Trunk A-road

A49 traffic and collisions

The A49 is a trunk A-road of 145.3 miles, from Herefordshire to Lancashire. This page covers its traffic at 86 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated: 15 September 2026
Data source: Department for Transport
Records analysed: 86 count points in 2025
Methodology: View methodology

Traffic in 2025 673m vehicle miles
Average daily traffic 12,684 vehicles a day, both directions
Busiest section 43,789 A465 to A438
HGV share 6.0% of vehicle miles
Traffic since 2019 +1.1% same count points
Collisions, 2021 to 2025 722 22.4 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A49?

On an average day in 2025, 12,684 vehicles passed each point on the A49, counting both directions. The busiest section is A465 to A438 (Herefordshire), with 43,789 a day; the quietest listed is A41(T) to B5476, with 3,929.

Busiest sections, 2025

A465 to A438 carries 3.5 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A49 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section	Vehicles a day
A465 to A438 Herefordshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 3.4%	43,789
A574 to M62 Warrington · 0.7 mi · HGVs 3.4%	43,015
A50 to A574 Warrington · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.9%	42,641
A574 to A50 Warrington · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.5%	39,527
M62 to A49 Winwick Link Road roundabout Warrington · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.5%	39,470
A5061 to A57 Warrington · 0.7 mi · HGVs 2.1%	30,165
A5 to B5062 Shropshire · 1.6 mi · HGVs 6.1%	29,340
M6 spur to Roundabout with A49 and Manse Gardens Wigan · 1.4 mi · HGVs 3.2%	29,263
A57 to A574 Warrington · 0.8 mi · HGVs 2.1%	26,186
A573 to A5106 Wigan · 2.2 mi · HGVs 1.2%	22,348

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

Route

Herefordshire to Lancashire · 145.3 miles

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

A49 traffic and collisions by section

67 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 11 short link roads and spurs (3.6 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.

Show all 67 sections Tap a column heading to sort

Sections of the A49 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1	A40 to A4137Herefordshire	3.5	9,056	9.4%	+5.1%	7	–
2	A4137 to A466Herefordshire	5.0	10,535	9.3%	+2.5%	28	29.9
3	A466 to Grafton Lane, HerefordHerefordshire	3.6	13,544	9.0%	−0.6%	15	17.4
4	Grafton Lane to A465Herefordshire	0.9	17,269	6.1%	−32.9%	19	67.5
5	A465 to A438Herefordshire	0.6	43,789	3.4%	+10.1%	27	55.6
6	At A438Herefordshire	0.1	42,951	2.7%	+7.2%	fewer than 3	–
7	A438 to A4194Herefordshire	0.4	20,723	3.5%	+2.3%	16	–
8	A4194 to Church Way, HerefordHerefordshire	1.1	19,910	6.1%	−15.0%	25	64.2
9	Church Way, Hereford to A417Herefordshire	7.4	12,515	5.4%	+3.7%	39	22.2
10	A417 to A44Herefordshire	3.5	10,867	9.2%	−2.6%	6	–
11	A44 to A49(T)Herefordshire	0.8	13,760	8.2%	−3.5%	fewer than 3	–
12	A44 to A4112Herefordshire	1.1	12,818	9.9%	+2.8%	fewer than 3	–
13	A4112 to A456Herefordshire, Shropshire	5.2	10,153	9.7%	−4.1%	23	25.1
14	A456 to B4361Shropshire	1.9	13,639	8.9%	+3.3%	8	–
15	B4361 to A4117Shropshire	2.9	14,701	6.0%	+12.8%	8	–
16	A4117 to A4113Shropshire	3.0	11,271	9.6%	–	8	–
17	A4113 to B4368Shropshire	4.9	11,050	7.8%	+7.2%	16	17.5
18	B4368 to A489Shropshire	1.3	12,892	7.6%	+12.5%	11	41.2
19	A489 to A5Shropshire	16.8	12,032	8.2%	−1.7%	41	11.5
20	A5 to B5062Shropshire	1.6	29,340	6.1%	−4.3%	4	–
21	B5062 to A53/A5124/A5112Shropshire	1.4	19,542	8.5%	−1.2%	6	–
22	A53/A5124/A5112 to A41(T)Shropshire	14.2	6,784	11.1%	−2.1%	26	15.4
23	A41(T) to B5476Shropshire	0.6	3,929	8.2%	−1.6%	fewer than 3	–
24	B5476 to A534Shropshire, East Cheshire, West Cheshire	7.3	4,435	8.7%	−6.7%	19	33.4
25	A534 to A534 mid-junctionEast Cheshire	0.4	8,336	9.0%	+0.7%	fewer than 3	–
26	A534 to A51East Cheshire, West Cheshire	4.4	8,021	6.3%	−5.9%	9	–
27	At A51West Cheshire	1.6	14,203	7.5%	−19.5%	7	–
28	A51 to B5152West Cheshire	2.0	10,683	6.1%	+11.5%	3	–
29	B5152 to A54West Cheshire	1.3	11,654	5.9%	+14.8%	6	–
30	A54 to A556West Cheshire	2.2	8,467	8.4%	−6.2%	9	–
31	A556(T) to B5144West Cheshire	2.4	14,910	5.4%	+3.5%	5	–
32	B5144 to B5142West Cheshire	1.0	12,846	5.8%	+0.5%	3	–
33	B5142 to A533West Cheshire	1.7	18,166	3.4%	+2.8%	11	19.8
34	A533 to M56West Cheshire, Warrington	3.5	15,043	5.8%	+9.7%	15	16.2
35	M56 to Longwood RdWarrington	0.9	13,410	2.8%	−7.7%	7	–
36	Longwood Rd to A56Warrington	1.7	14,003	1.2%	+11.6%	10	27.1
37	A56 to A5060Warrington	1.2	15,033	1.1%	+8.3%	16	50.2
38	A5060 to A5061Warrington	0.4	29,748	1.5%	−14.4%	3	–
39	A5061 to A57Warrington	0.7	30,165	2.1%	+24.6%	30	80.4
40	A57 to A574Warrington	0.8	26,186	2.1%	+15.1%	19	55.1
41	A574 to A50Warrington	0.6	39,527	2.5%	+10.9%	23	55.6
42	A50 to A574Warrington	0.6	42,641	2.9%	+3.8%	16	35.1
43	A574 to M62Warrington	0.7	43,015	3.4%	+7.1%	12	22.8
44	M62 to A49 Winwick Link Road roundaboutWarrington	0.6	39,470	2.5%	+17.3%	fewer than 3	–
45	A49 Winwick Link Road roundabout to A573Warrington	0.1	20,059	1.7%	−12.9%	6	–
46	A573 to Wayfarers DriveWarrington	1.0	9,381	2.5%	−2.1%	fewer than 3	–
47	Wayfarers Drive to A572St. Helens	0.9	9,374	3.0%	–	0	–
48	At A572St. Helens	0.5	14,063	1.9%	–	4	–
49	A572 to Billington AveSt. Helens	0.5	10,136	3.5%	+9.2%	fewer than 3	–
50	Billington Ave to M6/A580St. Helens	0.6	9,224	3.5%	+9.2%	0	–
51	M6/A580 to A599St. Helens	0.3	11,277	6.6%	−1.6%	4	–
52	A599 to A58St. Helens, Wigan	0.8	10,439	3.2%	−6.9%	5	–
53	A58 to A5062Wigan	0.2	6,862	0.7%	−0.2%	fewer than 3	–
54	A5062 to M6 spurWigan	1.9	7,896	1.0%	−5.8%	15	56.6
55	M6 spur to Roundabout with A49 and Manse GardensWigan	1.4	29,263	3.2%	–	10	15.5
56	Roundabout with A49 and Manse Gardens to A49 Junction near Bradford Street (Wigan)Wigan	1.8	13,106	3.5%	–	fewer than 3	–
57	B5238 to A49 Queen StreetWigan	0.1	36,313	2.2%	+17.4%	0	–
58	A49 Queen St to A577 mid-intersectionWigan	0.2	41,898	2.2%	−0.2%	4	–
59	A577 mid-intersection to A573Wigan	0.3	19,625	1.8%	−5.7%	5	–
60	A573 to A5106Wigan	2.2	22,348	1.2%	−2.3%	14	16.2
61	A5106 to A5209Wigan	1.4	12,994	1.6%	−11.5%	fewer than 3	–
62	A5209 to Pepper LaneWigan	0.7	11,112	1.2%	−6.0%	3	–
63	Pepper Lane to A581Wigan, Lancashire	4.6	12,397	3.2%	+23.2%	20	24.7
64	At A581Lancashire	0.1	16,405	2.0%	+3.6%	fewer than 3	–
65	A581 to B5256Lancashire	2.5	9,426	1.8%	+14.6%	24	57.7
66	B5256 to A5083Lancashire	0.7	9,191	3.2%	−7.5%	3	–
67	A5083 to A6Lancashire	1.1	8,219	3.6%	−6.8%	3	–

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A49 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.

A49 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 75.7% of the vehicle miles on the A49. HGVs account for 6.0%, rising to 11.1% on A53/A5124/A5112 to A41(T).

Vehicle mix, 2025

Share of vehicle miles on the A49 by vehicle type
Category	Share
Cars and taxis	75.7%
Vans (LGVs)	17.3%
HGVs	6.0%
Motorcycles	0.7%
Buses and coaches	0.4%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

HGV share of traffic

HGVs as a share of vehicle miles on the A49, by year
Year	HGV share
2000	8.6%
2001	8.1%
2002	8.4%
2003	8.2%
2004	8.1%
2005	8.2%
2006	8.2%
2007	8.1%
2008	7.8%
2009	7.2%
2010	7.1%
2011	7.0%
2012	6.8%
2013	6.7%
2014	6.5%
2015	6.7%
2016	6.7%
2017	6.7%
2018	6.6%
2019	6.6%
2020	7.8%
2021	7.4%
2022	6.7%
2023	6.4%
2024	6.2%
2025	6.0%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

A49 traffic trend

Traffic on the A49 came to 673 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 1.1% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 4.2% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 11.0% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A49 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year	Vehicle miles
2000	575m
2001	590m
2002	598m
2003	609m
2004	614m
2005	611m
2006	613m
2007	599m
2008	609m
2009	606m
2010	602m
2011	601m
2012	594m
2013	596m
2014	612m
2015	620m
2016	639m
2017	638m
2018	650m
2019	655m
2020	522m
2021	590m
2022	641m
2023	656m
2024	664m
2025	673m

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A49, weighted by link length, by year
Year	Vehicles a day
2000	11,156
2001	11,448
2002	11,614
2003	11,817
2004	11,916
2005	11,853
2006	11,908
2007	11,626
2008	11,819
2009	11,736
2010	11,671
2011	11,635
2012	11,499
2013	11,522
2014	11,833
2015	11,982
2016	12,339
2017	12,308
2018	12,409
2019	12,479
2020	9,928
2021	11,092
2022	12,056
2023	12,335
2024	12,485
2025	12,684

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

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, 21 of the 86 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A49 collisions

Police recorded 722 collisions with the A49 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 215 of them fatal or serious. That is 22.4 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 1.0 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

Down 29.1% from 2021 to 2025.

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

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 A49, 2021 to 2025
Section	Per 100m vehicle miles
A5061 to A57 Warrington · 30 collisions	80.4
Grafton Lane to A465 Herefordshire · 19 collisions	67.5
A4194 to Church Way, Hereford Herefordshire · 25 collisions	64.2
A581 to B5256 Lancashire · 24 collisions	57.7
A5062 to M6 spur Wigan · 15 collisions	56.6
A465 to A438 Herefordshire · 27 collisions	55.6
A574 to A50 Warrington · 23 collisions	55.6
A57 to A574 Warrington · 19 collisions	55.1

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

A further 108 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A49 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 A49

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

Herefordshire
Shropshire
East Cheshire
West Cheshire
Warrington
St. Helens
Wigan
Lancashire

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	86 count points in 2025	15 September 2026
Reported collisions	Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring	2021 to 2025	722 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”.

How we calculate these figures All data sources

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

How busy is the A49?

Route

A49 traffic and collisions by section

A49 traffic by vehicle type

A49 traffic trend

A49 collisions

Council areas on the A49

Roads that meet the A49

Data sources and methodology

Related statistics