Fatal Crashes in Tennessee
7737 fatal crashes and 8380 fatalities from 2017-2023. Data from NHTSA FARS.
Crashes by year
| Year | Crashes | Fatalities | Drunk driver |
|---|
| 2017 | 942 | 1,024 | 216 |
| 2018 | 973 | 1,040 | 195 |
| 2019 | 1,041 | 1,136 | 255 |
| 2020 | 1,119 | 1,217 | 269 |
| 2021 | 1,229 | 1,327 | 314 |
| 2022 | 1,214 | 1,313 | 303 |
| 2023 | 1,219 | 1,323 | 294 |
Worst counties in Tennessee
The top counties by fatal crash count. Need crash history at a specific location within these counties? Our intersection report shows every fatal crash within any radius, with vehicle details, person demographics, and a map.
| County | Crashes | Fatalities |
|---|
| SHELBY (157) | 1,321 | 1,439 |
| DAVIDSON (37) | 736 | 778 |
| KNOX (93) | 423 | 453 |
| HAMILTON (65) | 303 | 320 |
| RUTHERFORD (149) | 238 | 254 |
| MONTGOMERY (125) | 194 | 208 |
| SULLIVAN (163) | 143 | 154 |
| WILSON (189) | 138 | 146 |
| BLOUNT (9) | 122 | 133 |
| SEVIER (155) | 118 | 125 |
| WILLIAMSON (187) | 117 | 127 |
| MADISON (113) | 114 | 132 |
| GREENE (59) | 112 | 116 |
| SUMNER (165) | 110 | 116 |
| MAURY (119) | 106 | 114 |
Worst cities in Tennessee
Fatal crashes by city. Attorneys investigating a crash in any of these cities can get a full crash history report for the specific intersection - including prior crashes, time-of-day patterns, and impairment data.
| City | Crashes | Fatalities |
|---|
| MEMPHIS | 1,177 | 1,277 |
| NASHVILLE | 641 | 678 |
| KNOXVILLE | 280 | 295 |
| CHATTANOOGA | 210 | 222 |
| CLARKSVILLE | 140 | 145 |
| MURFREESBORO | 68 | 70 |
| KINGSPORT | 68 | 75 |
| JACKSON | 55 | 61 |
| CLEVELAND | 50 | 51 |
| LEBANON | 48 | 51 |
| COLUMBIA | 44 | 45 |
| JOHNSON CITY | 38 | 41 |
| MORRISTOWN | 35 | 36 |
| SMYRNA | 32 | 33 |
| COOKEVILLE | 29 | 33 |
When crashes happen
By month
| Month | Crashes |
|---|
| January | 525 |
| February | 500 |
| March | 544 |
| April | 623 |
| May | 683 |
| June | 716 |
| July | 742 |
| August | 705 |
| September | 738 |
| October | 709 |
| November | 621 |
| December | 631 |
Most dangerous hours
Peak hours matter for fleet safety teams scheduling routes and for attorneys establishing time-of-day patterns at a crash location.
| Hour | Crashes |
|---|
| 17:00 | 446 |
| 20:00 | 445 |
| 18:00 | 437 |
| 21:00 | 433 |
| 15:00 | 415 |
| 16:00 | 411 |
| 19:00 | 410 |
| 14:00 | 391 |
| 22:00 | 376 |
| 12:00 | 340 |
Vehicles involved in fatal crashes
Top vehicle makes in Tennessee fatal crashes. Insurance actuaries use vehicle-level crash data for risk scoring - our API lets you query by make, model, body type, and rollover status.
| Make | Vehicles involved |
|---|
| Ford | 1,626 |
| Chevrolet | 1,610 |
| Nissan/Datsun | 924 |
| Toyota | 896 |
| Honda | 810 |
| Dodge | 721 |
| Harley-Davidson | 421 |
| GMC | 377 |
| Jeep / Kaiser-Jeep / Willys- Jeep | 344 |
| Freightliner | 293 |
Conditions
Weather
| Weather | Crashes |
|---|
| Clear | 5,953 |
| Cloudy | 842 |
| Rain | 728 |
| Fog, Smog, Smoke | 58 |
| Not Reported | 57 |
| Reported as Unknown | 45 |
| Snow | 24 |
| Unknown | 6 |
Collision type
| Type | Crashes |
|---|
| Single vehicle / pedestrian / object | 4,506 |
| Angle | 1,562 |
| Front-to-Front | 910 |
| Front-to-Rear | 525 |
| Sideswipe - Same Direction | 120 |
| Sideswipe - Opposite Direction | 80 |
| Other | 12 |
| Rear-to-Side | 9 |
| Reported as Unknown | 8 |
| Not Reported | 5 |
Need crash data for a specific location in Tennessee?
Our intersection report shows every fatal crash within any radius of a GPS coordinate - with a map, event sequence, contributing factors, vehicle and person details. Used by attorneys for discovery and insurance teams for risk assessment.
For programmatic access to all Tennessee crash data, see the API guide. $19/mo for full access.
Data source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2017-2023. Updated annually.
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