A-road
A642 traffic and collisions
The A642 is an A-road of 22.4 miles, from Kirklees to Leeds. This page covers its traffic at 16 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 100m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 12,282 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 18,206 A6194 to Moorhouse Grove, Bottom Boat
- HGV share 1.7% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −0.6% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 230 48.3 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A642?
On an average day in 2025, 12,282 vehicles passed each point on the A642, counting both directions. The busiest section is A6194 to Moorhouse Grove, Bottom Boat (Wakefield), with 18,206 a day; the quietest listed is Count point 92049, with 8,387.
Busiest sections, 2025
A6194 to Moorhouse Grove, Bottom Boat carries 1.5 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A6194 to Moorhouse Grove, Bottom Boat Wakefield · 1.7 mi · HGVs 2.2% | 18,206 |
| M62 to Oulton Drive Leeds · 1.1 mi · HGVs 3.0% | 17,212 |
| A639 to Pottery Lane Leeds · 0.7 mi · HGVs 0.6% | 16,712 |
| Bridge Rd, Horbury to A638 Wakefield · 3.4 mi · HGVs 0.7% | 15,866 |
| A61 to A6194 Wakefield · 0.8 mi · HGVs 1.8% | 15,010 |
| Junction where A629 Penistone Road and A642 Wakefield Road to Roundabout with A642 Wakefield Road and A637 Barnsley Road (near Grange Moor, Kirklees) Kirklees · 3.4 mi · HGVs 2.2% | 11,445 |
| Pottery Lane, Woodlesford to A63 Leeds · 2.5 mi · HGVs 0.8% | 10,810 |
| A63(T) to Cedar Ridge Leeds · 2.2 mi · HGVs 0.7% | 10,538 |
| A637 to Bridge Rd, Horbury Kirklees, Wakefield · 4.3 mi · HGVs 3.2% | 8,817 |
| Count point 92049 Wakefield · 0.6 mi · HGVs 1.1% | 8,387 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Kirklees to Leeds · 22.4 miles
A642 traffic and collisions by section
15 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 | Junction where A629 Penistone Road and A642 Wakefield Road to Roundabout with A642 Wakefield Road and A637 Barnsley Road (near Grange Moor, Kirklees)Kirklees | 11,445 | 20 |
| 2 | A637 to Bridge Rd, HorburyKirklees, Wakefield | 8,817 | 18 |
| 3 | Bridge Rd, Horbury to A638Wakefield | 15,866 | 53 |
| 4 | Count point 92049Wakefield | 8,387 | 20 |
| 5 | A61 to A6194Wakefield | 15,010 | 13 |
| 6 | A6194 to A6194 spur Novale WayWakefield | 8,019 | 3 |
| 7 | A6194 to Moorhouse Grove, Bottom BoatWakefield | 18,206 | 18 |
| 8 | Moorhouse Grove, Bottom Boat to M62Wakefield | 9,103 | 11 |
| 9 | M62 to Oulton DriveLeeds | 17,212 | 18 |
| 10 | Oulton Drive to A639Leeds | 18,245 | 4 |
| 11 | At A639Leeds | 3,906 | fewer than 3 |
| 12 | A639 to Pottery LaneLeeds | 16,712 | 7 |
| 13 | Pottery Lane, Woodlesford to A63Leeds | 10,810 | 22 |
| 14 | A63(T) to Cedar RidgeLeeds | 10,538 | 17 |
| 15 | Cedar Ridge, Garforth to M1Leeds | 9,589 | 5 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A642 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.
A642 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 83.6% of the vehicle miles on the A642. HGVs account for 1.7%, rising to 3.2% on A637 to Bridge Rd, Horbury.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.7% |
| 2001 | 2.2% |
| 2002 | 2.2% |
| 2003 | 2.3% |
| 2004 | 2.3% |
| 2005 | 2.4% |
| 2006 | 2.0% |
| 2007 | 2.0% |
| 2008 | 2.0% |
| 2009 | 1.7% |
| 2010 | 1.7% |
| 2011 | 1.7% |
| 2012 | 1.7% |
| 2013 | 1.7% |
| 2014 | 1.7% |
| 2015 | 1.6% |
| 2016 | 1.7% |
| 2017 | 1.8% |
| 2018 | 1.8% |
| 2019 | 1.8% |
| 2020 | 2.0% |
| 2021 | 2.0% |
| 2022 | 1.9% |
| 2023 | 1.8% |
| 2024 | 1.7% |
| 2025 | 1.7% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A642 traffic trend
Traffic on the A642 came to 100 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 0.6% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 4.4% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 1.1% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 98m |
| 2001 | 106m |
| 2002 | 103m |
| 2003 | 103m |
| 2004 | 106m |
| 2005 | 101m |
| 2006 | 107m |
| 2007 | 105m |
| 2008 | 104m |
| 2009 | 104m |
| 2010 | 104m |
| 2011 | 103m |
| 2012 | 102m |
| 2013 | 101m |
| 2014 | 104m |
| 2015 | 107m |
| 2016 | 102m |
| 2017 | 97m |
| 2018 | 102m |
| 2019 | 101m |
| 2020 | 78m |
| 2021 | 86m |
| 2022 | 93m |
| 2023 | 97m |
| 2024 | 100m |
| 2025 | 100m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 12,176 |
| 2001 | 13,203 |
| 2002 | 12,812 |
| 2003 | 12,810 |
| 2004 | 13,228 |
| 2005 | 12,573 |
| 2006 | 13,274 |
| 2007 | 13,020 |
| 2008 | 12,890 |
| 2009 | 12,998 |
| 2010 | 12,965 |
| 2011 | 12,809 |
| 2012 | 12,651 |
| 2013 | 12,627 |
| 2014 | 12,996 |
| 2015 | 13,257 |
| 2016 | 12,690 |
| 2017 | 11,902 |
| 2018 | 12,451 |
| 2019 | 12,501 |
| 2020 | 9,479 |
| 2021 | 10,569 |
| 2022 | 11,337 |
| 2023 | 11,807 |
| 2024 | 12,207 |
| 2025 | 12,282 |
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, 0 of the 16 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A642 collisions
Police recorded 230 collisions with the A642 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 73 of them fatal or serious. That is 48.3 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 2.1 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 27.0% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | 7 |
| 2022 | 32 | 13 |
| 2023 | 35 | 19 |
| 2024 | 29 | 18 |
| 2025 | 31 | 16 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Count point 92049 Wakefield · 20 collisions | 224.3 |
| A61 to A6194 Wakefield · 13 collisions | 61.2 |
| Bridge Rd, Horbury to A638 Wakefield · 53 collisions | 56.5 |
| M62 to Oulton Drive Leeds · 18 collisions | 54.2 |
| Pottery Lane, Woodlesford to A63 Leeds · 22 collisions | 46.5 |
| A63(T) to Cedar Ridge Leeds · 17 collisions | 45.1 |
| A6194 to Moorhouse Grove, Bottom Boat Wakefield · 18 collisions | 32.9 |
| Junction where A629 Penistone Road and A642 Wakefield Road to Roundabout with A642 Wakefield Road and A637 Barnsley Road (near Grange Moor, Kirklees) Kirklees · 20 collisions | 30.8 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 48 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A642 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 A642
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Kirklees
- Wakefield
- Leeds
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 | 230 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.