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InterstateI-59

Alabama · interstate

Interstate 59

Fatal crashes 2015–2024 262Deaths 288Counties 7Latest data year 2024

FARS data are based on police crash reports and other sources; the drunk-driving measure is based on the highest BAC of any driver in the crash. Latest data year: 2024. The route is the trafficway recorded for each crash (FARS TWAY_ID); the same route number in another state has its own page.

Between 2015 and 2024, FARS records 262 fatal crashes on Interstate 59 in Alabama, with 288 deaths.

That is 3% of the 8,797 fatal crashes in Alabama over the same years. The ten-year crash count rose 24% from 212 in 2005–2014 to 262 in 2015–2024.

The crashes were concentrated in Jefferson County (111), Tuscaloosa County (51) and St. Clair County (24) and 4 other counties.

15.6% of the crashes had a driver reported as drinking (Alabama: 25.4%) and 20.6% had a speeding-related driver (26.7%); pedestrians were 13.5% and motorcyclists 6.9% of those killed.

262fatal crashes, 2015–2024+24% vs 2005–2014
288people killed1.1 per fatal crash
16%with a drinking driverAlabama: 25%
21%speeding-relatedAlabama: 27%

Fatal crashes per year

018352000200520102015202020242000: 29 crashes2001: 25 crashes2002: 17 crashes2003: 14 crashes2004: 20 crashes2005: 17 crashes2006: 18 crashes2007: 16 crashes2008: 10 crashes2009: 22 crashes2010: 31 crashes2011: 22 crashes2012: 26 crashes2013: 21 crashes2014: 29 crashes2015: 22 crashes2016: 26 crashes2017: 31 crashes2018: 24 crashes2019: 24 crashes2020: 27 crashes2021: 30 crashes2022: 35 crashes2023: 22 crashes2024: 21 crashes
Fatal crashes on Interstate 59 (AL) by year, 2000–2024. Latest point: 2024, 21 crashes.

Route identification in FARS is consistent from 2000; earlier years are not shown. Shaded band: the ten-year window used for the shares below.

Compared with all fatal crashes in Alabama

MeasureInterstate 59Alabama
Fatal crashes, 2015–20242628,797
Deaths, 2015–20242889,605
Deaths per fatal crash1.11.1
Share of state fatal crashes3%100%
Change vs previous ten years+24%+1%

Factor shares

Alcoholcrashes with a driver reported as drinking15.6%
Speedingcrashes with a speeding-related driver20.6%
Pedestriansshare of people killed13.5%
Motorcyclistsshare of people killed6.9%
Night (6pm–6am)share of crashes53.8%

tick marks the Alabama share. Bars are shares of fatal crashes (alcohol, speeding, darkness, rural) or of people killed (pedestrians, motorcyclists, unrestrained occupants) over the ten-year window.

Counties along the route

#CountyFatal crashes on I-59Share of routeCounty total, all roads
1Jefferson County11142%904
2Tuscaloosa County5119%349
3St. Clair County249%179
4Greene County228%61
5DeKalb County218%164
6Etowah County208%176
7Sumter County135%53

Hour of day

12am2.7%
1am2.3%
2am4.6%
3am5%
4am3.1%
5am6.5%
6am1.5%
7am3.8%
8am3.4%
9am4.2%
10am4.2%
11am3.1%
12pm4.2%
1pm5%
2pm6.1%
3pm1.9%
4pm5.7%
5pm3.1%
6pm6.9%
7pm3.4%
8pm3.8%
9pm5%
10pm6.1%
11pm4.6%

Share of fatal crashes on Interstate 59 beginning in each hour, 2015–2024; tick marks the Alabama share for all roads.

Where along the route

Mile marker rangeFatal crashesShare
Mile 130–135249%
Mile 115–120239%
Mile 120–125228%
Mile 125–130145%
Mile 65–7093%
Mile 180–18593%

Five-mile bins by FARS milepoint, the six with the most fatal crashes; 99.2% of crashes on the route have a milepoint. Milepoints are as recorded by the state and can restart at county or district lines.

Other routes in Alabama

All routes and counties in Alabama

Questions and answers

How many fatal crashes have there been on Interstate 59 in Alabama?

262 fatal crashes with 288 deaths over 2015–2024, per NHTSA's FARS. The route is the trafficway recorded for the crash; the same numbered route in another state has its own page.

Which counties along Interstate 59 had the most fatal crashes?

Jefferson County (111), Tuscaloosa County (51), St. Clair County (24), Greene County (22) and DeKalb County (21).

What share of crashes on Interstate 59 involved alcohol or speeding?

15.6% had a driver reported as drinking and 20.6% a speeding-related driver, against 25.4% and 26.7% for all fatal crashes in Alabama.

When do fatal crashes happen on Interstate 59?

53.8% of the crashes were between 6pm and 6am. The hour chart on this page shows the full distribution.

Provenance

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, annual national CSV files 2000–2024 (accident, vehicle and person tables), public domain. Route pages are built for signed Interstate, US and state routes with at least 20 fatal crashes in 2015–2024. Data through 31 Dec 2024; generated 30 Sep 2026. See methodology and corrections.