Trunk A-road
A168 traffic and collisions
The A168 is a trunk A-road of 35.3 miles, from Leeds to North Yorkshire. This page covers its traffic at 17 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 192m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 14,922 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 43,455 A167 to A19 Trunk Road
- HGV share 8.9% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +6.4% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 71 8.2 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A168?
On an average day in 2025, 14,922 vehicles passed each point on the A168, counting both directions. The busiest section is A167 to A19 Trunk Road (North Yorkshire), with 43,455 a day; the quietest listed is A168 spur to A6055, with 4,184.
Busiest sections, 2025
A167 to A19 Trunk Road carries 2.9 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A167 to A19 Trunk Road North Yorkshire · 4.8 mi · HGVs 10.5% | 43,455 |
| North East of A1(M) Junction 49 to Junction with A168/A167 North Yorkshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 13.1% | 40,035 |
| Junction with A168/A167 to A167 flyover with A168 Dual Carriageway (South of Asenby, North Yorkshire) North Yorkshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 14.3% | 38,106 |
| A167 flyover with A168 Dual Carriageway (South of Asenby, North Yorkshire) to Junction before A168 slip road (SE of Winn Lane Farm) North Yorkshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 14.4% | 37,044 |
| Roundabout A659 to Roundabout Leeds · 1.3 mi · HGVs 3.2% | 19,634 |
| St Jmaes Drive to A167 North Yorkshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.6% | 11,131 |
| A6055 to A1(M) North Yorkshire · 5.5 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 9,062 |
| A61 to St James Drive, Northallerton North Yorkshire · 6.3 mi · HGVs 4.3% | 8,657 |
| A661 to A59 Leeds, North Yorkshire · 7.6 mi · HGVs 3.5% | 4,710 |
| A168 spur to A6055 North Yorkshire · 5.1 mi · HGVs 5.9% | 4,184 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Leeds to North Yorkshire · 35.3 miles
A168 traffic and collisions by section
13 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 3 short link roads and spurs (0.8 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roundabout A659 to RoundaboutLeeds | 19,634 | 5 |
| 2 | A661 to A59Leeds, North Yorkshire | 4,710 | 6 |
| 3 | A168 spur to A6055North Yorkshire | 4,184 | 6 |
| 4 | A6055 to A1(M)North Yorkshire | 9,062 | 7 |
| 5 | A168 Spur to Rndbt Flyover to A168 Merge Main RouteNorth Yorkshire | 10,700 | fewer than 3 |
| 6 | North East of A1(M) Junction 49 to Junction with A168/A167North Yorkshire | 40,035 | fewer than 3 |
| 7 | Junction with A168/A167 to A167 flyover with A168 Dual Carriageway (South of Asenby, North Yorkshire)North Yorkshire | 38,106 | 0 |
| 8 | A167 flyover with A168 Dual Carriageway (South of Asenby, North Yorkshire) to Junction before A168 slip road (SE of Winn Lane Farm)North Yorkshire | 37,044 | fewer than 3 |
| 9 | Junction before A168 slip road (SE of Winn Lane Farm) to A168 Dual Carriagway passes over the A167North Yorkshire | 38,584 | 0 |
| 10 | A167 mid-junction to A167North Yorkshire | 41,283 | fewer than 3 |
| 11 | A167 to A19 Trunk RoadNorth Yorkshire | 43,455 | 12 |
| 12 | A61 to St James Drive, NorthallertonNorth Yorkshire | 8,657 | 22 |
| 13 | St Jmaes Drive to A167North Yorkshire | 11,131 | 3 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A168 as the first road, placed on the nearest section by their recorded position; rates (per 100 million vehicle miles) are shown for sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more.
A168 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 72.7% of the vehicle miles on the A168. HGVs account for 8.9%, rising to 14.4% on A167 flyover with A168 Dual Carriageway (South of Asenby, North Yorkshire) to Junction before A168 slip road (SE of Winn Lane Farm).
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 15.0% |
| 2001 | 14.6% |
| 2002 | 14.5% |
| 2003 | 13.1% |
| 2004 | 13.3% |
| 2005 | 14.5% |
| 2006 | 15.1% |
| 2007 | 9.5% |
| 2008 | 13.3% |
| 2009 | 12.0% |
| 2010 | 11.0% |
| 2011 | 10.5% |
| 2012 | 10.4% |
| 2013 | 10.4% |
| 2014 | 11.6% |
| 2015 | 11.7% |
| 2016 | 11.1% |
| 2017 | 11.3% |
| 2018 | 11.2% |
| 2019 | 10.4% |
| 2020 | 12.2% |
| 2021 | 11.9% |
| 2022 | 11.2% |
| 2023 | 10.4% |
| 2024 | 10.4% |
| 2025 | 8.9% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A168 traffic trend
Traffic on the A168 came to 192 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 6.4% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 12.1% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 27.7% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 109m |
| 2001 | 118m |
| 2002 | 118m |
| 2003 | 116m |
| 2004 | 114m |
| 2005 | 124m |
| 2006 | 187m |
| 2007 | 278m |
| 2008 | 127m |
| 2009 | 120m |
| 2010 | 131m |
| 2011 | 137m |
| 2012 | 136m |
| 2013 | 137m |
| 2014 | 131m |
| 2015 | 134m |
| 2016 | 139m |
| 2017 | 141m |
| 2018 | 144m |
| 2019 | 161m |
| 2020 | 119m |
| 2021 | 144m |
| 2022 | 161m |
| 2023 | 173m |
| 2024 | 192m |
| 2025 | 192m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 10,699 |
| 2001 | 11,613 |
| 2002 | 11,604 |
| 2003 | 11,427 |
| 2004 | 11,193 |
| 2005 | 12,183 |
| 2006 | 16,831 |
| 2007 | 25,046 |
| 2008 | 11,447 |
| 2009 | 10,786 |
| 2010 | 11,293 |
| 2011 | 11,798 |
| 2012 | 11,784 |
| 2013 | 11,847 |
| 2014 | 11,312 |
| 2015 | 11,560 |
| 2016 | 12,040 |
| 2017 | 12,186 |
| 2018 | 12,291 |
| 2019 | 12,838 |
| 2020 | 9,458 |
| 2021 | 11,489 |
| 2022 | 12,812 |
| 2023 | 13,786 |
| 2024 | 14,912 |
| 2025 | 14,922 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
The chart counts the whole road as it was each year, so new or renumbered stretches move it. The percentage changes compare only count points present in both years (86.4% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 5 of the 17 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A168 collisions
Police recorded 71 collisions with the A168 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 22 of them fatal or serious, including 3 fatal. That is 8.2 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.4 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 27.3% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 |
| 2022 | 16 |
| 2023 | 14 |
| 2024 | 16 |
| 2025 | 14 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
Sections with the highest collision rates
Per 100 million vehicle miles, 2021 to 2025. Sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more collisions.
| Section | Per 100m vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| A61 to St James Drive, Northallerton North Yorkshire · 22 collisions | 23.4 |
| A167 to A19 Trunk Road North Yorkshire · 12 collisions | 7.9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 13 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A168 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. How we count collisions
Council areas on the A168
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Leeds
- North Yorkshire
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic counts and vehicle mix | Road traffic statistics (AADF by count point) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2000 to 2025 | 17 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 71 reported collisions | 15 September 2026 |
- Annual average daily flow (AADF) is the average number of vehicles passing a point on a typical day of the year, both directions combined.
- Vehicle miles are AADF multiplied by link length and 365, summed over every count point link on the road.
- Sections join count point links between junctions, using the link lines in DfT’s major road database.
- STATS19 covers personal injury collisions reported to the police. Damage-only collisions are not included, and not every injury collision is reported.
- Serious and slight figures are DfT’s adjusted estimates, which allow for police forces moving to injury-based reporting.
- Counts of one or two collisions below Great Britain level are shown as “fewer than 3”.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.