Trunk A-road

A3 traffic and collisions

The A3 is a trunk A-road of 85.6 miles, from City of London to Portsmouth. This page covers its traffic at 99 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated: 15 September 2026
Data source: Department for Transport
Records analysed: 99 count points in 2025
Methodology: View methodology

Traffic in 2025 1.6bn vehicle miles
Average daily traffic 50,394 vehicles a day, both directions
Busiest section 111,620 A2043 to A240 Warren Drive North
HGV share 3.2% of vehicle miles
Traffic since 2019 −5.1% same count points
Collisions, 2021 to 2025 2,270 30.0 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A3?

On an average day in 2025, 50,394 vehicles passed each point on the A3, counting both directions. The busiest section is A2043 to A240 Warren Drive North (Kingston upon Thames), with 111,620 a day; the quietest listed is Bath Square to A288/A2030, with 2,012.

Busiest sections, 2025

A2043 to A240 Warren Drive North carries 2.2 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A3 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section	Vehicles a day
A2043 to A240 Warren Drive North Kingston upon Thames · 1.6 mi · HGVs 2.0%	111,620
A247 to A3100 Surrey · 1.5 mi · HGVs 4.8%	107,630
A240 to A243 Kingston upon Thames · 1.2 mi · HGVs 2.5%	106,398
At A298 Merton · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.0%	87,095
A322 to road to Queen Eleanor's Rd Surrey · 1.2 mi · HGVs 3.3%	83,484
A245 to M25 Surrey · 1.4 mi · HGVs 2.9%	83,282
At A3100 Surrey · 0.6 mi · HGVs 3.0%	81,498
A31 to road to Queen Eleanor's Rd, Guildford Surrey · 1.1 mi · HGVs 2.8%	81,419
M25 J10 to A2 Portsmouth Road Connection (near Buckingham Lodge, Surrey) Surrey · 2.2 mi · HGVs 3.9%	80,849
A306 to A308 Wandsworth, Kingston upon Thames · 1.1 mi · HGVs 1.3%	75,213

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

Route

City of London to Portsmouth · 85.6 miles

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

A3 traffic and collisions by section

77 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 16 short link roads and spurs (3.4 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.

Show all 77 sections Tap a column heading to sort

Sections of the A3 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1	Upper Thames St to King William StCity of London	0.1	0	0.0%	–	fewer than 3	–
2	Arthur St/Fish St Hill to A200City of London, Southwark	0.3	13,237	1.5%	−31.8%	33	–
3	At A200Southwark	0.1	19,999	2.0%	−10.4%	20	–
4	A200 to A3200Southwark	0.1	11,505	3.0%	−55.9%	12	–
5	A3200 to A2Southwark	0.3	12,300	1.9%	−10.7%	55	–
6	A2 to A3202Southwark	0.2	14,159	4.3%	+2.2%	39	–
7	A3202 to A300Southwark	0.2	14,026	3.6%	+22.4%	37	–
8	A300 to A201Southwark	0.1	11,154	3.3%	−15.7%	34	–
9	A201/A302 to A215Southwark	0.1	34,065	3.0%	−9.2%	36	–
10	A215 to A3204Southwark	0.2	30,314	4.9%	−14.3%	27	–
11	A3204 to A23Lambeth	0.6	13,573	3.0%	−43.0%	55	278.4
12	Kennington Rd to Brixton RdLambeth	0.1	28,713	2.3%	−28.6%	14	–
13	Brixton Rd to Clapham RdLambeth	0.1	17,228	2.3%	−28.6%	14	–
14	A202 to A203Lambeth	0.8	13,760	2.3%	−43.0%	92	316.7
15	A203 to A2217Lambeth	1.0	15,793	3.0%	−30.8%	298	846.8
16	A2217 to A24Lambeth	0.1	25,155	2.4%	−16.3%	11	–
17	A24 to A3216Lambeth	0.4	17,543	3.4%	+8.2%	30	–
18	A3216 to A205Wandsworth	0.4	18,140	4.8%	−6.4%	26	–
19	A205 The Avenue to A3220Wandsworth	0.2	21,866	3.2%	+25.3%	19	–
20	A3220 to A205Wandsworth	0.1	20,005	3.3%	−14.5%	9	–
21	A205 to B229Wandsworth	0.2	16,999	4.5%	+2.4%	52	–
22	B229 to A3 Marcilly rdWandsworth	0.6	21,971	3.0%	+31.6%	57	314.1
23	A3 to A214Wandsworth	0.1	18,725	2.3%	−20.3%	10	–
24	A214 to A3036Wandsworth	0.1	18,725	2.3%	−20.3%	8	–
25	A3036 to A217Wandsworth	0.2	27,740	3.5%	−9.3%	22	–
26	At A217Wandsworth	0.1	31,087	3.5%	−7.2%	13	–
27	A217 to A217/A218Wandsworth	0.1	33,518	2.5%	−13.3%	17	–
28	A217/A218 to A218Wandsworth	0.2	23,522	4.4%	−11.2%	20	–
29	A218 to A205Wandsworth	0.2	38,453	2.5%	−15.0%	35	–
30	A205 to A219Wandsworth	1.2	30,660	3.2%	−7.6%	73	109.5
31	A219 to A306Wandsworth	0.6	62,336	1.3%	−17.8%	10	15.5
32	A306 to A308Wandsworth, Kingston upon Thames	1.1	75,213	1.3%	−13.3%	37	25.4
33	A308 to A238 spurKingston upon Thames	1.4	54,744	1.6%	−6.0%	17	11.9
34	A238 spur to A3 spurKingston upon Thames	0.1	46,266	1.5%	−2.9%	3	–
35	A3 spur to A298Kingston upon Thames, Merton	1.0	71,179	1.5%	−2.9%	12	9.5
36	At A298Merton	0.6	87,095	2.0%	−5.9%	19	20.6
37	A298 to A2043Kingston upon Thames	0.4	103,983	1.9%	−9.1%	11	–
38	A2043 to A240 Warren Drive NorthKingston upon Thames	1.6	111,620	2.0%	–	33	50.6
39	A240 Warren Drive North to A240 BroadwayKingston upon Thames	0.4	112,777	1.9%	−7.8%	20	–
40	A240 to A243Kingston upon Thames	1.2	106,398	2.5%	−11.1%	40	17.3
41	A243 to A309Kingston upon Thames	0.2	87,364	3.5%	−2.8%	8	–
42	A309 to A244Kingston upon Thames, Surrey	3.5	59,818	3.0%	−11.8%	38	9.8
43	A244 to A245Surrey	3.0	65,557	2.9%	−22.5%	31	8.2
44	A245 to M25Surrey	1.4	83,282	2.9%	−6.9%	49	23.7
45	M25 J10 to A2 Portsmouth Road Connection (near Buckingham Lodge, Surrey)Surrey	2.2	80,849	3.9%	–	64	48.2
46	A2 Portsmouth Road Connection (near Buckingham Lodge, Surrey) to A247 Flyover with A3(T)Surrey	2.9	75,021	3.1%	–	22	13.0
47	A247 to A3100Surrey	1.5	107,630	4.8%	+11.9%	28	10.3
48	At A3100Surrey	0.6	81,498	3.0%	−8.1%	4	–
49	A3100 to A320Surrey	1.6	75,021	3.2%	−7.6%	32	14.6
50	A320 to A322Surrey	0.9	54,828	3.8%	−12.8%	9	–
51	A322 to road to Queen Eleanor's RdSurrey	1.2	83,484	3.3%	−0.8%	30	17.2
52	A31 to road to Queen Eleanor's Rd, GuildfordSurrey	1.1	81,419	2.8%	−9.6%	9	–
53	Milford By Pass Road to Farnham RoadSurrey	5.3	60,700	4.1%	–	46	9.7
54	B3001 to A283Surrey	1.0	39,822	3.6%	−18.8%	7	–
55	A283 to A3 on slip neareat the Hindhead tunnelSurrey	6.2	47,219	4.0%	−3.7%	24	4.7
56	Off ramps towards London to On ramps towards LondonSurrey	0.4	35,923	4.0%	−5.8%	0	–
57	Off ramp old A3 before Hindhead Tunnel to A325Surrey, Hampshire	6.7	40,174	6.2%	−4.3%	40	8.6
58	A325 to A272Hampshire	4.9	52,537	3.2%	+8.6%	38	8.9
59	At A272Hampshire	1.4	59,642	3.3%	+13.7%	9	–
60	A272 to B2070Hampshire	2.1	55,860	3.2%	+14.9%	19	9.9
61	B2070 to C road Gravel HillHampshire	2.0	60,007	3.1%	+3.9%	20	9.5
62	Jnc with A3(M) to South of QE Country ParkHampshire	2.8	58,545	3.3%	+2.3%	16	5.6
63	A3(M) to Five Heads Rd, HorndeanHampshire	0.9	11,351	0.7%	−5.7%	8	–
64	Five Heads Rd, Horndean to B2150Hampshire	2.6	8,065	0.9%	−5.9%	42	113.3
65	At B2150Hampshire	0.3	31,449	1.4%	+1.0%	10	–
66	B2150 to B2177Hampshire, Portsmouth	2.9	17,054	0.6%	−10.5%	57	62.4
67	B2177 to A397Portsmouth	0.2	20,066	1.0%	−5.9%	26	–
68	Johnson and Johnson RAB, nr Jnc 12 M27 to RAB with A397 Northern RoadPortsmouth	1.0	25,042	0.7%	+5.1%	22	51.2
69	A27 to A2047Portsmouth	0.3	45,832	2.4%	+3.9%	32	–
70	A2047 to Stamshaw RoadPortsmouth	1.1	13,773	0.5%	+2.8%	25	93.4
71	M275/A2047 to A3 mergePortsmouth	0.6	5,807	0.8%	−5.5%	13	211.2
72	A2047 to M275Portsmouth	0.4	12,908	0.8%	+5.2%	5	–
73	M275 to Church St roundaboutPortsmouth	0.2	64,539	0.8%	+5.2%	19	–
74	A3 Marketway to A3 Mile End RoadPortsmouth	0.3	18,240	1.5%	−6.0%	fewer than 3	–
75	Cascade Approach roundabout to Queen St/Edinburgh RdPortsmouth	0.3	43,751	0.9%	−1.0%	15	–
76	Queen St/Edinburgh Rd to A2030Portsmouth	0.4	32,055	0.9%	+9.0%	18	–
77	Bath Square to A288/A2030Portsmouth	0.9	2,012	0.9%	−7.5%	11	337.9

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A3 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.

A3 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 77.9% of the vehicle miles on the A3. HGVs account for 3.2%, rising to 6.2% on Off ramp old A3 before Hindhead Tunnel to A325.

Vehicle mix, 2025

Share of vehicle miles on the A3 by vehicle type
Category	Share
Cars and taxis	77.9%
Vans (LGVs)	17.0%
HGVs	3.2%
Motorcycles	1.3%
Buses and coaches	0.5%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

HGV share of traffic

HGVs as a share of vehicle miles on the A3, by year
Year	HGV share
2000	4.1%
2001	3.8%
2002	4.0%
2003	4.1%
2004	4.2%
2005	4.2%
2006	4.0%
2007	4.1%
2008	3.9%
2009	3.7%
2010	3.6%
2011	3.7%
2012	3.7%
2013	3.7%
2014	3.5%
2015	3.6%
2016	3.6%
2017	3.2%
2018	3.2%
2019	3.2%
2020	3.9%
2021	3.8%
2022	3.6%
2023	3.4%
2024	3.3%
2025	3.2%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

A3 traffic trend

Traffic on the A3 came to 1.57 billion vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 5.1% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 0.9% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 1.6% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A3 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year	Vehicle miles
2000	1.5bn
2001	1.5bn
2002	1.5bn
2003	1.5bn
2004	1.5bn
2005	1.5bn
2006	1.5bn
2007	1.5bn
2008	1.5bn
2009	1.5bn
2010	1.5bn
2011	1.5bn
2012	1.5bn
2013	1.6bn
2014	1.6bn
2015	1.7bn
2016	1.6bn
2017	1.6bn
2018	1.6bn
2019	1.6bn
2020	1.2bn
2021	1.4bn
2022	1.5bn
2023	1.5bn
2024	1.5bn
2025	1.6bn

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A3, weighted by link length, by year
Year	Vehicles a day
2000	46,708
2001	48,805
2002	48,421
2003	47,963
2004	47,636
2005	47,723
2006	47,657
2007	47,412
2008	46,398
2009	46,284
2010	48,035
2011	46,920
2012	47,121
2013	48,500
2014	49,770
2015	51,265
2016	52,444
2017	52,154
2018	52,119
2019	52,691
2020	40,253
2021	45,903
2022	49,167
2023	50,170
2024	49,445
2025	50,394

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

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 (85.7% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 44 of the 99 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A3 collisions

Police recorded 2,270 collisions with the A3 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 489 of them fatal or serious. That is 30.0 per 100 million vehicle miles, close to the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 5.3 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

Down 20.6% from 2021 to 2025.

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

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 A3, 2021 to 2025
Section	Per 100m vehicle miles
A203 to A2217 Lambeth · 298 collisions	846.8
Bath Square to A288/A2030 Portsmouth · 11 collisions	337.9
A202 to A203 Lambeth · 92 collisions	316.7
B229 to A3 Marcilly rd Wandsworth · 57 collisions	314.1
A3204 to A23 Lambeth · 55 collisions	278.4
M275/A2047 to A3 merge Portsmouth · 13 collisions	211.2
Five Heads Rd, Horndean to B2150 Hampshire · 42 collisions	113.3
A205 to A219 Wandsworth · 73 collisions	109.5

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

A further 310 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A3 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 A3

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

City of London
Southwark
Lambeth
Wandsworth
Kingston upon Thames
Merton
Surrey
Hampshire
Portsmouth

Planned closures on the A3 in England

National Highways has 33 planned closures on the A3 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, all of them starting in that period. 18 close a carriageway rather than a lane or slip road, and 33 start between 7pm and 6am.

Lane or slip A3 northbound lane 2 closure (32/0 to 37/2) Hampshire

16 Sept 20:00 to 17 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance
Lane or slip A3 northbound lane 1 closure (9/9 to 11/0)

16 Sept 20:00 to 17 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance
Carriageway A3 northbound Hazel Grove to Milford carriageway closure

16 Sept 21:00 to 26 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance Also affects A333
Carriageway A3 northbound Longmoor carriageway closure between the exit and entry slip roads

16 Sept 21:00 to 26 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance Also affects A333
Lane or slip A3 northbound lane 2 closure (32/0 to 37/2) Hampshire

17 Sept 20:00 to 18 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance
Lane or slip A3 northbound lane 1 closure (9/9 to 11/0)

17 Sept 20:00 to 18 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance
Carriageway A3 northbound Hazel Grove to Milford carriageway closure

17 Sept 21:00 to 25 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance Also affects A333
Carriageway A3 northbound Hazel Grove to Milford carriageway closure

17 Sept 21:00 to 26 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance Also affects A333

25 more planned closures in this period are not shown.

Planned closures only: National Highways can cancel or change them, and closures caused by incidents are not shown. Council roads in England are not covered. Roadworks and closures across the UK

Source:National Highways 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 Updated 16 Sept 2026

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	99 count points in 2025	15 September 2026
Reported collisions	Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring	2021 to 2025	2,270 reported collisions	15 September 2026
Planned closures	Transport Data Feeds (DATEX II) National Highways	2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30	2,304 planned closure schemes	16 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”.

How we calculate these figures All data sources

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Police-reported collisions on the A3 by year: fatal or serious, and slight
Year	Slight	Fatal or serious
2021	400	101
2022	417	107
2023	377	111
2024	275	84
2025	311	87

How busy is the A3?

Route

A3 traffic and collisions by section

A3 traffic by vehicle type

A3 traffic trend

A3 collisions

Council areas on the A3

Roads that meet the A3

Planned closures on the A3 in England

Data sources and methodology

Related statistics