Gatlinburg, TN truck route planning & crash data
Plan safer truck routes in Gatlinburg: commercial truck and garbage truck crashes in Gatlinburg and Sevier County, dangerous roads, seasonality and route safety data for fleets. Patterns use Sevier County numbers.
Where fatal truck crashes happened
Risk scorecard
Key findings
Snapshot
Crashes by month
Garbage trucks vs all trucks
13 of 345 truck crashes since 2015.
Deadliest roads
How Sevier County compares with Tennessee
Sevier County against Tennessee and the US, 2015–2025 (years with complete crash reporting). Per-resident rates make big and small places comparable.
Where Sevier County stands out
Full comparison
| Measure (2015–2025) | Sevier County | Tennessee | United States | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crashes per 100k residents / yr | 29.9 | 60.1 | 49.7 | 50% below the state |
| Deaths per 100 crashes | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 8% below the state |
| Injuries per crash | 0.47 | 0.48 | 0.49 | same |
| Garbage-truck share | 3.9% | 1.9% | 2.3% | 2.0× the state |
| On snow, slush or ice | 1.5% | 2.3% | 6.2% | 35% below the state |
| Morning rush (6–10 am) | 20.6% | 21.8% | 23.7% | same |
| In rain, sleet or snow | 13.9% | 14.9% | 13.8% | same |
| Winter months (Nov–Mar) | 38.5% | 40.5% | 41.9% | same |
| After dark | 22.4% | 25.9% | 24.8% | 14% below the state |
Sevier County has lower values than Tennessee for crashes per 100k residents / yr, deaths per 100 crashes and on snow, slush or ice. It runs above Tennessee on garbage-truck share.
Sevier County at a glance: 1 in 25 of truck crashes here involve garbage trucks: 3.9%, vs 1.9% in Tennessee.
Overview
Since 2015, 345 crashes involving commercial trucks have been reported in Sevier County. They injured 170 people and killed 12.
That averages about one truck crash every 12 days in fully reported years.
Gatlinburg had 13 reported truck crashes since 2015, too few for reliable patterns, so the charts and findings on this page use Sevier County numbers.
31% of truck crash reports in Sevier 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 (12.5% of the year) and are lowest in December (6.7%).
November through March accounts for 38.5% of truck crashes here, compared with 40.5% in Tennessee.
More truck crashes happen at 12–1 pm than at any other hour (9.6%).
Road surface: 1.5% of truck crashes were on snow, slush or ice (Tennessee: 2.3%).
Where crashes happen
Fatal large-truck crashes within 10 miles of Gatlinburg since 2015 were spread across roads: SR-449 (1) and US-321 (1).
Garbage & waste trucks
Garbage and refuse trucks were involved in 13 crashes, 3.8% of the total, against 1.9% across Tennessee.
Route planning tips for Gatlinburg fleets
- Plan August schedules with more margin; it is the worst month for truck crashes in Sevier County.
- Check your own stops for crash hotspots and low bridges with the free Route Planner.
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 Sevier County
By hour of day
Most dangerous roads for trucks
| Road | Fatal truck crashes since 2015 (within 10 miles) |
|---|---|
| SR-449 | 1 |
| US-321 | 1 |
Roads named most in all truck crash reports
| Road | Truck crashes since 2015 (Sevier County) |
|---|---|
| I-40 | 100 |
| Winfield Dunn Pkwy | 31 |
| Dolly Parton Pkwy | 13 |
| Parkway | 11 |
| Newport Hwy | 10 |
| US-411 | 10 |
| Veterans Blvd | 8 |
| E Parkway | 8 |
Gatlinburg at a glance
| Population | 3,703 |
| Land area | 10.4 sq mi |
| Density | 355 per sq mi |
| Median household income (ZIP 37738) | $57,330 |
| Median home value (ZIP 37738) | $333,563 |
Waste facilities and haulers nearby
Historical data: truck crashes in Sevier 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 | 2 | — | 0.8 |
| 2000s | 19 | +791% | 1.3 |
| 2010s | 23 | +19% | 0.6 |
| 2020s | 34 | +47% | 1.2 |
In the 1990s about 2 truck crashes a year were reported; in the 2020s, about 34. Reporting coverage also changed between these periods. NHTSA counts 0.8 fatal large-truck crashes a year in 2016–19 and 1.2 a year in 2020–24.
Nearby places
Questions fleets ask about Gatlinburg
How many truck crashes happen in Gatlinburg?
Since 2015, 345 crashes involving commercial trucks were reported in Sevier County (170 injured, 12 killed).
Which month has the most truck crashes in Gatlinburg?
August has the most truck crashes in Sevier County, 12.5% of the yearly total.
How many garbage truck accidents happen in Gatlinburg?
Garbage trucks were involved in 13 reported crashes in Sevier County since 2015 (3.8% of truck crashes).
What is the truck crash rate in Gatlinburg compared with Tennessee?
Sevier County records 29.9 truck crashes per 100,000 residents a year, against 60.1 across Tennessee.
How can I plan a safer truck route in Gatlinburg?
Paste your stops into the free CurbWaste Route Planner: it scores your route against fatal-crash locations, suggests safer alternatives and flags low bridges.
2026 is a partial year. Updated October 2026.