earn their bad reputation. In 2024, the Fourth of July period was the deadliest holiday stretch in Texas, with 64 people killed. Memorial Day weekend took 55. More cars, more alcohol, more people in a hurry to get somewhere.

What I Tell My Own Family

I can't tell you to never drive at 2 a.m. on a holiday weekend. Life doesn't work that way. But I can tell you this:

• Plan the ride before you go out -- not after the third drink. Line up a sober driver or an app.
• Give the late-night roads extra room -- assume the car drifting in the next lane is impaired, because it might be.
• Ease off on holiday weekends -- the other guy is the one you're really driving for.

None of this is about fear. It's about getting home. That's all I want for you -- to get home.