(Rutherford County, TN) Over the first 43-days of this year, there have been 118 fatal accidents on Tennessee roadways (January 1, 2023 to February 13, 2023 at 7PM). At this same point-in-time last year (January 1, 2022 to February 13, 2022), there were 132 traffic fatalities in the state, which confirms there have been 14-fewer traffic deaths this year when compared to numbers last year, according to the Tennessee Highway Safety Office.

While the number traffic deaths are down throughout the state over the first 43-days of 2023, it doesn't mean the numbers are down in every county. Specifically in Rutherford County, traffic deaths are up. So far, there have been a total of 5 traffic fatalities this year in Rutherford County. Last year at this time, there were 4. During the first 43-days of 2021, there were only 2 fatal traffic accidents reported. Of the 5-traffic related deaths this year, 4 occurred in January and 1 happened in February.

Overall Traffic Fatalities in Tennessee - The total number of all traffic fatalities stood at 1,339 in 2004 and fell to 937 by 2011. The numbers of traffic fatalities remained under 1,000 annually between 2013 and 2015, but sharply increased to 1,221 by 2020. In 2021, the number of fatal accidents climbed higher, reaching 1,327 traffic deaths throughout Tennessee. In 2022, the number of fatalities decreased by 5, totaling 1,322.

Alcohol Impaired Fatalities Statewide - Throughout Tennessee, alcohol impaired driving fatalities stood at 439 deaths in 2004. From there, the numbers slowly decreased annually to 190 in 2017. By 2019, the number of alcohol involved driving deaths jumped to 268 and then went down to 235 in 2020.

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