Taking a road trip? You might want to slow down in Harris County

FORT WORTH, TEXAS -- If you're planning to squeeze in one last road trip before the summer ends, there are a few hot spots in Texas where you might want to slow down. Harris County came in number two on the list of top 10 counties where tickets were issued.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports two of the counties where Texas Department of Public Safety troopers write the most tickets are on the state's southern tip are Hidalgo (No. 1) and Cameron (No. 3).

Closer to home, there's a better chance of getting a ticket from a DPS trooper in Parker or Collin counties than Tarrant or Dallas, according to a Star-Telegram analysis of Texas Department of Public Safety data from 2012 through 2016.

Parker County ranked No. 9 on the list with 26,506 tickets, and Collin County is No. 10 with 26,431. Dallas is No. 13 at 13,714 and Tarrant County ranks No. 48 with 9,674.

Other North Texas counties include: Wise 22,844; Denton 21,262; and Johnson 13,732.

"People die and are seriously injured every day in senseless, preventable vehicle crashes - all because someone chose to drive irresponsibly, including speeding," said Tom Vinger, a DPS spokesman. "We are unapologetic about our Troopers' efforts to enforce all laws in every area of the state, and we're proud of the critical role they play in keeping our roadways safe for everyone."

Across Texas, more than 1.6 million speeding tickets were issued by troopers in the past five years.

"Texas is busting at the seams, and anyone who's driven on Texas streets knows more drivers means more speeders," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

DPS officials stress that their data doesn't represent all the speeding tickets issued in Texas.

Troopers generally don't focus on traffic enforcement in cities such as Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin or Houston that have police forces doing the same thing.

That leaves them working, for the most part, in suburban and rural areas, such as Parker County.

"DPS is picking up the slack in some border counties where local police and sheriffs offices are overworked or understaffed," Rottinghaus said. "The surge of DPS troopers in these counties may be reflected in increasing moving violations."

In Tarrant County, much of the DPS traffic control work focuses on the stretch of Chisholm Trail Parkway that is outside the Fort Worth city limits.

There are about 2,660 troopers across the state.

The review of data shows that the number of speeding tickets issued by state troopers appeared to be going down, from 394,249 in 2012 to 291,441 in 2015.

Then in 2016, the number of tickets issued rose to 317,443.

Some suggest the numbers may have gone up because of increased border enforcement.

"Through traffic enforcement, troopers routinely arrest drunk drivers; seize illegal drugs and weapons before they make it into our communities; arrest wanted fugitives; rescue endangered children during routine traffic stops; help stranded motorists; and provide lifesaving aid to those in need," Vinger said.

Other interesting facts:

- Speeding tickets were issued in every one of the state's 254 counties during the past five years.

- Loving County, the least populated county in Texas at 113 last year, saw the fewest tickets issued: eight over the past five years.

- Two other counties saw fewer than 100 DPS-issued speeding tickets over the past five years: Borden, with 68, and Kent, with 93. Both are near Lubbock in West Texas.

Now, public safety officials have some advice for Texas drivers.

"We always tell people to slow down, buckle up and don't have anything to drink and drive," said Lt. Lonny Haschel, a local DPS spokesman.

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