NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) urged drivers across the state to be safe and respectful behind the wheel.
In a social media post, THP said 1,590 crashes occurred last January due to to failing to yield the right of way. The second most common cause of crashes last January was a failure to properly stay in a lane, which caused 1,445 crashes.
Rounding out the top five most common reasons for crashes in Tennessee in 2024 was improper following — which caused 1,424 crashes — careless erratic driving and distracted driving. Careless erratic driving caused 530 crashes and distracted driving was the cause of 516 crashes.
THP collaborated with the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security and the Tennessee Integrated Traffic Analysis Network (TITAN) to release statewide data on crashes last year. For the entire year 2024, more than 181,000 crashes across the state either had unknown or no driver actions listed.
In addition to listing the most common causes of crashes in Tennessee, the dashboard included data on the number of drivers involved in crashes. The top five counties with the highest number of crashes in 2024 were:
- Shelby with 56,604
- Davidson with 47,511
- Hamilton with 19,101
- Knox with 18,133
- Rutherford with 17,230
The five counties with the lowest number of drivers involved in crashes:
- Lake with 71
- Pickett with 88
- Clay with 90
- Perry with 91
- Hancock with 105
