McDonald, TN truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in McDonald: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in McDonald and Bradley County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Bradley County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
8.7 deaths per 100 garbage-truck crashes vs 3.3 for all trucks.
Deadliest roads
How Bradley County compares with Tennessee
Bradley County against Tennessee and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Bradley County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Bradley County | Tennessee | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 67.1 | 60.1 | 49.7 | 1.1× the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 15% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.38 | 0.48 | 0.49 | 21% below the state |
| Garbage-truck share | 2.7% | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1.4× the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 1.2% | 2.3% | 6.2% | 49% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 21.1% | 21.8% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 14.3% | 14.9% | 13.8% | same |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 38.7% | 40.5% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 29.9% | 25.9% | 24.8% | 1.2× the state |
Bradley County sits below Tennessee on deaths per 100 crashes, injuries per crash and on snow, slush or ice. Where it is higher: crashes per 100k residents / yr, garbage-truck share and after dark.
What stands out in McDonald: 2.7× fatal truck crashes within 10 miles of McDonald per year, 2020–24 vs 2016–19 (3.4 vs 1.2).
Overview
Since 2015, 896 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Bradley County. They injured 355 people and killed 30.
Across the years with complete reporting, that is roughly one truck crash every 5 days.
McDonald had 8 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Bradley County numbers.
41% of truck crash reports in Bradley County since 2015 leave the city field blank; place counts include only reports that name the place.
When crashes happen
Truck crashes peak in August (10.5% of the year) and are lowest in February (6.6%).
November through March accounts for 38.7% of truck crashes here, compared with 40.5% in Tennessee.
More truck crashes happen at 2–3 pm than at any other hour (9.0%).
Snow, slush or ice was on the road in 1.2% of truck crashes, compared with 2.3% in Tennessee.
Where crashes happen
The deadliest road for trucks within 10 miles of McDonald is I-75, with 19 fatal large-truck crashes since 2015. Next come SR-60 (2), US-64 (2) and CR-KLINGLER Ln (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage trucks account for 25 of the truck crashes here, or 2.8%, compared with 1.9% in Tennessee.
Their busiest month is May, with 32% of garbage-truck crashes.
Per 100 crashes, garbage trucks recorded 8.7 deaths compared with 3.3 for all trucks.
Route planning tips for McDonald fleets
- Plan August schedules with more margin; it is the worst month for truck crashes in Bradley County.
- Check whether your routes use I-75, the road with the most fatal truck crashes in this area.
- Waste haulers: May is the peak month for garbage-truck crashes in Bradley County.
- 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 Bradley County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| I-75 | 19 |
| SR-60 | 2 |
| US-64 | 2 |
| CR-KLINGLER Ln | 1 |
| SR-312 | 1 |
| SR-58 | 1 |
| Us-64Bp/74 Sr-311 Apd-40 Appal | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Bradley County) |
|---|---|
| I-75 | 430 |
| Apd 40 Hwy | 24 |
| Inman St | 22 |
| Apd 40 | 21 |
| Lower River Rdnw | 17 |
| Dalton Pike Se | 14 |
| Dalton Pikese | 13 |
| E Waterlevel Hwy | 12 |
McDonald at a glance
| Land area | 1.5 sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 37353) | $74,252 |
| Median home value (ZIP 37353) | $256,502 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Bradley County 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 | 29 | — | 1.8 |
| 2000s | 41 | +41% | 2.1 |
| 2010s | 62 | +53% | 1.8 |
| 2020s | 80 | +29% | 1.6 |
In the 1990s about 29 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 80. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. NHTSA counts 1.0 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 1.6 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about McDonald
How many truck crashes happen in McDonald?
896 truck crashes have been reported in Bradley County since 2015, with 30 deaths and 355 injuries.
Where do fatal truck crashes happen most in McDonald?
NHTSA data shows I-75 with 19 fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of McDonald since 2015, the highest of any road.
What is the worst month for truck crashes in McDonald?
The worst month is August: 10.5% of truck crashes in Bradley County happen then.
How many garbage truck crashes are there in McDonald?
Garbage trucks were involved in 25 reported crashes in Bradley County since 2015 (2.8% of truck crashes).
How do truck crashes in McDonald compare with Tennessee?
Bradley County records 67.1 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 60.1 across Tennessee.
How do I plan a garbage truck route in McDonald?
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.