Trunk A-road
A500 traffic and collisions
The A500 is a trunk A-road of 20.9 miles, from Staffordshire to East Cheshire. This page covers its traffic at 18 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 401m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 52,565 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 90,336 A52/A5006 to B5045
- HGV share 7.9% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +8.2% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 141 7.6 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A500?
On an average day in 2025, 52,565 vehicles passed each point on the A500, counting both directions. The busiest section is A52/A5006 to B5045 (Stoke-on-Trent), with 90,336 a day; the quietest listed is A531 to A500 Newcastle Road roundabout, with 24,654.
Busiest sections, 2025
A52/A5006 to B5045 carries 1.7 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A52/A5006 to B5045 Stoke-on-Trent · 0.5 mi · HGVs 6.5% | 90,336 |
| At A527 Staffordshire · 2.2 mi · HGVs 7.3% | 86,151 |
| A527N to A527S Staffordshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 82,610 |
| B5045 to A53 Stoke-on-Trent · 0.6 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 79,776 |
| A50 to A52 City Rd/Church St Stoke-on-Trent · 0.9 mi · HGVs 6.3% | 78,782 |
| A52 City Rd/Church St to A52/A5006 Stoke-on-Trent · 0.5 mi · HGVs 7.7% | 72,683 |
| A34 to A500 spur Stoke-on-Trent · 0.9 mi · HGVs 7.1% | 66,159 |
| A527 to A34 Staffordshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 8.2% | 64,178 |
| A34 to M6 Staffordshire · 3.7 mi · HGVs 9.2% | 52,814 |
| M6 to Handford r/abt Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent · 1.2 mi · HGVs 11.5% | 38,985 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Staffordshire to East Cheshire · 20.9 miles
A500 traffic and collisions by section
15 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 1 short link roads and spurs (0.4 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M6 to Handford r/abtStaffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent | 38,985 | 8 |
| 2 | A34 to A500 spurStoke-on-Trent | 66,159 | 5 |
| 3 | At A500 spurStoke-on-Trent | 70,092 | fewer than 3 |
| 4 | At A500 spurStoke-on-Trent | 66,159 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | A50 to A52 City Rd/Church StStoke-on-Trent | 78,782 | 7 |
| 6 | A52 City Rd/Church St to A52/A5006Stoke-on-Trent | 72,683 | 6 |
| 7 | A52/A5006 to B5045Stoke-on-Trent | 90,336 | fewer than 3 |
| 8 | B5045 to A53Stoke-on-Trent | 79,776 | 3 |
| 9 | At A527Staffordshire | 86,151 | 13 |
| 10 | A527N to A527SStaffordshire | 82,610 | 7 |
| 11 | A527 to A34Staffordshire | 64,178 | fewer than 3 |
| 12 | A34 to M6Staffordshire | 52,814 | 41 |
| 13 | M6 to A5020East Cheshire | 33,090 | 16 |
| 14 | A500 Newcastle Road roundabout to A531East Cheshire | 25,191 | 8 |
| 15 | A531 to A500 Newcastle Road roundaboutEast Cheshire | 24,654 | 21 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A500 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.
A500 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 74.9% of the vehicle miles on the A500. HGVs account for 7.9%, rising to 11.5% on M6 to Handford r/abt.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.6% |
| 2001 | 9.1% |
| 2002 | 9.0% |
| 2003 | 8.9% |
| 2004 | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 8.8% |
| 2006 | 8.7% |
| 2007 | 9.1% |
| 2008 | 9.7% |
| 2009 | 8.7% |
| 2010 | 8.8% |
| 2011 | 8.9% |
| 2012 | 8.0% |
| 2013 | 8.0% |
| 2014 | 8.4% |
| 2015 | 8.7% |
| 2016 | 8.6% |
| 2017 | 8.7% |
| 2018 | 8.7% |
| 2019 | 8.7% |
| 2020 | 10.5% |
| 2021 | 10.7% |
| 2022 | 9.6% |
| 2023 | 8.9% |
| 2024 | 8.5% |
| 2025 | 7.9% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A500 traffic trend
Traffic on the A500 came to 401 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 8.2% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 10.9% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 45.9% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 263m |
| 2001 | 279m |
| 2002 | 281m |
| 2003 | 287m |
| 2004 | 283m |
| 2005 | 281m |
| 2006 | 280m |
| 2007 | 281m |
| 2008 | 319m |
| 2009 | 324m |
| 2010 | 311m |
| 2011 | 319m |
| 2012 | 329m |
| 2013 | 333m |
| 2014 | 336m |
| 2015 | 348m |
| 2016 | 360m |
| 2017 | 366m |
| 2018 | 375m |
| 2019 | 360m |
| 2020 | 293m |
| 2021 | 334m |
| 2022 | 362m |
| 2023 | 372m |
| 2024 | 380m |
| 2025 | 401m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 33,389 |
| 2001 | 35,324 |
| 2002 | 35,691 |
| 2003 | 36,441 |
| 2004 | 33,890 |
| 2005 | 33,518 |
| 2006 | 33,309 |
| 2007 | 33,482 |
| 2008 | 37,936 |
| 2009 | 38,538 |
| 2010 | 37,056 |
| 2011 | 38,033 |
| 2012 | 39,202 |
| 2013 | 39,609 |
| 2014 | 39,960 |
| 2015 | 41,418 |
| 2016 | 42,863 |
| 2017 | 43,461 |
| 2018 | 43,763 |
| 2019 | 48,632 |
| 2020 | 39,470 |
| 2021 | 45,117 |
| 2022 | 48,910 |
| 2023 | 50,222 |
| 2024 | 51,282 |
| 2025 | 52,565 |
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 (89.5% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 13 of the 18 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A500 collisions
Police recorded 141 collisions with the A500 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 36 of them fatal or serious, including 8 fatal. That is 7.6 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 1.4 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 29.0% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | 9 |
| 2022 | 11 | 3 |
| 2023 | 14 | 7 |
| 2024 | 28 | 7 |
| 2025 | 30 | 10 |
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 |
|---|---|
| At A527 Staffordshire · 13 collisions | 18.8 |
| A531 to A500 Newcastle Road roundabout East Cheshire · 21 collisions | 15.1 |
| M6 to A5020 East Cheshire · 16 collisions | 12.5 |
| A34 to M6 Staffordshire · 41 collisions | 12.3 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 26 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A500 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 A500
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
- East Cheshire
Planned closures on the A500 in England
National Highways has 5 planned closures on the A500 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, 4 of them starting in that period. 4 close a carriageway rather than a lane or slip road, and 4 start between 7pm and 6am.
-
Carriageway A500 southbound Tunstall entry slip road closure
-
Lane or slip Lane 1 closure southbound
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Carriageway A500 northbound Hanford entry slip road closure
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Carriageway A500 northbound Hanford entry slip road closure
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Carriageway A500 both directions Campbell Road over bridge carriageway closure
Planned closures only: National Highways can cancel or change them, and closures caused by incidents are not shown. Council roads in England are not covered. Roadworks and closures across the UK
Source:National Highways 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 Updated
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 | 18 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 141 reported collisions | 15 September 2026 |
| Planned closures | Transport Data Feeds (DATEX II) National Highways | 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 | 2,304 planned closure schemes | 16 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.
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