A-road

A53 traffic and collisions

The A53 is an A-road of 53.9 miles, from Shropshire to Derbyshire. This page covers its traffic at 33 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated: 15 September 2026
Data source: Department for Transport
Records analysed: 33 count points in 2025
Methodology: View methodology

Traffic in 2025 210m vehicle miles
Average daily traffic 10,693 vehicles a day, both directions
Busiest section 44,267 A500 to A5010
HGV share 5.8% of vehicle miles
Traffic since 2019 −1.7% same count points
Collisions, 2021 to 2025 212 21.2 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A53?

On an average day in 2025, 10,693 vehicles passed each point on the A53, counting both directions. The busiest section is A500 to A5010 (Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent), with 44,267 a day; the quietest listed is C road to Shaw Bottom to A54, with 4,591.

Busiest sections, 2025

A500 to A5010 carries 4.1 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A53 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section	Vehicles a day
A500 to A5010 Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent · 0.8 mi · HGVs 2.9%	44,267
A5010 to A50 Stoke-on-Trent · 0.7 mi · HGVs 3.4%	28,161
A41(T) to A529 Shropshire · 2.9 mi · HGVs 6.9%	17,597
Sunnyhills Rd to A520 Staffordshire · 0.8 mi · HGVs 3.5%	15,558
A50 to A5272 Stoke-on-Trent · 0.9 mi · HGVs 3.4%	15,308
Borough Rd to A500(T) Staffordshire · 0.9 mi · HGVs 1.7%	14,709
A5272 to A5009 Stoke-on-Trent · 1.9 mi · HGVs 3.1%	13,605
A5009 to B5051 Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire · 1.5 mi · HGVs 3.0%	13,268
A529 to B5026 Shropshire, Staffordshire · 4.2 mi · HGVs 9.3%	13,199
B5051 to Sunnyhills Rd, Leek Staffordshire · 3.7 mi · HGVs 4.4%	12,576

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

Route

Shropshire to Derbyshire · 53.9 miles

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

A53 traffic and collisions by section

28 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 1 short link roads and spurs (0.1 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.

Show all 28 sections Tap a column heading to sort

Sections of the A53 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1	A49 to B5063Shropshire	4.4	9,015	5.3%	−6.0%	12	17.2
2	B5063 to A442Shropshire	5.5	6,824	6.3%	−5.3%	7	–
3	A442 to A41(T)Shropshire	3.4	9,663	9.9%	+0.2%	4	–
4	A41(T) to A529Shropshire	2.9	17,597	6.9%	+6.1%	9	–
5	A529 to B5026Shropshire, Staffordshire	4.2	13,199	9.3%	+1.7%	11	11.5
6	B5026 to A51Staffordshire	2.8	8,623	7.1%	−5.2%	5	–
7	A51 to A5182Staffordshire	3.7	12,381	5.9%	−2.4%	9	–
8	A5182 to Seabridge LaneStaffordshire	1.4	7,636	2.8%	+3.5%	fewer than 3	–
9	Seabridge Lane to Blackfriars RdStaffordshire	1.5	8,013	1.6%	−21.0%	4	–
10	Friarswood Rd to A34Staffordshire	0.1	11,000	2.4%	−14.0%	0	–
11	A52/A527 to Borough RdStaffordshire	0.1	12,810	1.5%	−5.7%	3	–
12	Borough Rd to A500(T)Staffordshire	0.9	14,709	1.7%	+0.8%	4	–
13	A500 to A5010Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent	0.8	44,267	2.9%	−11.9%	5	–
14	A5010 to A50Stoke-on-Trent	0.7	28,161	3.4%	−3.7%	12	34.8
15	A50 to A5272Stoke-on-Trent	0.9	15,308	3.4%	+18.3%	13	63.4
16	A5272 to A5009Stoke-on-Trent	1.9	13,605	3.1%	+5.8%	9	–
17	A5009 to B5051Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire	1.5	13,268	3.0%	−5.4%	12	34.1
18	B5051 to Sunnyhills Rd, LeekStaffordshire	3.7	12,576	4.4%	−2.5%	12	14.7
19	Sunnyhills Rd to A520Staffordshire	0.8	15,558	3.5%	−4.8%	10	45.5
20	A520 to A523(T)Staffordshire	0.2	14,825	4.3%	+3.8%	4	–
21	At A523(T)Staffordshire	0.1	8,501	4.4%	−5.1%	fewer than 3	–
22	A523 Springfield Rd to Thorncliff RdStaffordshire	0.3	7,157	6.2%	+4.6%	fewer than 3	–
23	Thorncliff Rd, Leek to C road to Shaw BottomStaffordshire	4.5	6,627	6.2%	+4.6%	11	22.3
24	C road to Shaw Bottom to A54Staffordshire, Derbyshire	5.6	4,591	9.0%	+3.4%	28	66.7
25	A54 to Macclesfield Old RdDerbyshire	0.5	5,765	8.8%	−4.9%	8	–
26	Macclesfield Old Rd to A5004Derbyshire	0.9	6,335	8.8%	−4.9%	8	–
27	A5004 to A515Derbyshire	0.1	11,850	4.3%	−5.2%	fewer than 3	–
28	A515 to A6Derbyshire	0.4	13,106	4.9%	−5.6%	6	–

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A53 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.

A53 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 76.3% of the vehicle miles on the A53. HGVs account for 5.8%, rising to 9.9% on A442 to A41(T).

Vehicle mix, 2025

Share of vehicle miles on the A53 by vehicle type
Category	Share
Cars and taxis	76.3%
Vans (LGVs)	16.9%
HGVs	5.8%
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 A53, by year
Year	HGV share
2000	6.3%
2001	6.1%
2002	6.1%
2003	5.8%
2004	6.0%
2005	6.0%
2006	6.1%
2007	6.1%
2008	6.0%
2009	5.4%
2010	5.3%
2011	5.3%
2012	5.2%
2013	5.2%
2014	5.3%
2015	5.4%
2016	5.3%
2017	5.3%
2018	5.4%
2019	5.4%
2020	6.4%
2021	6.3%
2022	6.3%
2023	6.0%
2024	5.9%
2025	5.8%

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

A53 traffic trend

Traffic on the A53 came to 210 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 1.7% on 2019, before the pandemic, and about the same as in 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 6.9% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A53 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year	Vehicle miles
2000	188m
2001	194m
2002	201m
2003	204m
2004	207m
2005	204m
2006	206m
2007	209m
2008	206m
2009	207m
2010	206m
2011	204m
2012	203m
2013	201m
2014	205m
2015	209m
2016	212m
2017	212m
2018	213m
2019	214m
2020	162m
2021	182m
2022	198m
2023	202m
2024	207m
2025	210m

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

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A53, weighted by link length, by year
Year	Vehicles a day
2000	9,625
2001	9,904
2002	10,245
2003	10,402
2004	10,534
2005	10,379
2006	10,469
2007	10,654
2008	10,464
2009	10,531
2010	10,475
2011	10,401
2012	10,314
2013	10,255
2014	10,460
2015	10,633
2016	10,783
2017	10,769
2018	10,819
2019	10,873
2020	8,253
2021	9,246
2022	10,064
2023	10,254
2024	10,499
2025	10,693

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, 8 of the 33 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A53 collisions

Police recorded 212 collisions with the A53 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 70 of them fatal or serious, including 7 fatal. That is 21.2 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.8 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

Up 97.0% 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 A53, 2021 to 2025
Section	Per 100m vehicle miles
C road to Shaw Bottom to A54 Staffordshire, Derbyshire · 28 collisions	66.7
A50 to A5272 Stoke-on-Trent · 13 collisions	63.4
Sunnyhills Rd to A520 Staffordshire · 10 collisions	45.5
A5010 to A50 Stoke-on-Trent · 12 collisions	34.8
A5009 to B5051 Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire · 12 collisions	34.1
Thorncliff Rd, Leek to C road to Shaw Bottom Staffordshire · 11 collisions	22.3
A49 to B5063 Shropshire · 12 collisions	17.2
B5051 to Sunnyhills Rd, Leek Staffordshire · 12 collisions	14.7

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

A further 35 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A53 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 A53

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

Shropshire
Staffordshire
Stoke-on-Trent
Derbyshire

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	33 count points in 2025	15 September 2026
Reported collisions	Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring	2021 to 2025	212 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 A53?

Route

A53 traffic and collisions by section

A53 traffic by vehicle type

A53 traffic trend

A53 collisions

Council areas on the A53

Roads that meet the A53

Data sources and methodology

Related statistics