How many people die on Tennessee roads?

In 2024, NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) recorded 1,093 fatal crashes in Tennessee, in which 1,197 people died. Over the whole period the file covers, 1975 to 2024, it records 57,972 deaths.

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) exported 2026-09-11

Fatal crashes in Tennessee by year

Fatal crashes in Tennessee1975–2024

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

1975 1,229 fatal crashes at the peak 2024

All 50 years as a table
YearFatal crashesDeaths
2024 1,093 1,197
2023 1,219 1,323
2022 1,214 1,313
2021 1,229 1,327
2020 1,119 1,217
2019 1,041 1,136
2018 973 1,040
2017 942 1,024
2016 962 1,037
2015 888 962
2014 893 963
2013 911 995
2012 929 1,015
2011 867 937
2010 958 1,032
2009 915 986
2008 958 1,043
2007 1,111 1,211
2006 1,161 1,284
2005 1,161 1,270
2004 1,191 1,339
2003 1,091 1,193
2002 1,058 1,177
2001 1,126 1,251
2000 1,177 1,307
1999 1,169 1,302
1998 1,110 1,216
1997 1,104 1,225
1996 1,120 1,239
1995 1,130 1,259
1994 1,109 1,214
1993 1,041 1,170
1992 1,027 1,153
1991 1,002 1,113
1990 1,045 1,177
1989 977 1,088
1988 1,116 1,266
1987 1,101 1,247
1986 1,102 1,230
1985 997 1,101
1984 990 1,095
1983 919 1,037
1982 944 1,055
1981 983 1,104
1980 1,007 1,153
1979 1,045 1,210
1978 1,099 1,241
1977 1,080 1,223
1976 1,013 1,149
1975 987 1,126

1975 opened at 987 fatal crashes and 2024 closed at 1,093. A year the source holds no rows for is left blank rather than drawn through.

The counties with the most

Tennessee counties with the most fatal crashes2024

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

Counted over the whole period the export covers. A county with more road on it records more crashes; this is not a safety ranking.

County Fatal crashes Deaths
Shelby 47157 195 218
Davidson 47037 106 114
Knox 47093 73 82
Rutherford 47149 38 44
Hamilton 47065 35 39
Blount 47009 24 25
Montgomery 47125 24 26
Madison 47113 23 27
Wilson 47189 22 25
Greene 47059 21 24
Sullivan 47163 16 17
Hamblen 47063 15 16
Coffee 47031 14 15
McMinn 47107 14 16
Sevier 47155 14 14

Which roads carry the deaths

Fatal crashes by road class2024

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

Share is of the crashes this source assigned a road class to, not of every crash in the state.

Road class Fatal crashes Deaths Share
U.S. Highway 297 321 27%
State Highway 261 286 24%
Municipal 203 221 19%
County 170 184 16%
Interstate 157 180 14%
Parkway Marker or Forest Route Marker [Specify:] 4 4 0%
Trafficway Not in State Inventory 1 1 0%

Where these numbers come from

These figures come from NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). They are exported into this repository by export_fars_state.py, reviewed, and committed, so the page is static and the number on it cannot change between a reader loading it and citing it.

The export covers 1975 to 2024 and was generated on 2026-09-11. Every year in that span carries rows.

Counties are keyed by FIPS code rather than by name, because a county name is not unique across the country and thirty states have a Washington County. The code is printed beside each name so a row can be joined to any other federal file.

You are welcome to quote these figures. Please cite NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) as the source, which is where they come from, and link this page if the compilation was useful.

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