States › Mississippi › Routes › US Route 278
US Route 278
Fatal crashes 2015–2024 66Deaths 79Counties 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.
US Route 278 in Mississippi was the trafficway in 66 fatal crashes between 2015 and 2024, in which 79 people died.
That is 1% of the 6,385 fatal crashes in Mississippi over the same years. The ten-year crash count rose 32% from 50 in 2005–2014 to 66 in 2015–2024.
The crashes were concentrated in Lafayette County (21), Pontotoc County (18) and Panola County (13) and 4 other counties.
22.7% of the crashes had a driver reported as drinking (Mississippi: 18.5%) and 7.6% had a speeding-related driver (14.8%); pedestrians were 5.1% and motorcyclists 5.1% of those killed.
Fatal crashes per year
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 Mississippi
| Measure | US Route 278 | Mississippi |
|---|---|---|
| Fatal crashes, 2015–2024 | 66 | 6,385 |
| Deaths, 2015–2024 | 79 | 7,057 |
| Deaths per fatal crash | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Share of state fatal crashes | 1% | 100% |
| Change vs previous ten years | +32% | -3% |
Factor shares
Counties along the route
| # | County | Fatal crashes on US-278 | Share of route | County total, all roads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lafayette County | 21 | 32% | 95 |
| 2 | Pontotoc County | 18 | 27% | 80 |
| 3 | Panola County | 13 | 20% | 116 |
| 4 | Quitman County | 6 | 9% | 29 |
| 5 | Monroe County | 5 | 8% | 79 |
| 6 | Lee County | 2 | 3% | 165 |
| 7 | Coahoma County | 1 | 2% | 50 |
Hour of day
Share of fatal crashes on US Route 278 beginning in each hour, 2015–2024; tick marks the Mississippi share for all roads.
Other routes in Mississippi
- Interstate 55 299
- US Route 49 276
- US Route 61 169
- Interstate 20 150
- US Route 45 143
- US Route 82 137
- Interstate 59 122
- Interstate 10 108
- US Route 98 107
- State Route 15 101
- US Route 90 95
- US Route 84 81
All routes and counties in Mississippi
Questions and answers
How many fatal crashes have there been on US Route 278 in Mississippi?
66 fatal crashes with 79 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 US Route 278 had the most fatal crashes?
Lafayette County (21), Pontotoc County (18), Panola County (13), Quitman County (6) and Monroe County (5).
What share of crashes on US Route 278 involved alcohol or speeding?
22.7% had a driver reported as drinking and 7.6% a speeding-related driver, against 18.5% and 14.8% for all fatal crashes in Mississippi.
When do fatal crashes happen on US Route 278?
43.9% 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.