Trunk A-road

A303 traffic and collisions

The A303 is a trunk A-road of 100.1 miles, from Hampshire to Devon. This page covers its traffic at 34 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated
Records analysed
34 count points in 2025
Methodology
View methodology
  • Traffic in 2025 1.1bn vehicle miles
  • Average daily traffic 31,298 vehicles a day, both directions
  • Busiest section 60,073 A30 to A3093
  • HGV share 6.3% of vehicle miles
  • Traffic since 2019 +3.8% same count points
  • Collisions, 2021 to 2025 553 10.7 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A303?

On an average day in 2025, 31,298 vehicles passed each point on the A303, counting both directions. The busiest section is A30 to A3093 (Hampshire), with 60,073 a day; the quietest listed is A358 to A30, with 17,029.

Busiest sections, 2025

A30 to A3093 carries 1.9 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A303 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section Vehicles a day
A30 to A3093 Hampshire · 5.5 mi · HGVs 6.6% 60,073
A3093 to A3057 Hampshire · 1.6 mi · HGVs 5.5% 59,809
A303 spur to A343 to A342/A343 roundabout Hampshire · 0.8 mi · HGVs 5.4% 58,029
A3057 to A303 spur to A343 Hampshire · 1.4 mi · HGVs 5.8% 56,306
A3088 to A356 Somerset · 1.9 mi · HGVs 5.2% 46,490
A30/M3 to A30 Hampshire · 5.8 mi · HGVs 5.5% 42,385
A372 to spur to A37 Somerset · 2.5 mi · HGVs 5.7% 39,682
A338 to A3028 Wiltshire · 2.8 mi · HGVs 7.3% 39,206
A356 to A358 Somerset · 8.5 mi · HGVs 6.8% 36,671
A342/A343 roundabout to A338 Hampshire · 7.2 mi · HGVs 6.8% 36,238

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Route

Hampshire to Devon · 100.1 miles

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

A303 traffic and collisions by section

22 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 9 short link roads and spurs (2.3 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.

Show all 22 sections Tap a column heading to sort
Sections of the A303 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1A30/M3 to A30Hampshire5.842,3855.5%−10.3%296.9
2At A30Hampshire0.346,1065.7%−16.3%fewer than 3
3A30 to A3093Hampshire5.560,0736.6%3629.9
4A3093 to A3057Hampshire1.659,8095.5%+10.6%8
5A3057 to A303 spur to A343Hampshire1.456,3065.8%+7.7%1611.9
6A303 spur to A343 to A342/A343 roundaboutHampshire0.858,0295.4%−0.7%8
7A342/A343 roundabout to A338Hampshire7.236,2386.8%−4.3%449.5
8A338 to A3028Wiltshire2.839,2067.3%−0.6%136.7
9A3028 to A345Wiltshire2.232,6245.5%+8.6%2016.3
10A344 to A360Wiltshire3.726,2705.7%−1.6%4627.1
11A360 to A303 spurWiltshire6.225,8995.9%+5.3%5520.5
12A303 spur to A350Wiltshire8.621,7527.3%+29.3%5920.0
13A350 to B3081Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset9.424,9465.7%+17.3%359.7
14B3081 to A371Somerset3.028,4027.0%+23.9%6
15A371 to A359Somerset6.324,6826.1%−9.4%155.3
16At A359Somerset1.926,0637.2%3
17A37 to B3151Somerset4.425,1677.2%1434.6
18A372 to spur to A37Somerset2.539,6825.7%+25.7%116.9
19spur to A37 to A3088Somerset3.330,5227.4%−0.2%2314.0
20A3088 to A356Somerset1.946,4905.2%+18.6%1712.1
21A356 to A358Somerset8.536,6716.8%+1.2%347.0
22A358 to A30Somerset, Devon10.517,0295.5%5117.8

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A303 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.

A303 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 77.3% of the vehicle miles on the A303. HGVs account for 6.3%, rising to 7.4% on spur to A37 to A3088.

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 A303, by year
Year HGV share
2000 8.5%
2001 8.1%
2002 8.2%
2003 7.8%
2004 8.1%
2005 7.9%
2006 7.9%
2007 8.0%
2008 7.9%
2009 7.3%
2010 7.3%
2011 7.2%
2012 7.3%
2013 7.4%
2014 7.4%
2015 7.6%
2016 7.6%
2017 7.1%
2018 7.2%
2019 7.3%
2020 8.9%
2021 8.5%
2022 7.4%
2023 7.0%
2024 6.9%
2025 6.3%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

A303 traffic trend

Traffic on the A303 came to 1.14 billion vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 3.8% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 27.0% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 38.4% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A303 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year Vehicle miles
2000 799m
2001 855m
2002 865m
2003 858m
2004 852m
2005 855m
2006 882m
2007 878m
2008 879m
2009 871m
2010 852m
2011 855m
2012 863m
2013 862m
2014 859m
2015 889m
2016 930m
2017 1.0bn
2018 1.0bn
2019 1.1bn
2020 769m
2021 928m
2022 1.0bn
2023 1.0bn
2024 1.0bn
2025 1.1bn

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A303, weighted by link length, by year
Year Vehicles a day
2000 22,538
2001 24,136
2002 24,393
2003 24,201
2004 24,044
2005 24,121
2006 24,898
2007 24,783
2008 24,800
2009 24,563
2010 24,049
2011 24,110
2012 24,350
2013 24,324
2014 24,225
2015 25,083
2016 26,229
2017 28,891
2018 28,957
2019 30,485
2020 21,545
2021 25,993
2022 27,940
2023 29,084
2024 28,877
2025 31,298

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 (84.0% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 12 of the 34 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A303 collisions

Police recorded 553 collisions with the A303 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 160 of them fatal or serious, including 28 fatal. That is 10.7 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 1.1 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

Up 22.2% from 2021 to 2025.

Police-reported collisions on the A303 by year: fatal or serious, and slight
Year SlightFatal or serious
2021 7029
2022 8533
2023 7730
2024 7731
2025 8437

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 A303, 2021 to 2025
Section Per 100m vehicle miles
A37 to B3151 Somerset · 14 collisions 34.6
A30 to A3093 Hampshire · 36 collisions 29.9
A344 to A360 Wiltshire · 46 collisions 27.1
A360 to A303 spur Wiltshire · 55 collisions 20.5
A303 spur to A350 Wiltshire · 59 collisions 20.0
A358 to A30 Somerset, Devon · 51 collisions 17.8
A3028 to A345 Wiltshire · 20 collisions 16.3
spur to A37 to A3088 Somerset · 23 collisions 14.0

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

A further 44 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A303 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 A303

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

  • Hampshire
  • Wiltshire
  • Dorset
  • Somerset
  • Devon

Planned closures on the A303 in England

National Highways has 17 planned closures on the A303 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, all of them starting in that period. 9 close a carriageway rather than a lane or slip road, and 17 start between 7pm and 6am.

  • Lane or slip A303 eastbound Willoughby Hedge to A350 Jct lane 2 closure

    16 Sept 20:00 to 17 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance

  • Lane or slip A303 eastbound Willoughby Hedge to A350 Jct lane 2 closure

    16 Sept 20:00 to 19 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance Also affects A36

  • Lane or slip Eastbound lane 2 closure

    16 Sept 20:00 to 17 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance

  • Carriageway A303 eastbound Parkhouse Cross to Thruxton Village carriageway closure

    16 Sept 21:00 to 29 Sept 06:00 Construction work

  • Carriageway A303 both directions A350 Jct to Deptford carriageway closure

    16 Sept 21:00 to 17 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance Also affects A36

  • Lane or slip A303 eastbound Willoughby Hedge to A350 Jct lane 2 closure

    17 Sept 20:00 to 18 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance

  • Carriageway A303 eastbound Parkhouse Cross to Thruxton Village carriageway closure

    17 Sept 21:00 to 30 Sept 06:00 Construction work

  • Carriageway A303 both directions A350 Jct to Deptford carriageway closure

    17 Sept 21:00 to 18 Sept 06:00 Road maintenance Also affects A36

9 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

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 34 count points in 2025 15 September 2026
Reported collisions Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport
Derived statistics UK Motoring
2021 to 2025 553 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”.

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

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