A-road

A171 traffic and collisions

The A171 is an A-road of 48.8 miles, from North Yorkshire to Middlesbrough. This page covers its traffic at 15 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated
Records analysed
15 count points in 2025
Methodology
View methodology
  • Traffic in 2025 183m vehicle miles
  • Average daily traffic 10,292 vehicles a day, both directions
  • Busiest section 22,155 A173 to A1043
  • HGV share 3.4% of vehicle miles
  • Traffic since 2019 −1.7% same count points
  • Collisions, 2021 to 2025 209 24.2 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A171?

On an average day in 2025, 10,292 vehicles passed each point on the A171, counting both directions. The busiest section is A173 to A1043 (Redcar and Cleveland), with 22,155 a day; the quietest listed is Barmoor Lane to A165, with 6,740.

Busiest sections, 2025

A173 to A1043 carries 2.2 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A171 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section Vehicles a day
A173 to A1043 Redcar and Cleveland · 2.6 mi · HGVs 1.9% 22,155
A174 to B1416 Stakesby Rd North Yorkshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.9% 18,749
A174(T) to A1085 Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough · 2.2 mi · HGVs 0.9% 18,483
B1416 Staksby Rd, Whitby to A169 North Yorkshire · 1.0 mi · HGVs 2.9% 16,891
Eskdale Rd to A174 North Yorkshire · 1.0 mi · HGVs 2.5% 15,382
A1043 to A174(T) Redcar and Cleveland · 1.0 mi · HGVs 1.4% 15,007
A170 to Barmoor Lane North Yorkshire · 2.7 mi · HGVs 1.7% 14,620
A173S to A173N Redcar and Cleveland · 2.4 mi · HGVs 2.8% 13,703
A1085 to A66 Middlesbrough · 0.5 mi · HGVs 4.5% 12,587
A165 to Eskdale Rd, Whitby North Yorkshire · 14.6 mi · HGVs 3.4% 7,794

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Route

North Yorkshire to Middlesbrough · 48.8 miles

North Yorkshire Middlesbrough
Schematic route: each line joins the junctions at the ends of a DfT count point link.

A171 traffic and collisions by section

13 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.

Sections Tap a column heading to sort
Sections of the A171 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1A64 to A170North Yorkshire0.119,6711.2%−5.7%3
2A170 to Barmoor LaneNorth Yorkshire2.714,6201.7%+3.1%2335.3
3Barmoor Lane to A165North Yorkshire1.16,7403.5%−5.8%fewer than 3
4A165 to Eskdale Rd, WhitbyNorth Yorkshire14.67,7943.4%−6.3%2713.5
5Eskdale Rd to A174North Yorkshire1.015,3822.5%−5.5%1244.1
6A174 to B1416 Stakesby RdNorth Yorkshire0.618,7492.9%+24.3%fewer than 3
7B1416 Staksby Rd, Whitby to A169North Yorkshire1.016,8912.9%+24.3%6
8A169 to A173North Yorkshire, Redcar and Cleveland19.07,5605.8%−6.0%5220.6
9A173S to A173NRedcar and Cleveland2.413,7032.8%+2.7%8
10A173 to A1043Redcar and Cleveland2.622,1551.9%+13.9%1313.8
11A1043 to A174(T)Redcar and Cleveland1.015,0071.4%5
12A174(T) to A1085Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough2.218,4830.9%2239.1
13A1085 to A66Middlesbrough0.512,5874.5%−40.5%6

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A171 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.

A171 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 78.2% of the vehicle miles on the A171. HGVs account for 3.4%, rising to 5.8% on A169 to A173.

Vehicle mix, 2025

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

HGV share of traffic

HGVs as a share of vehicle miles on the A171, by year
Year HGV share
2000 5.8%
2001 5.1%
2002 4.6%
2003 4.9%
2004 4.7%
2005 4.7%
2006 4.2%
2007 4.1%
2008 3.8%
2009 3.6%
2010 3.6%
2011 3.5%
2012 3.5%
2013 3.5%
2014 3.5%
2015 3.5%
2016 3.5%
2017 3.6%
2018 3.6%
2019 3.6%
2020 4.2%
2021 4.1%
2022 3.9%
2023 3.6%
2024 3.5%
2025 3.4%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

A171 traffic trend

Traffic on the A171 came to 183 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 1.7% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 1.8% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 24.2% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A171 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year Vehicle miles
2000 147m
2001 148m
2002 155m
2003 161m
2004 163m
2005 156m
2006 166m
2007 171m
2008 181m
2009 179m
2010 181m
2011 182m
2012 181m
2013 181m
2014 183m
2015 185m
2016 188m
2017 189m
2018 185m
2019 185m
2020 140m
2021 157m
2022 169m
2023 177m
2024 179m
2025 183m

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A171, weighted by link length, by year
Year Vehicles a day
2000 8,298
2001 8,350
2002 8,774
2003 9,088
2004 9,218
2005 8,838
2006 9,393
2007 9,669
2008 10,247
2009 10,087
2010 10,210
2011 10,284
2012 10,231
2013 10,227
2014 10,332
2015 10,435
2016 10,626
2017 10,683
2018 10,441
2019 10,432
2020 7,903
2021 8,824
2022 9,500
2023 9,952
2024 10,096
2025 10,292

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. In 2025, 1 of the 15 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A171 collisions

Police recorded 209 collisions with the A171 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 79 of them fatal or serious, including 8 fatal. That is 24.2 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.9 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

Down 28.8% from 2021 to 2025.

Police-reported collisions on the A171 by year: fatal or serious, and slight
Year SlightFatal or serious
2021 3517
2022 2219
2023 2716
2024 2412
2025 2116

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.

Collisions per 100 million vehicle miles by section of the A171, 2021 to 2025
Section Per 100m vehicle miles
Eskdale Rd to A174 North Yorkshire · 12 collisions 44.1
A174(T) to A1085 Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough · 22 collisions 39.1
A170 to Barmoor Lane North Yorkshire · 23 collisions 35.3
A169 to A173 North Yorkshire, Redcar and Cleveland · 52 collisions 20.6
A173 to A1043 Redcar and Cleveland · 13 collisions 13.8
A165 to Eskdale Rd, Whitby North Yorkshire · 27 collisions 13.5

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated

A further 36 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A171 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 A171

In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.

  • North Yorkshire
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • Middlesbrough

Data sources and methodology

Datasets used on this page
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 15 count points in 2025 15 September 2026
Reported collisions Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport
Derived statistics UK Motoring
2021 to 2025 209 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.