Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in Tennessee
Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in Tennessee
Media outlets were quick during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns that defined the summer and fall of 2020 to note just how little traffic there was as a result. Simple logic would suggest that less traffic equals a lower likelihood of accidents and thus fewer injuries and fatalities. Sadly, this was not the case.
Nationwide, traffic fatalities rose 7.2% in 2020 to nearly 39,000. That number was the highest recorded since 2007. Qualifying this disturbing fact is a sticky wicket—common denominators behind traffic deaths such as impaired driving, failure to use a seat belt, and excessive speed were certainly contributing factors, but they alone do not account for a rise in deaths commensurate with a 430-million-mile drop in the number of miles people traveled across the course of the year. What can be qualified, however, is where fatal crashes took place.
Citing data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Stacker identified the counties in Tennessee that had the most fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2020. The number of accident fatalities are ranked by the number of deaths per 100,000 people, with the raw number functioning as a tiebreaker. The analysis only looked at counties with at least five deaths during 2020. Additional data is included on pedestrian, bicyclist, and drunk-driving-related deaths. In counties where at least five fatalities happened on the same street or interstate, the road with the most deaths is also included.
#50. Putnam County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#49. Sullivan County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#48. Hawkins County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#47. Lincoln County, Tennessee
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#46. Anderson County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#45. Lawrence County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#44. Davidson County, Tennessee
- 39 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 31 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-24 (10 fatalities)
#43. Franklin County, Tennessee
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#42. Jefferson County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#41. Loudon County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#40. Roane County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-40 (5 fatalities)
#39. Marshall County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#38. Madison County, Tennessee
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#37. Obion County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#36. Cheatham County, Tennessee
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#35. Warren County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#34. Lauderdale County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#33. Sevier County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#32. Henry County, Tennessee
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#31. Henderson County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#30. Greene County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#29. Gibson County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#28. Dickson County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#27. Hardin County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#26. Robertson County, Tennessee
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-24 (5 fatalities)
#25. Fayette County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#24. Shelby County, Tennessee
- 71 pedestrian deaths
- 5 bicyclist deaths
- 49 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: WINCHESTER RD (14 fatalities)
#23. McNairy County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#22. Macon County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#21. McMinn County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#20. Polk County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#19. DeKalb County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#18. Weakley County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#17. Carroll County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#16. Sequatchie County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#15. Cumberland County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-40 (7 fatalities)
#14. Giles County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#13. Cocke County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#12. Bledsoe County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#11. Hardeman County, Tennessee
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#10. Dyer County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#9. Humphreys County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#8. Marion County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-24 (5 fatalities)
#7. Decatur County, Tennessee
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#6. Monroe County, Tennessee
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#5. Union County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-33 MAYNARDVILLE HWY (6 fatalities)
#4. Haywood County, Tennessee
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-40 (5 fatalities)
#3. Chester County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#2. Grainger County, Tennessee
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#1. Hickman County, Tennessee
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-40 (6 fatalities)