Shelby County had the highest rate of vehicle fatalities in Tennessee over the last five years, according to a new state report.
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office’s (THSO) latest report says that between 2018 and 2022, 640 died in Shelby County as a result of a car crash. The figure made Shelby County the site of nearly 16 percent of all vehicle-related deaths in Tennessee.
However, Shelby County saw a decline in these deaths in 2022.
Davidson County (Nashville) was the runner-up in this metric. But with its 305 deaths, it had fewer than half of the vehicle-related deaths than Shelby. Davidson County deaths accounted for 7.5 percent of all vehicle-related deaths in Tennessee.
However, Davidson Countians drove more each day than Shelby County drivers. The THSO figures said more than 24.6 million miles are driven in Shelby County each day. In Davidson County, the figure is more than 25.3 million.
The number of car-related fatalities here is way up from nearly 20 years ago. The same THSO report found that in the five years from 2005 to 2009, there were 397 fatal crashes crashes in Shelby County. Fewer average daily miles were driven back then, nearly 1 million fewer miles per day.
The number of car-related fatalities here is way up from nearly 20 years ago.
Source: THSO
Roads Most Traveled
The new report shows that Shelby County has the most miles of roadways in the state. It has 10,759 miles of roads. Knox County comes in second with 9,903 miles. Davidson is third with 9,448. Hamilton County (Chattanooga) is a distant fourth with 7,962 miles.
The busiest road in Shelby County is the 240 stretch between Mt. Moriah and Perkins (segment 3 in the chart above) with about 194,040 cars daily. The next busiest was at the flyover around the Sam Cooper Blvd. exit (segment 2) with around 156,970 cars daily. The third-busiest was two-mile stretch of I-240 between the Walnut Grove and Poplar exits (segment 1 in the graph above). That portion saw about 149,320 cars each day in 2023. But it is the most-driven road in the county, with about 337,463 miles driven on it each day.
The busiest local roads were Germantown Road (59,980 cars daily), Lamar (39,410 daily), and Covington Pike (21,460 cars daily).
Buckle Up
The new report shows that Tennesseans buckled up at record rates in 2024 for the second year in a row.
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) said the 2024 statewide seat belt usage rate was 92.2 percent, a slight increase from the 2023 rate of 92 percent. Shelby County’s usage rate was only slightly lower at 91.7 percent.
The THSO collected data at 190 roadway locations across the state, involving nearly 29,000 vehicle occupants.
Key figures:
• Sport utility vehicle occupants had the highest seat belt usage rate (96.3 percent), while pickup truck occupants had the lowest (84.6 percent).
• Female occupants wore seat belts more frequently (96.2 percent) compared to males (89.2 percent).
• Front-seat passengers wore seat belts (92.3 percent) more than drivers (92.1 percent).
• McMinn County had the highest seat belt usage rate at 97 percent.
Read the full report here: