KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County is seeing fewer motorcycle crashes year-over-year but continue to be responsible for a large number of deaths on the road, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
The state data shows so far in 2024, Knox County has the second highest number of motorcycle crashes in the state behind Davidson County with 73 crashes. Over the last 3 years, crashes involving motorcycles made up nearly 19% of the total deadly crashes in the county.
State data shows in 2024 so far, in Knox County there have been 60 crashes involving a motorcycle and 11 of those were deadly. This makes up nearly 22% of the county's total deadly crashes for the year. Data for November is not available yet.
If you compare that to 2023, there were 77 motorcycle crashes for the entire year and 20 of those were fatal. This makes up 21% of the county's total deadly crashes for the year. In 2022, there were 44 crashes involving a motorcycle and 7 of those were deadly, nearly 12% of the county's deadly crashes.
According to the data, 72% of the motorcycle crashes in Knox County happen in the City of Knoxville. According to Knoxville Police Communications Manager Scott Erland, the number of fatalities in the city limits is up but the number of total motorcycle crashes is down a bit.
"From January 1-November 10, 2023, there were five fatal motorcycle crashes, 80 that resulted in injury and 26 that resulted only in property damage," Erland explained. "Over that same timeframe in 2024, there have been nine fatal motorcycle crashes, 56 that resulted in injury and 21 that resulted in property damage only."
Law enforcement encourages drivers to be aware of motorcyclists because they can be harder to see. They say motorcycle riders should slow down, wear a helmet and exercise caution.
For more motorcycle safety tips, visit the Tennessee Highway Safety website.