Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in Tennessee in 2020

State in United States

Deaths, 2020
1,217
Fatal crashes
1,119
Population
6.9M

In 2020, 1,217 people died in 1,119 fatal crashes in Tennessee, about 3 a day. The death rate was 17.6 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.8 in the United States. Tennessee had the 7th most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 9th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 14% of deaths, and 15% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

17.6

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020

  • About 1.5 times the rate in the United States: 11.8

Tennessee traffic deaths by year goes back to 1975.

Profile by year: 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020

Road users

Who died

14%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 85 percent of the share in the United States: 17%
Who died in 2020
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 881
Pedestrians 172
Motorcyclists 151
Cyclists 13
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Deaths by type, 2020
Type Deaths Share in Tennessee Share in the US
Pedestrians 172 14% 17%
Motorcyclists 151 12% 14%
Cyclists 13 1% 2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 325 27% 30%
Speeding-related crashes 189 16% 29%

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

15%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About half the share in the United States: 29%

24%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 27%
Crash factors in 2020
Category Tennessee United States
Speeding-related 24.0% 26.7%
Alcohol-involved 15.3% 28.6%
At night 50.6% 53.4%
At weekends 30.0% 32.9%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

51%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 53%

30%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 52
1am 29
2am 22
3am 27
4am 23
5am 28
6am 25
7am 26
8am 26
9am 18
10am 37
11am 33
12pm 47
1pm 49
2pm 51
3pm 62
4pm 59
5pm 71
6pm 67
7pm 67
8pm 68
9pm 69
10pm 65
11pm 49

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 147
Mon 148
Tue 133
Wed 147
Thu 178
Fri 177
Sat 189

All crashes 2020.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 69
Feb 70
Mar 72
Apr 74
May 82
Jun 109
Jul 105
Aug 118
Sep 108
Oct 119
Nov 90
Dec 103

All crashes 2020.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 868
Rain 116
Cloudy 108
Fog, Smog, Smoke 5
Snow 2
Sleet or Hail 1

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

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Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Daylight 509
Dark - Not Lighted 284
Dark - Lighted 247
Dusk 38
Dawn 20
Dark - Unknown Lighting 8

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

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-4070
  2. I-2435
  3. I-6517
  4. WINCHESTER RD13
  5. SR-175 SHELBY DR9
  6. I-759
  7. US-78 SR-4 LAMAR AVE8
  8. CHELSEA AVE8
  9. I-2407
  10. SR-587

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 674
Pickup trucks 300
SUVs 294
Medium and heavy trucks 166
Motorcycles 154
Other vehicles 87
Vans 42
Buses 4
Other light trucks 1

All crashes 2020.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Silverado63
  2. Ford F-15050
  3. Nissan Altima43
  4. Toyota Camry30
  5. GMC Sierra29
  6. Nissan Sentra26
  7. Honda Accord26
  8. Chevrolet Impala26
  9. Honda Civic22
  10. Ford Ranger21

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

Crashes

Fatal crashes

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Fatal crashes in 2020. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Aug 17, 2020 Memphis, Shelby County 1
Aug 16, 2020 Gallatin, Sumner County 1
Aug 16, 2020 Nashville, Davidson County 2
Aug 16, 2020 Memphis, Shelby County 1
Aug 16, 2020 Memphis, Shelby County 1
Aug 15, 2020 Murfreesboro, Rutherford County 1
Aug 15, 2020 Memphis, Shelby County 1
Aug 15, 2020 Nashville, Davidson County 1
Aug 15, 2020 Rutherford County 1
Aug 15, 2020 Memphis, Shelby County 1
Aug 14, 2020 Crab Orchard, Cumberland County 1
Aug 14, 2020 Chattanooga, Hamilton County 1
Aug 14, 2020 Knoxville, Knox County 1
Aug 14, 2020 Murfreesboro, Rutherford County 1
Aug 13, 2020 Rutherford County 1
Aug 13, 2020 Wilson County 1
Aug 13, 2020 Hardeman County 1
Aug 13, 2020 Clinton, Anderson County 1
Aug 13, 2020 Memphis, Shelby County 1
Aug 12, 2020 Memphis, Shelby County 1
Aug 12, 2020 Clinton, Anderson County 1
Aug 11, 2020 White County 1
Aug 11, 2020 Oak Ridge, Anderson County 1
Aug 11, 2020 Nashville, Davidson County 1
Aug 10, 2020 Vonore, Monroe County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in Tennessee in 2020

Area Deaths, 2020 Per 100,000
Anderson County 12 15.5
Bedford County 5 9.9
Benton County 1 6.3
Bledsoe County 5 33.5
Blount County 14 10.3
Bradley County 11 10.1
Campbell County 1 2.5
Cannon County 2 13.7
Carroll County 9 31.7
Carter County 6 10.6
Cheatham County 8 19.5
Chester County 9 51.8
Claiborne County 3 9.4
Clay County 0 —
Cocke County 12 33.3
Coffee County 5 8.6
Crockett County 3 21.6
Cumberland County 20 32.6
Davidson County 114 15.9
DeKalb County 6 29.7
Decatur County 5 43.7
Dickson County 14 25.7
Dyer County 13 35.4
Fayette County 11 26.3
Fentress County 1 5.4
Franklin County 7 16.3
Gibson County 13 25.8
Giles County 10 33.0
Grainger County 13 55.2
Greene County 18 25.6
Grundy County 2 14.8
Hamblen County 7 10.8
Hamilton County 45 12.2
Hancock County 1 15.1
Hardeman County 9 35.4
Hardin County 7 26.0
Hawkins County 8 14.1
Haywood County 9 50.5
Henderson County 7 25.2
Henry County 7 21.8
Hickman County 14 56.1
Houston County 2 24.1
Humphreys County 7 36.8
Jackson County 3 25.8
Jefferson County 9 16.4
Johnson County 2 11.1
Knox County 53 11.0
Lake County 1 14.3
Lauderdale County 5 19.9
Lawrence County 7 15.8
Lewis County 3 23.8
Lincoln County 5 14.2
Loudon County 9 16.3
Macon County 7 27.7
Madison County 19 19.2
Marion County 12 41.6
Marshall County 6 17.4
Maury County 12 11.8
McMinn County 15 28.1
McNairy County 7 27.1
Meigs County 4 31.2
Monroe County 21 45.3
Montgomery County 25 11.3
Moore County 2 30.9
Morgan County 3 14.3
Obion County 6 19.5
Overton County 4 17.7
Perry County 4 47.7
Pickett County 0 —
Polk County 5 28.5
Putnam County 11 13.7
Rhea County 3 9.0
Roane County 9 16.8
Robertson County 19 26.0
Rutherford County 46 13.4
Scott County 4 18.3
Sequatchie County 5 31.5
Sevier County 20 20.2
Shelby County 246 26.5
Smith County 3 15.0
Stewart County 2 14.6
Sullivan County 22 13.9
Sumner County 15 7.6
Tipton County 5 8.2
Trousdale County 4 34.3
Unicoi County 3 16.8
Union County 9 45.3
Van Buren County 0 —
Warren County 8 19.5
Washington County 7 5.3
Wayne County 2 12.3
Weakley County 10 30.4
White County 4 14.6
Williamson County 18 7.2
Wilson County 17 11.4

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