Trunk A-road
A590 traffic and collisions
The A590 is a trunk A-road of 35.7 miles, in Westmorland and Furness. This page covers its traffic at 16 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 267m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 20,500 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 31,790 M6 to A591
- HGV share 4.5% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +2.4% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 201 16.6 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A590?
On an average day in 2025, 20,500 vehicles passed each point on the A590, counting both directions. The busiest section is M6 to A591 (Westmorland and Furness), with 31,790 a day; the quietest listed is Biggar Bank Road to A5087, with 1,042.
Busiest sections, 2025
M6 to A591 carries 1.6 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| M6 to A591 Westmorland and Furness · 3.7 mi · HGVs 4.8% | 31,790 |
| A591 to A6 Westmorland and Furness · 0.6 mi · HGVs 3.9% | 29,567 |
| A6 to A5074 Westmorland and Furness · 1.1 mi · HGVs 3.9% | 28,326 |
| At A6 Westmorland and Furness · 0.7 mi · HGVs 4.6% | 25,248 |
| Main Rd to A595 Westmorland and Furness · 3.3 mi · HGVs 4.3% | 22,885 |
| LIGHTBURN ROAD to Main Rd Westmorland and Furness · 1.2 mi · HGVs 3.1% | 21,558 |
| B5278 to A5092(T) Westmorland and Furness · 2.1 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 20,370 |
| A592 to B5278 Westmorland and Furness · 2.8 mi · HGVs 5.1% | 19,604 |
| A595 to A590 - Park Road Roundabout Westmorland and Furness · 1.1 mi · HGVs 2.4% | 18,821 |
| A590 - Park Road Roundabout to Biggar Bank Road Westmorland and Furness · 3.5 mi · HGVs 2.4% | 18,821 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
In Westmorland and Furness · 35.7 miles
A590 traffic and collisions by section
16 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.
Show all 16 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M6 to A591Westmorland and Furness | 31,790 | 22 |
| 2 | A591 to A6Westmorland and Furness | 29,567 | 3 |
| 3 | At A6Westmorland and Furness | 25,248 | 0 |
| 4 | A6 spur to A6 mid-junctionWestmorland and Furness | 24,077 | 3 |
| 5 | A6 to A5074Westmorland and Furness | 28,326 | 8 |
| 6 | A5074 to A592Westmorland and Furness | 18,636 | 21 |
| 7 | A592 to B5278Westmorland and Furness | 19,604 | 11 |
| 8 | B5278 to A5092(T)Westmorland and Furness | 20,370 | 10 |
| 9 | A5092 to A5087Westmorland and Furness | 18,493 | 30 |
| 10 | At A5087Westmorland and Furness | 18,574 | 3 |
| 11 | A5087 to LIGHTBURN ROADWestmorland and Furness | 20,110 | 8 |
| 12 | LIGHTBURN ROAD to Main RdWestmorland and Furness | 21,558 | 13 |
| 13 | Main Rd to A595Westmorland and Furness | 22,885 | 14 |
| 14 | A595 to A590 - Park Road RoundaboutWestmorland and Furness | 18,821 | 5 |
| 15 | A590 - Park Road Roundabout to Biggar Bank RoadWestmorland and Furness | 18,821 | 19 |
| 16 | Biggar Bank Road to A5087Westmorland and Furness | 1,042 | 20 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A590 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.
A590 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 74.9% of the vehicle miles on the A590. HGVs account for 4.5%, rising to 5.7% on A5074 to A592.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.4% |
| 2001 | 6.6% |
| 2002 | 6.5% |
| 2003 | 6.4% |
| 2004 | 6.6% |
| 2005 | 6.1% |
| 2006 | 6.0% |
| 2007 | 6.6% |
| 2008 | 6.0% |
| 2009 | 5.9% |
| 2010 | 6.0% |
| 2011 | 5.9% |
| 2012 | 6.1% |
| 2013 | 6.1% |
| 2014 | 6.0% |
| 2015 | 6.2% |
| 2016 | 5.9% |
| 2017 | 5.9% |
| 2018 | 5.6% |
| 2019 | 5.5% |
| 2020 | 6.5% |
| 2021 | 6.5% |
| 2022 | 5.7% |
| 2023 | 5.4% |
| 2024 | 4.8% |
| 2025 | 4.5% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A590 traffic trend
Traffic on the A590 came to 267 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 2.4% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 15.5% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 20.3% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 227m |
| 2001 | 226m |
| 2002 | 234m |
| 2003 | 239m |
| 2004 | 240m |
| 2005 | 239m |
| 2006 | 242m |
| 2007 | 231m |
| 2008 | 198m |
| 2009 | 226m |
| 2010 | 225m |
| 2011 | 228m |
| 2012 | 223m |
| 2013 | 225m |
| 2014 | 227m |
| 2015 | 231m |
| 2016 | 244m |
| 2017 | 254m |
| 2018 | 267m |
| 2019 | 267m |
| 2020 | 186m |
| 2021 | 205m |
| 2022 | 231m |
| 2023 | 241m |
| 2024 | 267m |
| 2025 | 267m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 17,613 |
| 2001 | 17,572 |
| 2002 | 18,145 |
| 2003 | 18,573 |
| 2004 | 18,594 |
| 2005 | 18,582 |
| 2006 | 18,212 |
| 2007 | 17,946 |
| 2008 | 18,464 |
| 2009 | 17,696 |
| 2010 | 17,587 |
| 2011 | 17,872 |
| 2012 | 17,450 |
| 2013 | 17,629 |
| 2014 | 17,732 |
| 2015 | 18,109 |
| 2016 | 19,180 |
| 2017 | 19,957 |
| 2018 | 20,691 |
| 2019 | 20,748 |
| 2020 | 14,303 |
| 2021 | 15,736 |
| 2022 | 17,752 |
| 2023 | 18,527 |
| 2024 | 20,466 |
| 2025 | 20,500 |
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 (61.6% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 5 of the 16 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A590 collisions
Police recorded 201 collisions with the A590 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 76 of them fatal or serious, including 7 fatal. That is 16.6 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 1.1 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 | 22 | 15 |
| 2022 | 27 | 10 |
| 2023 | 31 | 18 |
| 2024 | 20 | 21 |
| 2025 | 25 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Biggar Bank Road to A5087 Westmorland and Furness · 20 collisions | 642.5 |
| LIGHTBURN ROAD to Main Rd Westmorland and Furness · 13 collisions | 30.3 |
| A5092 to A5087 Westmorland and Furness · 30 collisions | 27.6 |
| A590 - Park Road Roundabout to Biggar Bank Road Westmorland and Furness · 19 collisions | 16.9 |
| B5278 to A5092(T) Westmorland and Furness · 10 collisions | 13.9 |
| A592 to B5278 Westmorland and Furness · 11 collisions | 11.9 |
| M6 to A591 Westmorland and Furness · 22 collisions | 11.0 |
| Main Rd to A595 Westmorland and Furness · 14 collisions | 10.7 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 19 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A590 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 94.5% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions
Council areas on the A590
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Westmorland and Furness
Planned closures on the A590 in England
National Highways has 5 planned closures on the A590 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, 4 of them starting in that period., and 4 start between 7pm and 6am.
-
Lane or slip A590 Eastbound Haverthwaite Dual carriageway Lane closure with convoy working (Mp 19/0 - 20/4)
-
Lane or slip A590 Eastbound Haverthwaite Dual carriageway Lane closure with convoy working (Mp 19/0 - 20/4)
-
Lane or slip A590 Eastbound and Westbound Brettargh Holt to Levens Lane 2 closure
-
Lane or slip A590 Eastbound to Westbound Newby Bridge to Haverthwaite Traffic signals
-
Lane or slip A590 Westbound Greenodd Roundabout to Arrad Foot Junction Layby 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 | 16 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 201 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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