A-road
A572 traffic and collisions
The A572 is an A-road of 18.4 miles, from Salford to St. Helens. This page covers its traffic at 22 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 85m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 12,615 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 17,533 A574 to A578
- HGV share 1.9% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +2.3% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 146 37.2 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A572?
On an average day in 2025, 12,615 vehicles passed each point on the A572, counting both directions. The busiest section is A574 to A578 (Wigan), with 17,533 a day; the quietest listed is A579 to A573, with 6,145.
Busiest sections, 2025
A574 to A578 carries 1.4 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A574 to A578 Wigan · 0.9 mi · HGVs 1.0% | 17,533 |
| M60 to Falconwood Chase Salford · 1.0 mi · HGVs 3.4% | 17,093 |
| A578 to A579 Wigan · 1.2 mi · HGVs 1.5% | 15,463 |
| Wharf Rd to Waring Ave St. Helens, Warrington · 1.0 mi · HGVs 1.6% | 14,057 |
| Falconwood Chase to A577 Salford · 0.6 mi · HGVs 3.6% | 13,616 |
| Waring Ave to A58 St. Helens · 1.7 mi · HGVs 1.4% | 13,364 |
| A579 to A580(T) Wigan · 1.9 mi · HGVs 1.3% | 13,053 |
| A5082 to A574 Wigan · 2.3 mi · HGVs 0.5% | 12,476 |
| A6 to A580 Salford · 0.5 mi · HGVs 0.7% | 12,393 |
| A580 to M60 slip road roundabout Salford · 1.7 mi · HGVs 1.4% | 10,730 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Salford to St. Helens · 18.4 miles
A572 traffic and collisions by section
19 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.
Show all 19 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A6 to A580Salford | 12,393 | 6 |
| 2 | A580 to M60 slip road roundaboutSalford | 10,730 | 14 |
| 3 | M60 junction midpoint to M60 slipsSalford | 32,100 | 0 |
| 4 | At M60Salford | 32,100 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | M60 to Falconwood ChaseSalford | 17,093 | fewer than 3 |
| 6 | Falconwood Chase to A577Salford | 13,616 | 9 |
| 7 | A577 to A580(T)Salford | 9,126 | fewer than 3 |
| 8 | A580 to A5082Wigan | 9,004 | 5 |
| 9 | A5082 to A574Wigan | 12,476 | 22 |
| 10 | A574 to A578Wigan | 17,533 | 8 |
| 11 | A578 to A579Wigan | 15,463 | 15 |
| 12 | A579 to A580(T)Wigan | 13,053 | 16 |
| 13 | A580 to A579Wigan | 19,378 | fewer than 3 |
| 14 | A579 to A573Wigan, St. Helens | 6,145 | 3 |
| 15 | A573 to Warren DriveSt. Helens | 5,752 | fewer than 3 |
| 16 | Warren Drive to A49St. Helens | 6,321 | fewer than 3 |
| 17 | A49 to Wharf RdSt. Helens | 10,692 | 14 |
| 18 | Wharf Rd to Waring AveSt. Helens, Warrington | 14,057 | 7 |
| 19 | Waring Ave to A58St. Helens | 13,364 | 18 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A572 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.
A572 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 83.8% of the vehicle miles on the A572. HGVs account for 1.9%, rising to 4.4% on A580 to A5082.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.2% |
| 2001 | 3.1% |
| 2002 | 2.9% |
| 2003 | 3.0% |
| 2004 | 3.2% |
| 2005 | 3.5% |
| 2006 | 3.4% |
| 2007 | 3.2% |
| 2008 | 3.3% |
| 2009 | 2.9% |
| 2010 | 2.8% |
| 2011 | 2.9% |
| 2012 | 3.0% |
| 2013 | 3.0% |
| 2014 | 2.9% |
| 2015 | 2.8% |
| 2016 | 2.4% |
| 2017 | 2.4% |
| 2018 | 2.4% |
| 2019 | 2.4% |
| 2020 | 2.7% |
| 2021 | 2.6% |
| 2022 | 2.5% |
| 2023 | 2.4% |
| 2024 | 2.1% |
| 2025 | 1.9% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A572 traffic trend
Traffic on the A572 came to 84.7 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 2.3% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 5.8% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 1.0% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 84m |
| 2001 | 85m |
| 2002 | 87m |
| 2003 | 85m |
| 2004 | 87m |
| 2005 | 85m |
| 2006 | 86m |
| 2007 | 85m |
| 2008 | 84m |
| 2009 | 86m |
| 2010 | 86m |
| 2011 | 87m |
| 2012 | 86m |
| 2013 | 87m |
| 2014 | 88m |
| 2015 | 90m |
| 2016 | 90m |
| 2017 | 86m |
| 2018 | 85m |
| 2019 | 83m |
| 2020 | 65m |
| 2021 | 71m |
| 2022 | 77m |
| 2023 | 78m |
| 2024 | 82m |
| 2025 | 85m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 12,516 |
| 2001 | 12,614 |
| 2002 | 12,881 |
| 2003 | 12,644 |
| 2004 | 12,946 |
| 2005 | 12,629 |
| 2006 | 12,817 |
| 2007 | 12,650 |
| 2008 | 12,568 |
| 2009 | 12,803 |
| 2010 | 12,815 |
| 2011 | 12,973 |
| 2012 | 12,857 |
| 2013 | 12,914 |
| 2014 | 13,144 |
| 2015 | 13,442 |
| 2016 | 13,348 |
| 2017 | 12,840 |
| 2018 | 12,525 |
| 2019 | 12,337 |
| 2020 | 9,616 |
| 2021 | 10,596 |
| 2022 | 11,451 |
| 2023 | 11,653 |
| 2024 | 12,154 |
| 2025 | 12,615 |
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. In 2025, 2 of the 22 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A572 collisions
Police recorded 146 collisions with the A572 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 55 of them fatal or serious, including 5 fatal. That is 37.2 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 1.6 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 24.1% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | 7 |
| 2022 | 20 | 12 |
| 2023 | 22 | 7 |
| 2024 | 18 | 16 |
| 2025 | 10 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Waring Ave to A58 St. Helens · 18 collisions | 50.5 |
| A580 to M60 slip road roundabout Salford · 14 collisions | 48.9 |
| A578 to A579 Wigan · 15 collisions | 46.0 |
| A5082 to A574 Wigan · 22 collisions | 45.7 |
| A49 to Wharf Rd St. Helens · 14 collisions | 43.5 |
| A579 to A580(T) Wigan · 16 collisions | 36.9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 23 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A572 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 A572
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Salford
- Wigan
- St. Helens
- Warrington
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 | 22 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 146 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.