Tennessee truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Tennessee: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
3.5 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 3.9 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Tennessee compares with United States
Tennessee against United States, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Tennessee stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Tennessee | United States | vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 60.1 | 49.7 | 1.2× the US |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 3.9 | 3.4 | 1.1× the US |
| Injuries per crash | 0.48 | 0.49 | same |
| Garbage-truck share | 1.9% | 2.3% | 17% below the US |
| On snow, slush or ice | 2.3% | 6.2% | 62% below the US |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 21.8% | 23.7% | 8% below the US |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 14.9% | 13.8% | 1.1× the US |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 40.5% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 25.9% | 24.8% | same |
Compared with the US, Tennessee is lower on garbage-truck share, on snow, slush or ice and morning rush (6–10 am). It stands out for higher crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and in rain, sleet or snow.
Tennessee at a glance: I-40 236 fatal truck crashes since 2015, more than any other road in Tennessee.
Overview
Police reported 51,040 crashes involving commercial trucks in Tennessee since 2015: 24,735 people were injured and 1,942 were killed.
In complete reporting years that works out to about 12 truck crashes a day.
When crashes happen
The worst month is August with 9.1% of truck crashes; the quietest is December at 7.7%.
Winter months (Nov–Mar) carry 40.5% of truck crashes, vs 41.9% for the US.
The busiest hour is 12–1 pm, with 6.7% of truck crashes.
Road surface: 2.3% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (the US: 6.2%).
Where crashes happen
I-40 leads in Tennessee with 236 fatal crashes involving a large truck since 2015. Next come I-24 (91), I-75 (68) and I-65 (42).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage and refuse trucks were involved in 972 crashes, 1.9% of the total, against 2.3% across the US.
Their busiest month is August, with 11% of garbage-truck crashes.
They recorded 3.5 deaths per 100 crashes, against 3.9 for all trucks.
Route planning tips for Tennessee fleets
- Plan August schedules with more margin; it is the worst month for truck crashes in Tennessee.
- Check whether your routes use I-40, the road with the most fatal truck crashes in this area.
- For residential and commercial waste routes, look again at August schedules: garbage-truck crashes peak then.
- Paste your stops into the free Route Planner to see the risk score, safer alternatives and low bridges.
About the data
Crash counts come from the FMCSA crash file (police-reported crashes involving trucks over 10,000 lb); fatal-crash locations come from NHTSA FARS. Text on this page states only what these numbers show.
Truck crashes by year: all trucks vs garbage trucks
Seasonality: when trucks crash in Tennessee
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (in Tennessee) |
|---|---|
| I-40 | 236 |
| I-24 | 91 |
| I-75 | 68 |
| I-65 | 42 |
| US-70 | 26 |
| US-64 | 23 |
| US-231 | 22 |
| US-51 | 20 |
| US-78 | 20 |
| US-11W | 19 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Tennessee) |
|---|---|
| I-40 | 10,179 |
| I-24 | 5,295 |
| I-65 | 2,571 |
| I-75 | 2,567 |
| I-81 | 885 |
| I-240 | 408 |
| I-840 | 397 |
| Lamar Ave | 333 |
Tennessee at a glance
| Population | 7,227,750 |
| Land area | 41,224.3 sq mi |
| Density | 175 per sq mi |
Historical data: truck crashes in Tennessee since the 1990s
Combines the FMCSA crash file (all reported truck crashes, real coverage from about 1990) with NHTSA FARS (fatal crashes involving a large truck, 1982–2024).
| Decade | Truck crashes / yr | Change | Fatal crashes / yr (FARS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 936 | — | 121.4 |
| 2000s | 3,137 | +235% | 117.8 |
| 2010s | 3,652 | +16% | 106.4 |
| 2020s | 4,565 | +25% | 152.0 |
From the 1990s to the 2020s, yearly reported truck crashes went from 936 to 4,565. Some of the change may reflect how crashes were reported. NHTSA counts 120.2 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 152.0 a year in 2020–24.
Counties in Tennessee
Largest places in Tennessee
Nearby states
Questions fleets ask about Tennessee
How many truck crashes happen in Tennessee?
51,040 truck crashes have been reported in Tennessee since 2015, with 1,942 deaths and 24,735 injuries.
Which road has the most fatal truck crashes in Tennessee?
Since 2015, I-40 has had the most fatal large-truck crashes in Tennessee: 236.
Which month has the most truck crashes in Tennessee?
The worst month is August: 9.1% of truck crashes in Tennessee happen then.
How many garbage truck accidents happen in Tennessee?
972 crashes involving garbage or refuse trucks have been reported in Tennessee since 2015, 1.9% of all truck crashes.
How does Tennessee compare with the US for truck crashes?
Per 100,000 residents, Tennessee has 60.1 truck crashes a year; the US has 49.7.
How can I plan a safer truck route in Tennessee?
The free Route Planner takes your stops and returns a route risk score, safer alternatives and low-bridge warnings.
2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.