Trunk A-road
A511 traffic and collisions
The A511 is a trunk A-road of 25.6 miles, from Leicestershire to Derbyshire. This page covers its traffic at 17 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 148m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 15,862 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 36,907 M1 to B591 Copt Oak Rd
- HGV share 6.7% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +2.1% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 177 25.9 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A511?
On an average day in 2025, 15,862 vehicles passed each point on the A511, counting both directions. The busiest section is M1 to B591 Copt Oak Rd (Leicestershire), with 36,907 a day; the quietest listed is Malthouse Lane to A511 spur, with 5,331.
Busiest sections, 2025
M1 to B591 Copt Oak Rd carries 2.3 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| M1 to B591 Copt Oak Rd Leicestershire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 14.0% | 36,907 |
| Thornborough Rd to A447 Leicestershire · 0.9 mi · HGVs 6.8% | 23,591 |
| A447 to A42(T) Leicestershire · 2.9 mi · HGVs 9.5% | 20,437 |
| B591 Copt Oak Rd to Waterorks Rd, Coalville Leicestershire · 2.4 mi · HGVs 10.6% | 20,340 |
| A444 to A5121 Staffordshire · 1.0 mi · HGVs 3.9% | 19,457 |
| A511/A42 Trunk Road Intersection to Butt Lane Leicestershire, Derbyshire · 4.5 mi · HGVs 4.9% | 18,942 |
| Butt Lane to A514 Derbyshire · 0.5 mi · HGVs 4.9% | 16,889 |
| Wood Lane, Swadlincote to A444 Derbyshire, Staffordshire · 2.5 mi · HGVs 2.7% | 16,133 |
| A514 to Wood Lane Derbyshire · 2.1 mi · HGVs 2.3% | 14,175 |
| Waterworks Rd to Thornborough Rd Leicestershire · 1.8 mi · HGVs 11.9% | 11,430 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Leicestershire to Derbyshire · 25.6 miles
A511 traffic and collisions by section
14 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M1 to B591 Copt Oak RdLeicestershire | 36,907 | 3 |
| 2 | B591 Copt Oak Rd to Waterorks Rd, CoalvilleLeicestershire | 20,340 | 18 |
| 3 | Waterworks Rd to Thornborough RdLeicestershire | 11,430 | 12 |
| 4 | Thornborough Rd to A447Leicestershire | 23,591 | 8 |
| 5 | A447 to A42(T)Leicestershire | 20,437 | 13 |
| 6 | A511/A42 Trunk Road Intersection to Butt LaneLeicestershire, Derbyshire | 18,942 | 14 |
| 7 | Butt Lane to A514Derbyshire | 16,889 | 13 |
| 8 | A514 to Wood LaneDerbyshire | 14,175 | 20 |
| 9 | Wood Lane, Swadlincote to A444Derbyshire, Staffordshire | 16,133 | 12 |
| 10 | A444 to A5121Staffordshire | 19,457 | 24 |
| 11 | A5121 to Harehedge LaneStaffordshire | 10,064 | 20 |
| 12 | Harehedge Lane, Burton on Trent to Malthouse LaneStaffordshire, Derbyshire | 8,061 | 14 |
| 13 | Malthouse Lane to A511 spurDerbyshire | 5,331 | fewer than 3 |
| 14 | A511 spur to A50Derbyshire | 5,000 | 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 A511 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.
A511 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 77.5% of the vehicle miles on the A511. HGVs account for 6.7%, rising to 14.0% on M1 to B591 Copt Oak Rd.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.6% |
| 2001 | 8.7% |
| 2002 | 8.8% |
| 2003 | 8.9% |
| 2004 | 9.1% |
| 2005 | 9.1% |
| 2006 | 8.7% |
| 2007 | 8.8% |
| 2008 | 8.6% |
| 2009 | 7.9% |
| 2010 | 7.8% |
| 2011 | 7.6% |
| 2012 | 7.6% |
| 2013 | 7.8% |
| 2014 | 7.5% |
| 2015 | 7.5% |
| 2016 | 7.5% |
| 2017 | 7.7% |
| 2018 | 7.9% |
| 2019 | 7.9% |
| 2020 | 8.7% |
| 2021 | 8.4% |
| 2022 | 7.7% |
| 2023 | 7.4% |
| 2024 | 7.1% |
| 2025 | 6.7% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A511 traffic trend
Traffic on the A511 came to 148 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 2.1% on 2019, before the pandemic, and about the same as in 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 3.3% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 129m |
| 2001 | 129m |
| 2002 | 130m |
| 2003 | 132m |
| 2004 | 135m |
| 2005 | 133m |
| 2006 | 137m |
| 2007 | 136m |
| 2008 | 133m |
| 2009 | 131m |
| 2010 | 129m |
| 2011 | 131m |
| 2012 | 131m |
| 2013 | 131m |
| 2014 | 134m |
| 2015 | 137m |
| 2016 | 138m |
| 2017 | 137m |
| 2018 | 138m |
| 2019 | 139m |
| 2020 | 113m |
| 2021 | 124m |
| 2022 | 135m |
| 2023 | 137m |
| 2024 | 140m |
| 2025 | 148m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 13,737 |
| 2001 | 13,791 |
| 2002 | 13,981 |
| 2003 | 14,203 |
| 2004 | 14,466 |
| 2005 | 14,293 |
| 2006 | 14,722 |
| 2007 | 14,565 |
| 2008 | 14,248 |
| 2009 | 14,055 |
| 2010 | 13,840 |
| 2011 | 14,047 |
| 2012 | 14,033 |
| 2013 | 14,041 |
| 2014 | 14,372 |
| 2015 | 14,791 |
| 2016 | 14,871 |
| 2017 | 14,723 |
| 2018 | 14,737 |
| 2019 | 14,996 |
| 2020 | 12,167 |
| 2021 | 13,421 |
| 2022 | 14,565 |
| 2023 | 14,798 |
| 2024 | 15,126 |
| 2025 | 15,862 |
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 (71.1% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 5 of the 17 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A511 collisions
Police recorded 177 collisions with the A511 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 54 of them fatal or serious, including 5 fatal. That is 25.9 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 26.9% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | 9 |
| 2022 | 23 | 12 |
| 2023 | 30 | 14 |
| 2024 | 28 | 11 |
| 2025 | 24 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Butt Lane to A514 Derbyshire · 13 collisions | 86.9 |
| A5121 to Harehedge Lane Staffordshire · 20 collisions | 80.7 |
| A444 to A5121 Staffordshire · 24 collisions | 69.7 |
| A447 to A42(T) Leicestershire · 13 collisions | 60.1 |
| A514 to Wood Lane Derbyshire · 20 collisions | 41.6 |
| Waterworks Rd to Thornborough Rd Leicestershire · 12 collisions | 34.3 |
| Harehedge Lane, Burton on Trent to Malthouse Lane Staffordshire, Derbyshire · 14 collisions | 26.7 |
| A511/A42 Trunk Road Intersection to Butt Lane Leicestershire, Derbyshire · 14 collisions | 23.7 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 11 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A511 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 A511
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Leicestershire
- Derbyshire
- Staffordshire
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 | 17 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 177 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.