Trunk A-road
A489 traffic and collisions
The A489 is a trunk A-road of 34.0 miles in England and Wales, from Shropshire to Powys. This page covers its traffic at 9 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 50m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 4,052 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 9,533 Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn) to Junction at A470 / A489
- HGV share 6.4% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +11.7% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 66 28.2 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A489?
On an average day in 2025, 4,052 vehicles passed each point on the A489, counting both directions. The busiest section is Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn) to Junction at A470 / A489 (Powys), with 9,533 a day; the quietest listed is A490 to A489 Rounabout near Lower Brimmon, Powys, with 2,626.
Busiest sections, 2025
Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn) to Junction at A470 / A489 carries 2.4 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn) to Junction at A470 / A489 Powys · 3.7 mi · HGVs 6.5% | 9,533 |
| A483 near Garth Owen to Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn) Powys · 1.4 mi · HGVs 17.8% | 4,334 |
| A487 to A470 Powys · 5.9 mi · HGVs 4.4% | 3,591 |
| A488 to A490 Shropshire, Powys · 4.1 mi · HGVs 7.1% | 3,539 |
| A489 Rounabout near Lower Brimmon, Powys to LA Boundary with Powys and Shropshire Powys · 8.0 mi · HGVs 4.1% | 3,396 |
| A49 to A488 Shropshire · 8.3 mi · HGVs 7.1% | 3,220 |
| A490 to A489 Rounabout near Lower Brimmon, Powys Powys, Shropshire · 2.6 mi · HGVs 5.9% | 2,626 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Shropshire to Powys · 34.0 miles in 2 stretches
A489 traffic and collisions by section
7 sections between junctions, in route order (2 separate stretches). Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A49 to A488Shropshire · stretch 1 | 3,220 | 8 |
| 2 | A488 to A490Shropshire, Powys · stretch 1 | 3,539 | 6 |
| 3 | A490 to A489 Rounabout near Lower Brimmon, PowysPowys, Shropshire · stretch 1 | 2,626 | 4 |
| 4 | A489 Rounabout near Lower Brimmon, Powys to LA Boundary with Powys and ShropshirePowys · stretch 1 | 3,396 | 20 |
| 5 | A483 near Garth Owen to Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn)Powys · stretch 1 | 4,334 | 5 |
| 6 | Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn) to Junction at A470 / A489Powys · stretch 1 | 9,533 | 15 |
| 7 | A487 to A470Powys · stretch 2 | 3,591 | 6 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A489 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.
A489 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 70.3% of the vehicle miles on the A489. HGVs account for 6.4%, rising to 17.8% on A483 near Garth Owen to Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn).
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.9% |
| 2001 | 7.7% |
| 2002 | 8.1% |
| 2003 | 7.4% |
| 2004 | 7.3% |
| 2005 | 8.0% |
| 2006 | 7.0% |
| 2007 | 7.1% |
| 2008 | 6.9% |
| 2009 | 6.5% |
| 2010 | 6.7% |
| 2011 | 6.7% |
| 2012 | 6.7% |
| 2013 | 6.7% |
| 2014 | 6.7% |
| 2015 | 6.7% |
| 2016 | 6.8% |
| 2017 | 6.8% |
| 2018 | 6.9% |
| 2019 | 7.2% |
| 2020 | 9.0% |
| 2021 | 8.1% |
| 2022 | 7.6% |
| 2023 | 6.5% |
| 2024 | 6.4% |
| 2025 | 6.4% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A489 traffic trend
Traffic on the A489 came to 50.3 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 11.7% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 6.1% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 26.2% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 47m |
| 2001 | 47m |
| 2002 | 50m |
| 2003 | 52m |
| 2004 | 52m |
| 2005 | 51m |
| 2006 | 53m |
| 2007 | 53m |
| 2008 | 52m |
| 2009 | 52m |
| 2010 | 52m |
| 2011 | 52m |
| 2012 | 52m |
| 2013 | 52m |
| 2014 | 53m |
| 2015 | 55m |
| 2016 | 55m |
| 2017 | 55m |
| 2018 | 53m |
| 2019 | 45m |
| 2020 | 34m |
| 2021 | 41m |
| 2022 | 45m |
| 2023 | 49m |
| 2024 | 50m |
| 2025 | 50m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,621 |
| 2001 | 3,642 |
| 2002 | 3,842 |
| 2003 | 4,049 |
| 2004 | 4,053 |
| 2005 | 3,932 |
| 2006 | 4,139 |
| 2007 | 4,145 |
| 2008 | 4,007 |
| 2009 | 4,066 |
| 2010 | 3,996 |
| 2011 | 4,046 |
| 2012 | 4,014 |
| 2013 | 4,050 |
| 2014 | 4,141 |
| 2015 | 4,234 |
| 2016 | 4,252 |
| 2017 | 4,285 |
| 2018 | 4,113 |
| 2019 | 3,627 |
| 2020 | 2,701 |
| 2021 | 3,276 |
| 2022 | 3,604 |
| 2023 | 3,932 |
| 2024 | 4,004 |
| 2025 | 4,052 |
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, 0 of the 9 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A489 collisions
Police recorded 66 collisions with the A489 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, fewer than 3 of them fatal or serious, including 3 fatal. That is 28.2 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.4 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 21.4% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 |
| 2022 | 9 |
| 2023 | 13 |
| 2024 | 13 |
| 2025 | 17 |
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 |
|---|---|
| A489 Rounabout near Lower Brimmon, Powys to LA Boundary with Powys and Shropshire Powys · 20 collisions | 42.0 |
| Roundabout south of The Apple House, Powys (near Afon Hafren / River Severn) to Junction at A470 / A489 Powys · 15 collisions | 26.3 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 13 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A489 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 97.0% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions
Council areas on the A489
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Shropshire
- 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 | 9 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 66 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.