Trunk A-road
A26 traffic and collisions
The A26 is a trunk A-road of 46.3 miles, from Kent to East Sussex. This page covers its traffic at 32 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 254m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 15,024 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 24,630 B2192 to A2029
- HGV share 3.2% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −0.3% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 463 37.8 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A26?
On an average day in 2025, 15,024 vehicles passed each point on the A26, counting both directions. The busiest section is B2192 to A2029 (East Sussex), with 24,630 a day; the quietest listed is A259 Drove Road to B2109, with 7,106.
Busiest sections, 2025
B2192 to A2029 carries 1.6 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| B2192 to A2029 East Sussex · 0.7 mi · HGVs 2.5% | 24,630 |
| A21 to B2176 Kent · 0.9 mi · HGVs 2.2% | 24,171 |
| A27 to A26 Malling St East Sussex · 0.9 mi · HGVs 3.3% | 24,029 |
| A228 to B2016 Kent · 0.7 mi · HGVs 5.6% | 23,929 |
| Cranford Rd to A227 Kent · 1.2 mi · HGVs 2.1% | 20,595 |
| A227 to Vale Rise Kent · 0.9 mi · HGVs 1.7% | 20,047 |
| Vale Rise to A2014 Kent · 0.9 mi · HGVs 2.4% | 19,993 |
| Birchwood Avenue, Southborough to A26 Mount Ephraim Kent · 2.1 mi · HGVs 2.4% | 19,079 |
| North St to A20/A26 triangle Kent · 2.1 mi · HGVs 1.1% | 17,760 |
| A267 to B2157 Eridge Rd, Crowborough Kent, East Sussex · 5.9 mi · HGVs 3.0% | 16,627 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Kent to East Sussex · 46.3 miles
A26 traffic and collisions by section
29 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 2 short link roads and spurs (0.8 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Show all 29 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North St to A20/A26 triangleKent | 17,760 | 50 |
| 2 | North St, Maidstone to B2163Kent | 14,757 | 12 |
| 3 | B2163 to B2015Kent | 15,020 | 12 |
| 4 | B2015 to A228Kent | 8,750 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | A228 to B2016Kent | 23,929 | 4 |
| 6 | B2016 to Cranford Rd, TonbridgeKent | 14,406 | 24 |
| 7 | Cranford Rd to A227Kent | 20,595 | 25 |
| 8 | A227 to Vale RiseKent | 20,047 | 12 |
| 9 | Vale Rise to A2014Kent | 19,993 | 7 |
| 10 | A26 to A21Kent | 9,852 | 4 |
| 11 | B2280 to Baltic RdKent | 15,008 | 16 |
| 12 | Baltic Rd to A21(T)Kent | 13,658 | 7 |
| 13 | A21 to B2176Kent | 24,171 | 9 |
| 14 | B2176 to Birchwood Avenue, SouthboroughKent | 17,362 | 3 |
| 15 | Birchwood Avenue, Southborough to A26 Mount EphraimKent | 19,079 | 54 |
| 16 | A26 Grosvenor Rd to A264Kent | 21,946 | 5 |
| 17 | At A264Kent | 17,043 | 9 |
| 18 | A264 to A26 Vale RdKent | 17,214 | 23 |
| 19 | A26 Vale Rd to A267Kent | 28,567 | 5 |
| 20 | A267 to B2157 Eridge Rd, CrowboroughKent, East Sussex | 16,627 | 48 |
| 21 | Sweethaws Lane to B2157 Eridge RdEast Sussex | 11,727 | 17 |
| 22 | Sweethaws Lane, Crowborough to A22East Sussex | 10,275 | 23 |
| 23 | A22 to A272East Sussex | 15,067 | fewer than 3 |
| 24 | A22 to B2192East Sussex | 11,283 | 40 |
| 25 | B2192 to A2029East Sussex | 24,630 | 5 |
| 26 | A27 to A26 Malling StEast Sussex | 24,029 | 9 |
| 27 | A27 NORTH to B2109 SOUTHEast Sussex | 15,465 | 23 |
| 28 | A259 Drove Road to B2109East Sussex | 7,106 | 10 |
| 29 | Near Electricity Distribution Site to A26/B2109 Avis RoadEast Sussex | 7,814 | 0 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A26 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.
A26 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 79.1% of the vehicle miles on the A26. HGVs account for 3.2%, rising to 10.6% on A259 Drove Road to B2109.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.3% |
| 2001 | 4.3% |
| 2002 | 4.3% |
| 2003 | 4.3% |
| 2004 | 4.5% |
| 2005 | 4.4% |
| 2006 | 4.4% |
| 2007 | 4.3% |
| 2008 | 4.2% |
| 2009 | 3.9% |
| 2010 | 3.9% |
| 2011 | 4.0% |
| 2012 | 3.7% |
| 2013 | 3.8% |
| 2014 | 3.7% |
| 2015 | 3.7% |
| 2016 | 3.6% |
| 2017 | 3.5% |
| 2018 | 3.4% |
| 2019 | 3.5% |
| 2020 | 4.1% |
| 2021 | 3.8% |
| 2022 | 3.5% |
| 2023 | 3.3% |
| 2024 | 3.2% |
| 2025 | 3.2% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A26 traffic trend
Traffic on the A26 came to 254 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is about the same as in 2019, before the pandemic, and up 4.3% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 2.8% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 247m |
| 2001 | 251m |
| 2002 | 253m |
| 2003 | 261m |
| 2004 | 251m |
| 2005 | 260m |
| 2006 | 263m |
| 2007 | 259m |
| 2008 | 234m |
| 2009 | 230m |
| 2010 | 228m |
| 2011 | 233m |
| 2012 | 231m |
| 2013 | 232m |
| 2014 | 239m |
| 2015 | 243m |
| 2016 | 249m |
| 2017 | 251m |
| 2018 | 249m |
| 2019 | 259m |
| 2020 | 206m |
| 2021 | 228m |
| 2022 | 244m |
| 2023 | 250m |
| 2024 | 250m |
| 2025 | 254m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 14,622 |
| 2001 | 14,880 |
| 2002 | 15,009 |
| 2003 | 15,446 |
| 2004 | 14,860 |
| 2005 | 15,391 |
| 2006 | 15,613 |
| 2007 | 15,376 |
| 2008 | 13,894 |
| 2009 | 13,645 |
| 2010 | 13,519 |
| 2011 | 13,810 |
| 2012 | 13,716 |
| 2013 | 13,775 |
| 2014 | 14,173 |
| 2015 | 14,430 |
| 2016 | 14,745 |
| 2017 | 14,897 |
| 2018 | 14,738 |
| 2019 | 15,012 |
| 2020 | 11,926 |
| 2021 | 13,213 |
| 2022 | 14,182 |
| 2023 | 14,489 |
| 2024 | 14,743 |
| 2025 | 15,024 |
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, 6 of the 32 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A26 collisions
Police recorded 463 collisions with the A26 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 141 of them fatal or serious, including 13 fatal. That is 37.8 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 2.0 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 4.0% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | 28 |
| 2022 | 69 | 23 |
| 2023 | 70 | 32 |
| 2024 | 46 | 29 |
| 2025 | 66 | 29 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Sweethaws Lane to B2157 Eridge Rd East Sussex · 17 collisions | 172.7 |
| A259 Drove Road to B2109 East Sussex · 10 collisions | 122.6 |
| North St to A20/A26 triangle Kent · 50 collisions | 85.2 |
| Birchwood Avenue, Southborough to A26 Mount Ephraim Kent · 54 collisions | 78.4 |
| Cranford Rd to A227 Kent · 25 collisions | 57.2 |
| B2163 to B2015 Kent · 12 collisions | 50.6 |
| A227 to Vale Rise Kent · 12 collisions | 37.6 |
| A22 to B2192 East Sussex · 40 collisions | 34.9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 54 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A26 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 A26
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Kent
- East Sussex
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 | 32 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 463 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.