A-road
A386 traffic and collisions
The A386 is an A-road of 61.8 miles, from Devon to Plymouth. This page covers its traffic at 23 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 235m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 10,396 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 50,973 Roundabout A3860/A386/Looseleigh Lane to A38 The Parkway
- HGV share 2.5% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +6.7% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 392 35.5 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A386?
On an average day in 2025, 10,396 vehicles passed each point on the A386, counting both directions. The busiest section is Roundabout A3860/A386/Looseleigh Lane to A38 The Parkway (Plymouth), with 50,973 a day; the quietest listed is A3124 to A3072, with 2,076.
Busiest sections, 2025
Roundabout A3860/A386/Looseleigh Lane to A38 The Parkway carries 4.9 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| Roundabout A3860/A386/Looseleigh Lane to A38 The Parkway Plymouth · 1.7 mi · HGVs 1.1% | 50,973 |
| A38 The Parkway to Roundabout A3860/A386/Looseleigh Lane Plymouth · 0.7 mi · HGVs 1.1% | 45,079 |
| Cobourg St roundabout to A3064 Plymouth · 0.9 mi · HGVs 0.5% | 34,968 |
| Tamerton Road roundabout to B3432 Devon, Plymouth · 1.0 mi · HGVs 1.5% | 32,533 |
| A38 The Parkway to A386 Wolseley Road Plymouth · 1.9 mi · HGVs 0.5% | 31,730 |
| B3432 to B3413 Plymouth · 0.9 mi · HGVs 1.7% | 28,973 |
| B3212 roundabout to Tamerton Road roundabout Devon · 3.9 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 17,857 |
| A390 to B3212 Dousland Road Devon · 5.3 mi · HGVs 2.5% | 15,419 |
| B3357 to A390 Devon · 0.9 mi · HGVs 2.2% | 11,540 |
| Ferry to A388 Devon · 3.2 mi · HGVs 2.8% | 10,972 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Devon to Plymouth · 61.8 miles
A386 traffic and collisions by section
22 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.
Show all 22 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A39(T) to FerryDevon | 4,492 | 10 |
| 2 | Ferry to A388Devon | 10,972 | 29 |
| 3 | A388 to B3227Devon | 6,153 | 27 |
| 4 | B3227 to A3124Devon | 5,150 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | A3124 to A3072Devon | 2,076 | 19 |
| 6 | A3072 Hatherleigh Rndbt to A3072 Lamerton CrossDevon | 4,340 | 9 |
| 7 | A3072 Lamerton Cross to C Road HATHERLEIGH ROADDevon | 5,480 | fewer than 3 |
| 8 | C Road HATHERLEIGH ROAD to A3079Devon | 2,666 | 11 |
| 9 | A3079 to A30 slipDevon | 5,205 | 4 |
| 10 | A30 slip to A30 slip roads mid-junctionDevon | 7,040 | fewer than 3 |
| 11 | A30 slip roads mid-junction to Station RdDevon | 4,757 | 5 |
| 12 | Station Rd to C road to LydfordDevon | 5,429 | 0 |
| 13 | C road to Lydford to B3357Devon | 5,788 | 23 |
| 14 | B3357 to A390Devon | 11,540 | 6 |
| 15 | A390 to B3212 Dousland RoadDevon | 15,419 | 41 |
| 16 | B3212 roundabout to Tamerton Road roundaboutDevon | 17,857 | 39 |
| 17 | Tamerton Road roundabout to B3432Devon, Plymouth | 32,533 | 11 |
| 18 | B3432 to B3413Plymouth | 28,973 | 19 |
| 19 | A38 The Parkway to Roundabout A3860/A386/Looseleigh LanePlymouth | 45,079 | 19 |
| 20 | Roundabout A3860/A386/Looseleigh Lane to A38 The ParkwayPlymouth | 50,973 | 33 |
| 21 | A38 The Parkway to A386 Wolseley RoadPlymouth | 31,730 | 39 |
| 22 | Cobourg St roundabout to A3064Plymouth | 34,968 | 43 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A386 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.
A386 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 79.2% of the vehicle miles on the A386. HGVs account for 2.5%, rising to 17.7% on C Road HATHERLEIGH ROAD to A3079.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.7% |
| 2001 | 3.7% |
| 2002 | 3.3% |
| 2003 | 3.2% |
| 2004 | 3.2% |
| 2005 | 3.3% |
| 2006 | 3.3% |
| 2007 | 3.3% |
| 2008 | 3.5% |
| 2009 | 3.3% |
| 2010 | 3.3% |
| 2011 | 3.3% |
| 2012 | 3.3% |
| 2013 | 3.1% |
| 2014 | 3.1% |
| 2015 | 3.1% |
| 2016 | 3.2% |
| 2017 | 3.0% |
| 2018 | 3.0% |
| 2019 | 2.8% |
| 2020 | 3.3% |
| 2021 | 3.1% |
| 2022 | 2.9% |
| 2023 | 2.7% |
| 2024 | 2.6% |
| 2025 | 2.5% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A386 traffic trend
Traffic on the A386 came to 235 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 6.7% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 1.6% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 14.5% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 193m |
| 2001 | 192m |
| 2002 | 196m |
| 2003 | 202m |
| 2004 | 203m |
| 2005 | 202m |
| 2006 | 208m |
| 2007 | 201m |
| 2008 | 204m |
| 2009 | 207m |
| 2010 | 202m |
| 2011 | 206m |
| 2012 | 203m |
| 2013 | 201m |
| 2014 | 204m |
| 2015 | 208m |
| 2016 | 213m |
| 2017 | 217m |
| 2018 | 221m |
| 2019 | 218m |
| 2020 | 167m |
| 2021 | 189m |
| 2022 | 219m |
| 2023 | 230m |
| 2024 | 232m |
| 2025 | 235m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8,468 |
| 2001 | 8,439 |
| 2002 | 8,636 |
| 2003 | 8,861 |
| 2004 | 8,903 |
| 2005 | 8,887 |
| 2006 | 9,126 |
| 2007 | 8,827 |
| 2008 | 8,950 |
| 2009 | 9,096 |
| 2010 | 8,880 |
| 2011 | 9,038 |
| 2012 | 9,163 |
| 2013 | 9,089 |
| 2014 | 9,234 |
| 2015 | 9,405 |
| 2016 | 9,620 |
| 2017 | 9,774 |
| 2018 | 9,903 |
| 2019 | 9,827 |
| 2020 | 7,521 |
| 2021 | 8,499 |
| 2022 | 9,702 |
| 2023 | 10,211 |
| 2024 | 10,301 |
| 2025 | 10,396 |
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 (87.9% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 2 of the 23 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A386 collisions
Police recorded 392 collisions with the A386 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 83 of them fatal or serious, including 7 fatal. That is 35.5 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 1.3 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 13.3% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | 14 |
| 2022 | 46 | 17 |
| 2023 | 60 | 27 |
| 2024 | 69 | 13 |
| 2025 | 73 | 12 |
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 |
|---|---|
| C Road HATHERLEIGH ROAD to A3079 Devon · 11 collisions | 137.5 |
| Cobourg St roundabout to A3064 Plymouth · 43 collisions | 78.8 |
| A39(T) to Ferry Devon · 10 collisions | 57.3 |
| A388 to B3227 Devon · 27 collisions | 56.8 |
| A38 The Parkway to Roundabout A3860/A386/Looseleigh Lane Plymouth · 19 collisions | 51.3 |
| Ferry to A388 Devon · 29 collisions | 48.7 |
| A38 The Parkway to A386 Wolseley Road Plymouth · 39 collisions | 45.4 |
| A3124 to A3072 Devon · 19 collisions | 42.8 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 35 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A386 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 A386
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Devon
- Plymouth
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 | 23 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 392 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.