Interstate 40 fatal crashes in Tennessee

FARS records 588 fatal crashes with 670 deaths on Interstate 40 in Tennessee from 2015 to 2024.

In 2024 it records 65 fatal crashes with 73 deaths on the route.

By fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024, Interstate 40 was number 1 of the 84 routes of Tennessee with a page.

Fatal crashes on Interstate 40 rose by 21.2% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (485) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (588).

In Tennessee they rose by 8.3% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, motorcyclists were 8.2% of the deaths on Interstate 40 and 13.8% in Tennessee.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Fatal crashes on Interstate 40 in Tennessee by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this route has a change on record.

Fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Interstate 40 in Tennessee: fatal crashes and deaths by year, 2000 to 2024
Year	Fatal crashes	Deaths
2024	65	73
2023	62	71
2022	54	62
2021	77	83
2020	77	87
2019	62	73
2018	42	47
2017	48	54
2016	54	67
2015	47	53
2014	46	56
2013	50	70
2012	47	54
2011	43	46
2010	42	43
2009	40	48
2008	50	56
2007	51	60
2006	61	74
2005	55	63
2004	56	60
2003	56	65
2002	57	76
2001	62	71
2000	68	79

Note: the route is the trafficway that FARS records for the crash. The records of routes start in 2000. A count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2".

Counties on the route

Table 2.Interstate 40: fatal crashes on the route in each county, 2015 to 2024, in name order
County	On the route	On all roads of the county
Benton County	5	35
Carroll County	1 or 2	47
Cheatham County	11	77
Cocke County	17	86
Cumberland County	31	133
Davidson County	62	981
Decatur County	6	32
Dickson County	17	118
Fayette County	21	78
Haywood County	24	71
Henderson County	18	91
Hickman County	19	76
Humphreys County	18	61
Jefferson County	17	79
Knox County	75	611
Loudon County	8	90
Madison County	27	164
Putnam County	29	121
Roane County	15	98
Sevier County	10	159
Shelby County	91	1,755
Smith County	19	48
Williamson County	1 or 2	151
Wilson County	45	196

Note: the table has the counties where FARS records a fatal crash on the route in these years.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 3.Interstate 40 in Tennessee: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share on all roads of Tennessee
A driver recorded as drinkingof 588 fatal crashes	127	588 fatal crashes	21.6%	24.5%
A speeding-related driverof 588 fatal crashes	65	588 fatal crashes	11.1%	16.5%
Pedestriansof 670 deaths	92	670 deaths	13.7%	13.0%
Motorcyclistsof 670 deaths	55	670 deaths	8.2%	13.8%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. One crash can be in two rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Time of day

Table 4.Interstate 40 in Tennessee: fatal crashes by time of day, 2015 to 2024
Time of day	Fatal crashes	Share	Share on all roads of Tennessee
Midnight to 6 a.m.	152	26.7%	17.1%
6 a.m. to noon	101	17.7%	18.7%
Noon to 6 p.m.	158	27.7%	31.8%
6 p.m. to midnight	159	27.9%	32.4%

Note: the table has the fatal crashes with a known hour.

Mile ranges

Table 5.Interstate 40 in Tennessee: fatal crashes by range of five miles, 2015 to 2024
Milepoint	Fatal crashes
Mile 0 to 5	142
Mile 5 to 10	109
Mile 10 to 15	101
Mile 15 to 20	110
Mile 20 to 25	63
Mile 25 to 30	35

Note: the table has the six ranges of five miles with the largest counts, in the order of the milepoint. 99.7 percent of the fatal crashes on the route have a milepoint in FARS. A state can start its milepoints again at a county line.

Routes in the same counties

These routes of Tennessee have a fatal crash on record in one or more of the same counties. The list is for navigation. The number is the fatal crashes on the route from 2015 to 2024.

All routes in Tennessee

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Tennessee Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Tennessee.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Interstate 40 fatal crashes in Tennessee. https://fatalroads.com/route/tn/i-40/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 2000 to 2024. A route page is built for a signed Interstate, US or state route with 20 or more fatal crashes in a state in ten years. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on Interstate 40 in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 485 fatal crashes on Interstate 40 in Tennessee from 2005 to 2014. It records 588 from 2015 to 2024.

What part of the fatal crashes in Tennessee was on Interstate 40?

588 of the 10,680 fatal crashes in Tennessee from 2015 to 2024 were on Interstate 40. That is 5.5 percent.

How many fatal crashes on Interstate 40 had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 127 of 588 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. It records a speeding-related driver in 65 of them.

Does this page count the same route number in a different state?

No. This page counts the fatal crashes that FARS records on Interstate 40 in Tennessee only. The route in a different state has its own page.