Trunk A-road
A438 traffic and collisions
The A438 is a trunk A-road of 59.2 miles in England and Wales, from Gloucestershire to Powys. This page covers its traffic at 25 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 127m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 5,855 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 16,678 A49 to A4110
- HGV share 4.5% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −2.5% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 153 25.5 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A438?
On an average day in 2025, 5,855 vehicles passed each point on the A438, counting both directions. The busiest section is A49 to A4110 (Herefordshire), with 16,678 a day; the quietest listed is B4211 to B4208 (south), with 1,160.
Busiest sections, 2025
A49 to A4110 carries 2.8 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A49 to A4110 Herefordshire · 1.0 mi · HGVs 2.9% | 16,678 |
| A38 to M5 Junction9 Gloucestershire · 1.0 mi · HGVs 4.3% | 16,265 |
| B4080 to A46 Gloucestershire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 0.9% | 13,972 |
| B4224 to A465 Herefordshire · 0.5 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 12,965 |
| Hampton Dene Rd to B4224 Herefordshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 1.6% | 11,570 |
| A4110 to Huntington Lane Herefordshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.6% | 11,097 |
| Huntington Lane, Hereford to A480 Herefordshire · 0.9 mi · HGVs 2.9% | 8,691 |
| A417 to A4172 Herefordshire · 3.2 mi · HGVs 2.9% | 7,928 |
| A4079 to A4078 Powys · 0.6 mi · HGVs 4.3% | 7,232 |
| A449 to B4214 Herefordshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 1.1% | 7,064 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Gloucestershire to Powys · 59.2 miles
A438 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 | A38 to M5 Junction9Gloucestershire | 16,265 | 11 |
| 2 | B4080 to A46Gloucestershire | 13,972 | 5 |
| 3 | A438 to B4211Gloucestershire, Worcestershire | 3,798 | 6 |
| 4 | B4211 to B4208 (south)Worcestershire | 1,160 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | B4208 (south) to A449Worcestershire, Herefordshire | 1,519 | fewer than 3 |
| 6 | A449 to B4214Herefordshire | 7,064 | 7 |
| 7 | B4214 to A417Herefordshire | 8,782 | 0 |
| 8 | A417 to A4172Herefordshire | 7,928 | 7 |
| 9 | A4172 to Hampton Dene Rd, HerefordHerefordshire | 5,678 | 23 |
| 10 | Hampton Dene Rd to B4224Herefordshire | 11,570 | 6 |
| 11 | B4224 to A465Herefordshire | 12,965 | 6 |
| 12 | A465 to A49Herefordshire | 23,394 | 8 |
| 13 | A49 to A4110Herefordshire | 16,678 | 17 |
| 14 | A4110 to Huntington LaneHerefordshire | 11,097 | fewer than 3 |
| 15 | Huntington Lane, Hereford to A480Herefordshire | 8,691 | fewer than 3 |
| 16 | A480 to A4103Herefordshire | 5,869 | 3 |
| 17 | A4103 to A4111Herefordshire | 6,857 | 25 |
| 18 | A4111 to B4350 EHerefordshire, Powys | 4,420 | 10 |
| 19 | B4350 to A4079Powys | 6,867 | 3 |
| 20 | A4079 to A4078Powys | 7,232 | fewer than 3 |
| 21 | A4078 to A479Powys | 4,302 | 3 |
| 22 | A470/A438 Junction to Roundabout A438/A479Powys | 6,690 | 6 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A438 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.
A438 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 77.0% of the vehicle miles on the A438. HGVs account for 4.5%, rising to 8.4% on A4078 to A479.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.5% |
| 2001 | 6.5% |
| 2002 | 5.8% |
| 2003 | 5.8% |
| 2004 | 5.7% |
| 2005 | 6.3% |
| 2006 | 6.4% |
| 2007 | 6.5% |
| 2008 | 5.6% |
| 2009 | 5.2% |
| 2010 | 5.1% |
| 2011 | 5.1% |
| 2012 | 5.1% |
| 2013 | 5.3% |
| 2014 | 5.3% |
| 2015 | 4.7% |
| 2016 | 4.8% |
| 2017 | 4.8% |
| 2018 | 4.7% |
| 2019 | 4.7% |
| 2020 | 5.4% |
| 2021 | 5.2% |
| 2022 | 5.0% |
| 2023 | 4.6% |
| 2024 | 4.5% |
| 2025 | 4.5% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A438 traffic trend
Traffic on the A438 came to 127 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 2.5% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 7.9% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 1.5% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 115m |
| 2001 | 121m |
| 2002 | 124m |
| 2003 | 124m |
| 2004 | 131m |
| 2005 | 127m |
| 2006 | 130m |
| 2007 | 127m |
| 2008 | 127m |
| 2009 | 129m |
| 2010 | 127m |
| 2011 | 130m |
| 2012 | 130m |
| 2013 | 127m |
| 2014 | 130m |
| 2015 | 131m |
| 2016 | 134m |
| 2017 | 137m |
| 2018 | 130m |
| 2019 | 129m |
| 2020 | 98m |
| 2021 | 109m |
| 2022 | 118m |
| 2023 | 122m |
| 2024 | 125m |
| 2025 | 127m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 5,477 |
| 2001 | 5,759 |
| 2002 | 5,898 |
| 2003 | 5,897 |
| 2004 | 6,228 |
| 2005 | 6,036 |
| 2006 | 6,156 |
| 2007 | 6,016 |
| 2008 | 6,018 |
| 2009 | 6,112 |
| 2010 | 6,037 |
| 2011 | 6,133 |
| 2012 | 6,118 |
| 2013 | 5,998 |
| 2014 | 6,130 |
| 2015 | 6,189 |
| 2016 | 6,308 |
| 2017 | 6,412 |
| 2018 | 6,008 |
| 2019 | 5,966 |
| 2020 | 4,545 |
| 2021 | 5,068 |
| 2022 | 5,456 |
| 2023 | 5,666 |
| 2024 | 5,774 |
| 2025 | 5,855 |
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, 1 of the 25 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A438 collisions
Police recorded 153 collisions with the A438 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 44 of them fatal or serious. That is 25.5 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.5 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 6.9% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | 6 |
| 2022 | 22 | 10 |
| 2023 | 29 | 4 |
| 2024 | 18 | 14 |
| 2025 | 18 | 9 |
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 |
|---|---|
| A49 to A4110 Herefordshire · 17 collisions | 61.7 |
| A38 to M5 Junction9 Gloucestershire · 11 collisions | 38.2 |
| A4172 to Hampton Dene Rd, Hereford Herefordshire · 23 collisions | 26.2 |
| A4103 to A4111 Herefordshire · 25 collisions | 21.0 |
| A4111 to B4350 E Herefordshire, Powys · 10 collisions | 10.9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 17 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A438 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 A438
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Gloucestershire
- Worcestershire
- Herefordshire
- Powys
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 | 25 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 153 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.