Trunk A-road
A508 traffic and collisions
The A508 is a trunk A-road of 29.2 miles, from West Northamptonshire to Leicestershire. This page covers its traffic at 14 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 130m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 12,168 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 20,395 A5076 to Brampton Lane
- HGV share 4.2% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −8.8% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 285 46.6 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A508?
On an average day in 2025, 12,168 vehicles passed each point on the A508, counting both directions. The busiest section is A5076 to Brampton Lane (West Northamptonshire), with 20,395 a day; the quietest listed is A14(T) to Lathkill St, with 7,553.
Busiest sections, 2025
A5076 to Brampton Lane carries 1.7 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A5076 to Brampton Lane West Northamptonshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 4.1% | 20,395 |
| At A5095 West Northamptonshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 1.7% | 19,131 |
| A5123 to A5095 West Northamptonshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 1.3% | 17,784 |
| A45 to A508 Cattle Market Rd West Northamptonshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 1.6% | 15,969 |
| A5199 to A5076 West Northamptonshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.5% | 13,935 |
| Old Stratford, West Northamptonshire to M1 J15 West Northamptonshire · 9.7 mi · HGVs 5.2% | 13,642 |
| A43/A5123 to A428/A5123 West Northamptonshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 0.8% | 13,210 |
| Lathkill St to A4304 Leicestershire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 2.5% | 11,074 |
| Brampton Lane, Northampton to A14 West Northamptonshire · 8.7 mi · HGVs 5.6% | 10,553 |
| A14(T) to Lathkill St West Northamptonshire, Leicestershire · 5.1 mi · HGVs 3.0% | 7,553 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
West Northamptonshire to Leicestershire · 29.2 miles
A508 traffic and collisions by section
12 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 1 short link roads and spurs (0.2 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Stratford, West Northamptonshire to M1 J15West Northamptonshire | 13,642 | 52 |
| 2 | A45 to A508 Cattle Market RdWest Northamptonshire | 15,969 | 35 |
| 3 | A508 split to A5123West Northamptonshire | 7,530 | 5 |
| 4 | A43/A5123 to A428/A5123West Northamptonshire | 13,210 | 31 |
| 5 | A5123 to A5095West Northamptonshire | 17,784 | 45 |
| 6 | At A5095West Northamptonshire | 19,131 | 26 |
| 7 | A5095 to A5199West Northamptonshire | 40,509 | 15 |
| 8 | A5199 to A5076West Northamptonshire | 13,935 | 25 |
| 9 | A5076 to Brampton LaneWest Northamptonshire | 20,395 | 8 |
| 10 | Brampton Lane, Northampton to A14West Northamptonshire | 10,553 | 31 |
| 11 | A14(T) to Lathkill StWest Northamptonshire, Leicestershire | 7,553 | 7 |
| 12 | Lathkill St to A4304Leicestershire | 11,074 | fewer than 3 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A508 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.
A508 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 79.4% of the vehicle miles on the A508. HGVs account for 4.2%, rising to 5.6% on Brampton Lane, Northampton to A14.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.1% |
| 2001 | 6.5% |
| 2002 | 5.7% |
| 2003 | 5.1% |
| 2004 | 5.7% |
| 2005 | 5.2% |
| 2006 | 5.6% |
| 2007 | 6.5% |
| 2008 | 6.4% |
| 2009 | 4.9% |
| 2010 | 4.9% |
| 2011 | 4.9% |
| 2012 | 5.0% |
| 2013 | 4.7% |
| 2014 | 4.6% |
| 2015 | 4.6% |
| 2016 | 4.7% |
| 2017 | 4.7% |
| 2018 | 4.7% |
| 2019 | 5.0% |
| 2020 | 5.8% |
| 2021 | 5.7% |
| 2022 | 5.5% |
| 2023 | 3.8% |
| 2024 | 4.4% |
| 2025 | 4.2% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A508 traffic trend
Traffic on the A508 came to 130 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 8.8% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 11.9% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 4.3% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 153m |
| 2001 | 161m |
| 2002 | 125m |
| 2003 | 126m |
| 2004 | 131m |
| 2005 | 128m |
| 2006 | 124m |
| 2007 | 132m |
| 2008 | 123m |
| 2009 | 119m |
| 2010 | 117m |
| 2011 | 116m |
| 2012 | 114m |
| 2013 | 119m |
| 2014 | 123m |
| 2015 | 125m |
| 2016 | 128m |
| 2017 | 135m |
| 2018 | 136m |
| 2019 | 148m |
| 2020 | 112m |
| 2021 | 123m |
| 2022 | 133m |
| 2023 | 95m |
| 2024 | 131m |
| 2025 | 130m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 13,615 |
| 2001 | 14,331 |
| 2002 | 11,910 |
| 2003 | 12,056 |
| 2004 | 12,466 |
| 2005 | 12,222 |
| 2006 | 11,859 |
| 2007 | 12,639 |
| 2008 | 11,754 |
| 2009 | 11,390 |
| 2010 | 11,197 |
| 2011 | 11,091 |
| 2012 | 10,892 |
| 2013 | 11,392 |
| 2014 | 11,702 |
| 2015 | 11,969 |
| 2016 | 12,244 |
| 2017 | 12,849 |
| 2018 | 12,915 |
| 2019 | 14,050 |
| 2020 | 10,672 |
| 2021 | 11,731 |
| 2022 | 12,659 |
| 2023 | 8,785 |
| 2024 | 12,306 |
| 2025 | 12,168 |
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 (66.8% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 3 of the 14 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A508 collisions
Police recorded 285 collisions with the A508 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 46 of them fatal or serious, including 5 fatal. That is 46.6 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 2.0 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
About the same in 2025 as in 2021.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | 10 |
| 2022 | 46 | 9 |
| 2023 | 43 | 7 |
| 2024 | 55 | 9 |
| 2025 | 46 | 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 |
|---|---|
| A43/A5123 to A428/A5123 West Northamptonshire · 31 collisions | 207.1 |
| A5123 to A5095 West Northamptonshire · 45 collisions | 204.4 |
| A5199 to A5076 West Northamptonshire · 25 collisions | 171.1 |
| At A5095 West Northamptonshire · 26 collisions | 129.4 |
| Old Stratford, West Northamptonshire to M1 J15 West Northamptonshire · 52 collisions | 107.7 |
| A45 to A508 Cattle Market Rd West Northamptonshire · 35 collisions | 103.3 |
| Brampton Lane, Northampton to A14 West Northamptonshire · 31 collisions | 19.2 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 50 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A508 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 A508
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- West Northamptonshire
- Leicestershire
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 | 14 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 285 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.