A-road

A3049 traffic and collisions

The A3049 is an A-road of 8.8 miles, in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. This page covers its traffic at 8 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated
Records analysed
8 count points in 2025
Methodology
View methodology
  • Traffic in 2025 88m vehicle miles
  • Average daily traffic 27,234 vehicles a day, both directions
  • Busiest section 54,451 Old Wareham Road (roundabout) to A35 Fleet's Corner
  • HGV share 1.8% of vehicle miles
  • Traffic since 2019 +0.6% same count points
  • Collisions, 2021 to 2025 216 51.1 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A3049?

On an average day in 2025, 27,234 vehicles passed each point on the A3049, counting both directions. The busiest section is Old Wareham Road (roundabout) to A35 Fleet's Corner (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole), with 54,451 a day; the quietest listed is A338 Wessex Way (roundabout) to A347 Talbot Avenue (roundabout), with 10,747.

Busiest sections, 2025

Old Wareham Road (roundabout) to A35 Fleet's Corner carries 2.0 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A3049 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section Vehicles a day
Old Wareham Road (roundabout) to A35 Fleet's Corner Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 1.2 mi · HGVs 2.0% 54,451
A35 Fleet's Corner to A350 Holes Bay Road (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.1% 35,832
A348 Ringwood Road (roundabout0 to Old Wareham Road (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 1.8 mi · HGVs 2.3% 34,603
A3040 Canford Road (at Borough Boundary) to A348 Mountbatten Arms RoundabouT Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 1.0 mi · HGVs 1.3% 23,212
A348 Mountbatten Arms RoundabouT to A3040 Alder Road (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 1.2 mi · HGVs 1.7% 19,270
A35 Christchurch Road (roundabout) - Centuary Way to A338 Wessex Way (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 0.9 mi · HGVs 0.9% 15,433
A338 Wessex Way (roundabout) to A347 Talbot Avenue (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 1.9 mi · HGVs 0.7% 10,747

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Route

In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 8.8 miles

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Schematic route: each line joins the junctions at the ends of a DfT count point link.

A3049 traffic and collisions by section

8 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 A3049 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1A35 Christchurch Road (roundabout) - Centuary Way to A338 Wessex Way (roundabout)Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole0.915,4330.9%−0.8%27113.1
2A338 Wessex Way (roundabout) to A347 Talbot Avenue (roundabout)Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole1.910,7470.7%−4.4%3391.9
3A3040 Canford Road (at Borough Boundary) to A348 Mountbatten Arms RoundabouTBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole1.023,2121.3%+20.6%1743.2
4A348 Mountbatten Arms RoundabouT to A3040 Alder Road (roundabout)Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole1.219,2701.7%−2.4%57140.2
5A3049 Canford Way (roundabout) to A3049 Wallisdown Road (roundabout)Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole0.249,4472.1%−1.5%5
6A348 Ringwood Road (roundabout0 to Old Wareham Road (roundabout)Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole1.834,6032.3%−5.5%3732.7
7Old Wareham Road (roundabout) to A35 Fleet's CornerBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole1.254,4512.0%+5.4%1614.1
8A35 Fleet's Corner to A350 Holes Bay Road (roundabout)Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole0.635,8322.1%−2.7%2358.9

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A3049 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.

A3049 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 80.0% of the vehicle miles on the A3049. HGVs account for 1.8%.

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 A3049, by year
Year HGV share
2000 2.7%
2001 2.5%
2002 2.4%
2003 2.8%
2004 2.6%
2005 2.6%
2006 2.6%
2007 2.6%
2008 3.1%
2009 3.0%
2010 2.8%
2011 2.8%
2012 2.7%
2013 2.7%
2014 2.7%
2015 2.7%
2016 2.5%
2017 2.4%
2018 2.5%
2019 2.5%
2020 2.7%
2021 2.4%
2022 2.3%
2023 1.9%
2024 1.8%
2025 1.8%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

A3049 traffic trend

Traffic on the A3049 came to 87.5 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 0.6% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 6.3% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is down 2.5% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A3049 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year Vehicle miles
2000 82m
2001 81m
2002 81m
2003 79m
2004 79m
2005 84m
2006 84m
2007 80m
2008 80m
2009 79m
2010 79m
2011 78m
2012 75m
2013 75m
2014 77m
2015 77m
2016 79m
2017 82m
2018 83m
2019 87m
2020 67m
2021 78m
2022 85m
2023 86m
2024 87m
2025 88m

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A3049, weighted by link length, by year
Year Vehicles a day
2000 27,515
2001 27,107
2002 27,183
2003 26,251
2004 26,468
2005 28,011
2006 27,261
2007 26,196
2008 26,030
2009 25,719
2010 25,853
2011 25,336
2012 24,386
2013 24,563
2014 25,170
2015 25,115
2016 25,632
2017 26,665
2018 26,467
2019 27,081
2020 20,919
2021 24,286
2022 26,308
2023 26,685
2024 27,146
2025 27,234

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, 3 of the 8 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A3049 collisions

Police recorded 216 collisions with the A3049 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 51 of them fatal or serious, including 6 fatal. That is 51.1 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 4.9 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

Up 4.4% from 2021 to 2025.

Police-reported collisions on the A3049 by year
Year Collisions
2021 45
2022 37
2023 47
2024 40
2025 47

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 A3049, 2021 to 2025
Section Per 100m vehicle miles
A348 Mountbatten Arms RoundabouT to A3040 Alder Road (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 57 collisions 140.2
A35 Christchurch Road (roundabout) - Centuary Way to A338 Wessex Way (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 27 collisions 113.1
A338 Wessex Way (roundabout) to A347 Talbot Avenue (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 33 collisions 91.9
A35 Fleet's Corner to A350 Holes Bay Road (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 23 collisions 58.9
A3040 Canford Road (at Borough Boundary) to A348 Mountbatten Arms RoundabouT Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 17 collisions 43.2
A348 Ringwood Road (roundabout0 to Old Wareham Road (roundabout) Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 37 collisions 32.7
Old Wareham Road (roundabout) to A35 Fleet's Corner Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · 16 collisions 14.1

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

A further 43 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A3049 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 99.5% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions

Council areas on the A3049

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

  • Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

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 8 count points in 2025 15 September 2026
Reported collisions Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport
Derived statistics UK Motoring
2021 to 2025 216 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.