Tennessee is among the 10 states where drivers are most often hit at train crossings, with 61 crashes recorded in the latest preliminary annual figures.
The state ranked 10th in the US for highway-rail grade crossing collisions, with 5 deaths and 33 injuries linked to those crashes in 2025.
Analysis by data experts at playcasino.com compared state-level highway-rail grade crossing collision totals, deaths and injuries to find where drivers face the biggest crossing danger.
The findings put Tennessee in the same top 10 as huge rail and road states including Texas, California, Florida and Illinois. For local drivers, the risk is not limited to major cities such as Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga, because rural crossings can be just as dangerous when visibility, speed and driver impatience collide.
The US recorded 2,272 highway-rail grade crossing collisions in 2025, with 285 deaths and 765 injuries. The top 10 states alone accounted for 1,239 collisions, 168 deaths and 462 injuries.
Texas ranked worst for collisions, while California had the highest death toll among the top 10, with 46 fatalities from 181 crashes.
The 10 states where train-crossing crashes are most common are:
- Texas: 262 collisions, 28 deaths, 83 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- California: 181 collisions, 46 deaths, 64 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- Florida: 142 collisions, 24 deaths, 60 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- Illinois: 134 collisions, 29 deaths, 52 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- Indiana: 118 collisions, 11 deaths, 28 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- Georgia: 104 collisions, 6 deaths, 38 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- Alabama: 87 collisions, 7 deaths, 49 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- Louisiana: 77 collisions, 7 deaths, 32 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- Ohio: 73 collisions, 5 deaths, 23 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
- Tennessee: 61 collisions, 5 deaths, 33 injuries, 2025 preliminary federal rail safety statistics
The figures cover crashes at public and private highway-rail grade crossings, meaning places where roads and railroad tracks meet at the same level.
Tennessee’s 33 injuries were higher than Ohio’s 23, despite both states recording 5 deaths and Ohio having more total crashes. That makes Tennessee’s place at the bottom of the top 10 look less reassuring than the rank alone suggests.
The danger matters for school runs, delivery routes, farm roads and commuter cut throughs, especially where drivers meet crossings without the constant warning cues seen in busier urban corridors. A train can take a mile or more to stop, so even a low-speed mistake at a crossing can become deadly.
Because playcasino.com’s analysis is built around spotting risk patterns in public datasets, the brand said the Tennessee ranking should be treated as a practical driver warning rather than a curiosity.
A spokesperson for playcasino.com said: “Rail crossings are everyday road hazards, which is exactly why these numbers are so alarming. Tennessee being in the national top 10 should make drivers think twice at every crossing, whether they are in a city, a small town or on a rural road.
