HOUSTON — From metal through windshields to furniture on busy highways, Houston drivers keep losing their loads putting other innocent drivers at risk.
Roadway debris is a problem in Houston made even worse by Harvey.
“There’s a lot more debris out there because people are moving more supplies, more debris and stuff like falls out of their vehicles,” explained Deputy Steve Fontenot with the Harris County Sheriff Department’s Motorist Assistance Program division.
“I’ve seen toilets in the middle of the freeway, mattresses are big thing, plywood…a lot of construction debris.”
Late Tuesday night a mattress flew out of the back of a pickup truck on I-45 N, causing a big-rig driver to run it over. The mattress and truck burst into flames causing a big mess on the interstate.
Houstonian Frances Parrilla had a similar scare on I-45.
“Nothing was holding it down I guess and he was going so fast that the mattress just flew out,” Parrilla said. “It was really scary situation of that moment.”
Both she and the big-rig driver are ok but often that isn’t the case.
A 2016 report from AAA found that nationwide over a 4-year period, road debris caused 200,000 accidents including 39,000 injuries and more than 500 deaths.
Deputy Fontenot sees it all the time and wants drivers to know properly securing loads is the law.
“You do have an absolute duty in the state of Texas to secure that load. There could be some serious negligence charges brought against somebody because they did not secure that load if somebody’s injured.”
For safety tips, visit the AAA website.
Both TxDOT and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office do their best to clean up dangerous debris. Road debris should be reported to those agencies.