Fatal crashes in Tennessee notch 13-year high mark in 2020 despite record low travel

Officials say 'it's not OK' as safety campaign launched

Staff file photo by Robin Rudd / Traffic moves along Interstate 75 in Bradley County, Tenn., in this view from the Harrison Pike overpass. Tennessee's Department of Transportation and Department of Safety and Homeland Security have launched a safety campaign to raise public awareness about fatal crashes.
Staff file photo by Robin Rudd / Traffic moves along Interstate 75 in Bradley County, Tenn., in this view from the Harrison Pike overpass. Tennessee's Department of Transportation and Department of Safety and Homeland Security have launched a safety campaign to raise public awareness about fatal crashes.

Tennessee traffic fatalities notched a 13-year high in 2020, despite coronavirus-strapped travel on roads reaching a record low.

"In 2020, fatalities increased nearly 7%, while traffic was down approximately 13% in Tennessee," Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Clay Bright said in a statement issued Monday.

More than 1,200 people died in Tennessee traffic crashes in 2020, about 75 more than in 2019, records show. The most traffic fatalities ever in the state happened in 1973 when 1,444 people were killed. Fatalities in 2020 continued an upward trend that started in 2015 when traffic deaths stood at 962 for the year.

Tennesseans were placed under a stay-at-home order last April to slow the spread of COVID-19 so fewer people were out on the roads, according to data from the Maryland Transportation Institute and the Federal Highway Administration.

Tennessee's 2020 numbers raise an alarm because travel was so low, Bright said.

"This number is staggering, and it's not OK," he said. "We want motorists to take notice and work with us in making a change."

In response to increasing fatalities, TDOT and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security are teaming up to raise public awareness of the disturbing fatality crash rate in a safety campaign to be launched this week, according to the two agencies.

"Last year, we saw 1,211 fatalities on state highways," Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Jeff Long said. "The loss of life is never easy, especially when it could have been avoided.

"We encourage the public to make safe choices when traveling," he said. "Obey the speed limit, stay off your phone, don't drive distracted or impaired and please wear your seat belt. Those simple choices will greatly cut down the chances of you dying in a crash."

Of the 1,211 fatalities in 2020, 396 people were unrestrained, 32% more than in 2019. Fatalities in urban and rural areas of Tennessee were up 56% and 44%, respectively, according to state officials.

State traffic death figures took the biggest hit in Shelby County, which led the other 94 counties in the state with a total of 244 fatalities in 2020, or 20% of Tennessee's total fatalities for the year, officials said.

Fatalities keep coming daily.

Five people were killed in traffic crashes on Tuesday just within TDOT's 24-county Region 2 that includes all of Southeast Tennessee and parts of Middle Tennessee, TDOT spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said. Three people were killed in Putnam County in a police pursuit and two more lost their lives in a crash in Polk County involving a motorcycle, she said.

Traffic in the year of COVID

The Tennessee Highway Patrol calls it "heartbreaking."

"In a year like 2020, where there were fewer vehicles on the road, one would expect that traffic fatalities would be down," THP spokesperson Lt. Bill Miller said via email. "Unfortunately, what we experienced was a staggering number of traffic fatalities. Seeing traffic fatalities increase is extremely heartbreaking."

State data comparing 2019 and 2020 traffic fatalities by month show 2020 traffic deaths were nearly 100 fatalities higher than the prior year with 1,136 people killed in 2019 traffic accidents compared to 1,211 people killed in 2020.

Fatalities in 2019 outpaced 2020 in January, April, May and September, while the remaining eight months of 2020 saw greater numbers of traffic deaths than in 2019. The largest year-to-year increase across the state came in August 2020 when 130 people were killed compared with 95 in 2019, records show.

And 2019 wasn't a good traffic year either, particularly in Chattanooga.

In 2019, Tennessee traffic deaths had reached a 12-year high - the highest since 2007 - which then represented a more than 8% jump over the 1,039 people who died in 2018, the Times Free Press reported last January. That increase also reflected a 14-person rise in fatalities in Hamilton County between 2018 to 2019, most of them occurring inside the Chattanooga city limits.

State data for 2020 in Southeast Tennessee's counties show most-populous Hamilton County with 39 fatalities for the year, which is down almost 33% from 2019's 58 traffic deaths. There were 44 traffic deaths in Hamilton County in 2018, also significantly higher than 2020.

More Info

UNRESTRAINED DRIVERS STATEWIDE-An improperly or unrestrained driver was injured or killed in a crash every 3 hours, 39 minutes-An improperly or unrestrained driver was 56 times more likely to die in a crash than a properly restrained driver-The improperly or unrestrained driver in a crash was two times more often a man than a woman-An improperly or unrestrained driver was three times more likely to be injured in a crash than a properly restrained driverHAMILTON COUNTY UNRESTRAINED DRIVERS-In Hamilton County, an improperly or unrestrained driver was injured or killed in a crash every two days, 9 hours and 15 minutes-An improperly or unrestrained driver was 35 times more likely to die in a crash than a properly restrained driver-The improperly or unrestrained driver in a crash was two times more often a man than a woman-An improperly or unrestrained driver was three times more likely to be injured in a crash than a properly restrained driverSource: 2019 Crashes — Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, TITAN Division, June 8, 2020.

Rural county traffic deaths

While Hamilton County had a decline in fatal crashes between 2019 and 2020, fatal crashes increased in Marion County by more than 57% from 7 to 11 deaths, in McMinn by almost 17% from 12 to 14 deaths and in Bradley by more than 33% from 9 to 12 deaths.

The rest of the region's rural counties - where differences of a single fatality can tally a high percentage of change - fell in the single digits for 2020, records show. Bledsoe increased by one fatality, Franklin rose by three and Meigs had one more traffic death than in 2019. Meigs' three 2020 fatalities include a 7-year-old girl and a 53-year-old bus driver who were killed in October when a utility truck collided with a loaded school bus on Highway 58.

(READ MORE: Utility truck driver looking in mirror may had led to deadly Meigs County school bus crash last year)

Meanwhile, Southeast Tennessee traffic deaths declined between 2019 and 2020 in the more lightly populated counties of Coffee, Grundy, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie, records show.

And the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency recently reported boating fatalities in 2020 notched a 37-year high mark, as well.

After a record-low year of eight boating fatalities in 2019, 32 boating-related fatalities in 2020 marked the most on Tennessee waters in 37 years. About 30% of fatal incidents in 2020 involved suspected alcohol or drugs as a contributing factor, TWRA officials said.

Watch what you're doing

The cause of most traffic deaths is simple: the drivers.

"We have identified that unrestrained occupants, failure to keep in proper lane, alcohol and drug use, speeding, failure to yield right of way, reckless or careless drivers and distracted drivers are among the top primary contributing factors in the 2020 traffic fatalities," Miller said.

"Drivers are responsible for how they drive. If you have unsafe driving habits, then we need you to be responsible and change those habits," he said.

Law enforcement and state safety officials are urging drivers to think about the decisions they make while driving.

"We ask motorists to make safe choices that include buckling their seat belt and not placing their vehicles in drive until all occupants are also buckled up," Miller said. "We also need drivers to slow down and drive the speed limit."

Miller reminds motorists that Tennessee is a hands-free state, so drivers need to leave their phones alone and drive. He also reminds people to never drink and drive when there are many options available to stay out from behind the wheel when impaired.

In the coming days on social media, TDOT will post information to raise awareness of the importance of safe driving. Safety messages will be displayed on TDOT's overhead message signs on interstates in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville. Safety campaign information also will be disseminated through TDOT's social media pages.

"In 2020 during this time period, there were 57 people killed in traffic-related crashes," Miller said of statewide data. "In 2021, there have already been 58 people killed in traffic crashes. This is not acceptable, and we all must work together to stop this from trending upwards."

Data for Southeast Tennessee for 2021 shows region counties as a whole are down four fatal crashes. But Grundy County has already had two fatalities, up from none this time last year, and Marion has had three, up two from January 2020. Hamilton County is down by five fatalities from last year with no fatal crashes so far this year, records show.

"We desperately need all drivers and motorists to change their thought processes and make smarter, wiser driving choices to help prevent additional highway deaths," Miller said.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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