Fatal crash profile · City

Traffic deaths in Memphis, Tennessee

City in Shelby County · Tennessee · United States

Deaths, 2024
188
Fatal crashes
169
Population
614.2K

In 2024, 188 people died in 169 fatal crashes in Memphis, Tennessee. That was 23.0% fewer than in 2023 (244) and the fewest in any year since 2020. The death rate was 30.6 per 100,000 residents, compared with 23.8 in Shelby County, 16.5 in Tennessee and 11.5 in the United States. Between 2020 and 2024, 1,120 people died, an average of 224 a year. Pedestrians accounted for 23% of deaths, and 24% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

30.6

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About 1.3 times the rate in Shelby County, Tennessee: 23.8
  • About 1.9 times the rate in Tennessee: 16.5
  • About 3 times the rate in the United States: 11.5

-23%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

244 deaths in 2023, 188 in 2024

  • Shelby County, Tennessee: -16%
  • Tennessee: -10%
  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 2020–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
2020 223 208
2021 238 214
2022 227 206
2023 244 220
2024 188 169

People who died within 30 days of a crash. A fatal crash can kill more than one person.

Embed
Download CSV
Deaths per 100,000 residents, 2020–2024
Category Deaths per 100,000
2020 35.5
2021 38.2
2022 36.7
2023 39.6
2024 30.6

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

Embed
Download CSV

Road users

Who died

23%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About the same as the share in Shelby County, Tennessee: 22%
  • About 1.8 times the share in Tennessee: 13%
  • About 1.3 times the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 132
Pedestrians 44
Motorcyclists 12
Cyclists 0
Embed
Download CSV
Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in Memphis Share in Shelby County
Pedestrians 44 23% 22%
Motorcyclists 12 6% 6%
Cyclists 0 0% 0%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 60 32% 31%
Speeding-related crashes 52 28% 28%

Alcohol-impaired and speeding-related count everyone killed in those crashes, so a death can appear in more than one row.

Crash factors

Speeding, alcohol, night and weekend crashes

24%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About the same as the share in Shelby County, Tennessee: 24%
  • About 1.4 times the share in Tennessee: 17%
  • About 85 percent of the share in the United States: 28%

23%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in Shelby County, Tennessee: 22%
  • About the same as the share in Tennessee: 25%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category Memphis Shelby County Tennessee United States
Speeding-related 23.1% 21.5% 25.1% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 23.7% 24.1% 17.4% 28.1%
At night 62.1% 58.5% 47.4% 53.6%
At weekends 36.1% 35.4% 34.5% 32.6%

Share of fatal crashes. Alcohol-involved means a police-reported drinking driver.

Embed
Download CSV

Timing

When crashes happen

62%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About the same as the share in Shelby County, Tennessee: 58%
  • About 1.3 times the share in Tennessee: 47%
  • About 1.2 times the share in the United States: 54%

36%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in Shelby County, Tennessee: 35%
  • About the same as the share in Tennessee: 34%
  • About 1.1 times the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 53
1am 49
2am 47
3am 35
4am 24
5am 32
6am 27
7am 21
8am 16
9am 18
10am 19
11am 25
12pm 29
1pm 22
2pm 36
3pm 41
4pm 52
5pm 57
6pm 57
7pm 71
8pm 71
9pm 78
10pm 68
11pm 54

All crashes 2020–2024.

Embed
Download CSV
Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 167
Mon 124
Tue 116
Wed 129
Thu 139
Fri 172
Sat 170

All crashes 2020–2024.

Embed
Download CSV
Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 72
Feb 68
Mar 71
Apr 87
May 87
Jun 91
Jul 95
Aug 89
Sep 100
Oct 89
Nov 77
Dec 91

All crashes 2020–2024.

Embed
Download CSV

Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 879
Rain 110
Cloudy 21
Fog, Smog, Smoke 3
Snow 3
Other 1

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

Embed
Download CSV
Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Dark - Lighted 549
Daylight 350
Dark - Not Lighted 64
Dusk 26
Dawn 13
Dark - Unknown Lighting 8

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

Embed
Download CSV

Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020–2024

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-24053
  2. US-61 SR-14 S THIRD ST47
  3. I-4046
  4. SR-175 SHELBY DR37
  5. US-78 SR-4 LAMAR AVE32
  6. SR-14 JACKSON AVE30
  7. WINCHESTER RD27
  8. US-64/70 SR-1 SUMMER AVE24
  9. US-51 SR-3 ELVIS PRESLEY BLVD19
  10. MU-WINCHESTER RD15

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 894
SUVs 276
Pickup trucks 149
Other vehicles 138
Medium and heavy trucks 92
Motorcycles 87
Vans 39
Buses 6
Other light trucks 1

All crashes 2020–2024.

Embed
Download CSV

Vehicles most often involved

  1. Nissan Altima71
  2. Nissan Maxima45
  3. Toyota Camry38
  4. Chevrolet Malibu36
  5. Honda Accord36
  6. Dodge Charger33
  7. Ford F-15029
  8. Ford Fusion24
  9. Honda Civic24
  10. Toyota Corolla24

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

The map loads when you scroll to it. It needs JavaScript.

Fatal crashes in 2024. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Deaths
Dec 28, 2024 1
Dec 27, 2024 1
Dec 27, 2024 1
Dec 20, 2024 1
Dec 16, 2024 1
Dec 15, 2024 1
Dec 14, 2024 1
Dec 13, 2024 1
Dec 13, 2024 1
Dec 12, 2024 1
Dec 12, 2024 1
Dec 11, 2024 1
Dec 11, 2024 1
Dec 10, 2024 1
Dec 10, 2024 1
Nov 30, 2024 1
Nov 26, 2024 1
Nov 23, 2024 1
Nov 19, 2024 1
Nov 17, 2024 1
Nov 13, 2024 1
Nov 7, 2024 3
Nov 6, 2024 1
Nov 2, 2024 1
Nov 1, 2024 1

Download these crashes as CSV

Explore

Nearby and related

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020–2024. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.