Tennessee saw a significant drop in traffic fatalities in 2025, including the Upper Cumberland.
The report showed that there were 147 fewer roadway deaths compared to 2024. The report also showed that the Upper Cumberland saw the second largest percentage decrease, dropping from 77 to 57 fatalities. Tennessee Highway Patrol Lieutenant Eric McCormick said the decline is promising to see.
“That’s 147 fewer families that have lost someone in a traffic crash this year, and that’s progress,” McCormick said. “And it’s because Tennesseans or Tennessee drivers are making better choices, really.”
McCormick said traffic fatalities have declined over the past five years across the state. McCormick said the Tennessee Highway Patrol believes its educational efforts are why traffic fatalities have continued to decline.
“People are understanding the risk, and they are not taking as many chances,” McCormick said. “They are changing their behavior. And our enforcement, we have more THP troopers on the road with visible patrols and targeting enforcement areas that have trended to have crashes.”
McCormick said in District Six, the higher percentage of traffic fatalities happens in Putnam and Cumberland counties, mostly because they have a higher population and also have I-40 running through them. McCormick said he wants people to know that traffic fatalities still happen in rural areas of the Upper Cumberland.
“They can be attributed to many things,” McCormick said. “Speed, you know, drivers that are following improperly, not yielding to the right-of-way, those are typically your big contributors to crashes.”
McCormick said the Tennessee Highway Patrol plans to continue patrolling and educating drivers to hopefully continue the decline. McCormick said drivers can help reduce the number even more by driving safely.
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security reported the data.
