Trunk A-road
A65 traffic and collisions
The A65 is a trunk A-road of 70.9 miles, from Leeds to Westmorland and Furness. This page covers its traffic at 33 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 302m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 11,667 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 29,491 A58 to B6157
- HGV share 3.5% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −6.4% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 402 27.5 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A65?
On an average day in 2025, 11,667 vehicles passed each point on the A65, counting both directions. The busiest section is A58 to B6157 (Leeds), with 29,491 a day; the quietest listed is Main St to A6034, with 8,133.
Busiest sections, 2025
A58 to B6157 carries 2.5 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A58 to B6157 Leeds · 2.1 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 29,491 |
| At A6038 Leeds, Bradford · 1.1 mi · HGVs 1.6% | 22,619 |
| A6120 to A658 Leeds · 2.3 mi · HGVs 3.6% | 21,053 |
| Natland Mll Beck Lane to A6 Westmorland and Furness · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 19,180 |
| A658 to A6038 Leeds · 2.1 mi · HGVs 1.8% | 19,020 |
| A660 to B6382 West Bradford · 2.7 mi · HGVs 2.2% | 18,092 |
| Victoria Avenue to Main St Bradford · 1.6 mi · HGVs 1.9% | 16,690 |
| A59 to A6131 North Yorkshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 6.3% | 15,463 |
| B6157 to A6120 Leeds · 2.6 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 15,349 |
| A65 Lound Rd to A6 Westmorland and Furness · 0.5 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 13,379 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Leeds to Westmorland and Furness · 70.9 miles
A65 traffic and collisions by section
28 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 2 short link roads and spurs (0.3 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Show all 28 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A58 to B6157Leeds | 29,491 | 83 |
| 2 | B6157 to A6120Leeds | 15,349 | 30 |
| 3 | A6120 to A658Leeds | 21,053 | 25 |
| 4 | A658 to A6038Leeds | 19,020 | 33 |
| 5 | At A6038Leeds, Bradford | 22,619 | 12 |
| 6 | A6038 to Main St roundaboutBradford | 9,732 | 4 |
| 7 | Main St roundabout to A65Bradford | 8,856 | 0 |
| 8 | A660 to B6382 WestBradford | 18,092 | 23 |
| 9 | B6382 West to Victoria AvenueBradford | 11,929 | 20 |
| 10 | Victoria Avenue to Main StBradford | 16,690 | fewer than 3 |
| 11 | Main St to A6034Bradford | 8,133 | 4 |
| 12 | A6034 to Skipton RdBradford | 8,618 | 0 |
| 13 | Skipton Rd to A6069Bradford, North Yorkshire | 8,837 | 6 |
| 14 | A6069 to A59North Yorkshire | 7,104 | 5 |
| 15 | A59 to A6131North Yorkshire | 15,463 | 0 |
| 16 | A6131 to A59(T)North Yorkshire | 10,830 | 7 |
| 17 | A59 to A682North Yorkshire | 8,247 | 34 |
| 18 | A682 to A687North Yorkshire | 9,370 | 40 |
| 19 | A687 to A683North Yorkshire, Lancashire | 10,061 | 14 |
| 20 | At A683Westmorland and Furness | 10,118 | fewer than 3 |
| 21 | A683 to A590/A6070Westmorland and Furness | 8,317 | 18 |
| 22 | A590/A6070 to Natland Mill Beck Lane, KendalWestmorland and Furness | 10,168 | 10 |
| 23 | Natland Mll Beck Lane to A6Westmorland and Furness | 19,180 | 6 |
| 24 | A6 to A65 spurWestmorland and Furness | 13,160 | 4 |
| 25 | A65 Lound Rd to A6Westmorland and Furness | 13,379 | fewer than 3 |
| 26 | Kent Street to A6 Blackhall RoadWestmorland and Furness | 21,524 | fewer than 3 |
| 27 | A6 Blackhall Road to Beezon Road (minor road)Westmorland and Furness | 6,812 | fewer than 3 |
| 28 | A684 Castle Street to A6/A65/A684 intersectionWestmorland and Furness | 12,055 | 4 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A65 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.
A65 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 80.6% of the vehicle miles on the A65. HGVs account for 3.5%, rising to 9.2% on A6131 to A59(T).
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.7% |
| 2001 | 4.9% |
| 2002 | 4.4% |
| 2003 | 4.9% |
| 2004 | 4.5% |
| 2005 | 4.2% |
| 2006 | 4.4% |
| 2007 | 4.7% |
| 2008 | 4.7% |
| 2009 | 4.3% |
| 2010 | 4.3% |
| 2011 | 4.1% |
| 2012 | 4.1% |
| 2013 | 4.1% |
| 2014 | 4.1% |
| 2015 | 4.0% |
| 2016 | 3.7% |
| 2017 | 3.8% |
| 2018 | 3.7% |
| 2019 | 3.7% |
| 2020 | 4.5% |
| 2021 | 4.4% |
| 2022 | 4.3% |
| 2023 | 4.1% |
| 2024 | 3.6% |
| 2025 | 3.5% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A65 traffic trend
Traffic on the A65 came to 302 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 6.4% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 3.0% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 0.8% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 312m |
| 2001 | 307m |
| 2002 | 327m |
| 2003 | 338m |
| 2004 | 328m |
| 2005 | 334m |
| 2006 | 336m |
| 2007 | 329m |
| 2008 | 317m |
| 2009 | 313m |
| 2010 | 309m |
| 2011 | 307m |
| 2012 | 304m |
| 2013 | 304m |
| 2014 | 308m |
| 2015 | 317m |
| 2016 | 328m |
| 2017 | 324m |
| 2018 | 324m |
| 2019 | 326m |
| 2020 | 244m |
| 2021 | 269m |
| 2022 | 290m |
| 2023 | 298m |
| 2024 | 301m |
| 2025 | 302m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 12,020 |
| 2001 | 11,830 |
| 2002 | 12,597 |
| 2003 | 13,030 |
| 2004 | 12,622 |
| 2005 | 12,865 |
| 2006 | 12,950 |
| 2007 | 12,756 |
| 2008 | 12,166 |
| 2009 | 12,041 |
| 2010 | 11,874 |
| 2011 | 11,813 |
| 2012 | 11,698 |
| 2013 | 11,663 |
| 2014 | 11,837 |
| 2015 | 12,198 |
| 2016 | 12,618 |
| 2017 | 12,467 |
| 2018 | 12,426 |
| 2019 | 12,478 |
| 2020 | 9,347 |
| 2021 | 10,308 |
| 2022 | 11,096 |
| 2023 | 11,433 |
| 2024 | 11,519 |
| 2025 | 11,667 |
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 (81.8% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 3 of the 33 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A65 collisions
Police recorded 402 collisions with the A65 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 147 of them fatal or serious, including 13 fatal. That is 27.5 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
Up 20.0% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | 26 |
| 2022 | 50 | 32 |
| 2023 | 60 | 25 |
| 2024 | 60 | 32 |
| 2025 | 46 | 32 |
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 |
|---|---|
| B6157 to A6120 Leeds · 30 collisions | 206.0 |
| A59 to A682 North Yorkshire · 34 collisions | 114.1 |
| A58 to B6157 Leeds · 83 collisions | 74.0 |
| A658 to A6038 Leeds · 33 collisions | 49.8 |
| B6382 West to Victoria Avenue Bradford · 20 collisions | 43.3 |
| A6120 to A658 Leeds · 25 collisions | 29.3 |
| At A6038 Leeds, Bradford · 12 collisions | 29.0 |
| A660 to B6382 West Bradford · 23 collisions | 24.2 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 43 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A65 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 A65
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Leeds
- Bradford
- North Yorkshire
- Lancashire
- Westmorland and Furness
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 | 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 | 402 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.