Trunk A-road
A650 traffic and collisions
The A650 is a trunk A-road of 24.3 miles, from Wakefield to Bradford. This page covers its traffic at 27 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 232m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 26,116 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 38,490 A6177 to A647
- HGV share 4.0% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +3.4% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 457 42.2 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A650?
On an average day in 2025, 26,116 vehicles passed each point on the A650, counting both directions. The busiest section is A6177 to A647 (Bradford), with 38,490 a day; the quietest listed is A650(T) to A651, with 12,947.
Busiest sections, 2025
A6177 to A647 carries 1.5 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A6177 to A647 Bradford · 1.3 mi · HGVs 5.5% | 38,490 |
| B6265 to FERNCLIFFE ROAD Bradford · 1.6 mi · HGVs 4.2% | 37,323 |
| B6265 to Aireworth Road roundabout Bradford · 1.6 mi · HGVs 4.2% | 37,323 |
| A629(T) to B6265 Bradford · 0.5 mi · HGVs 3.0% | 35,736 |
| A657 to B6146 Bradford · 1.0 mi · HGVs 4.6% | 30,141 |
| FERNCLIFFE ROAD to B6265 Bradford · 1.1 mi · HGVs 4.6% | 30,141 |
| A62 to A58 Leeds · 1.7 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 29,039 |
| A651 to A650 split Bradford · 1.1 mi · HGVs 6.4% | 25,699 |
| A61 to M1 Wakefield · 2.2 mi · HGVs 3.2% | 25,542 |
| A654 to M62 Leeds · 0.7 mi · HGVs 1.9% | 23,591 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Wakefield to Bradford · 24.3 miles
A650 traffic and collisions by section
25 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 1 short link roads and spurs (0.3 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Show all 25 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bell Street to Link Road (A61/A650 intersection)Wakefield | 15,049 | fewer than 3 |
| 2 | A61 to M1Wakefield | 25,542 | 27 |
| 3 | M1 to A654Leeds | 16,942 | 18 |
| 4 | A654 to M62Leeds | 23,591 | 13 |
| 5 | M62 to A6029Leeds | 20,959 | 6 |
| 6 | A6029 to A643Leeds | 17,558 | 23 |
| 7 | A643 to A62Leeds | 22,598 | 9 |
| 8 | A62 to A58Leeds | 29,039 | 24 |
| 9 | A58 to A650 (principal)Leeds, Bradford | 14,916 | 5 |
| 10 | A650(T) to A651Bradford | 12,947 | 7 |
| 11 | A651 to A650 splitBradford | 25,699 | 34 |
| 12 | A6117 to A650 split (Rook Lane)Bradford | 28,760 | 3 |
| 13 | A6177 to A647Bradford | 38,490 | 46 |
| 14 | At A647Bradford | 51,469 | 10 |
| 15 | A647 to A658Bradford | 56,475 | 30 |
| 16 | A658 to A6037Bradford | 55,428 | 19 |
| 17 | A6181 to A6177Bradford | 15,073 | 39 |
| 18 | A6177 to A6038Bradford | 16,749 | 43 |
| 19 | A6038 to A657Bradford | 20,484 | 15 |
| 20 | A657 to B6146Bradford | 30,141 | 22 |
| 21 | FERNCLIFFE ROAD to B6265Bradford | 30,141 | 8 |
| 22 | B6265 to FERNCLIFFE ROADBradford | 37,323 | 11 |
| 23 | B6265 to Aireworth Road roundaboutBradford | 37,323 | 9 |
| 24 | Aireworth Road roundabout to B6265 Bradford RdBradford | 23,001 | 9 |
| 25 | A629(T) to B6265Bradford | 35,736 | 18 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A650 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.
A650 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 80.9% of the vehicle miles on the A650. HGVs account for 4.0%, rising to 7.9% on A650(T) to A651.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.5% |
| 2001 | 5.4% |
| 2002 | 5.2% |
| 2003 | 5.1% |
| 2004 | 4.9% |
| 2005 | 5.0% |
| 2006 | 4.8% |
| 2007 | 4.8% |
| 2008 | 4.4% |
| 2009 | 4.2% |
| 2010 | 3.9% |
| 2011 | 3.9% |
| 2012 | 3.9% |
| 2013 | 4.0% |
| 2014 | 4.2% |
| 2015 | 4.3% |
| 2016 | 4.4% |
| 2017 | 4.2% |
| 2018 | 4.4% |
| 2019 | 4.3% |
| 2020 | 4.8% |
| 2021 | 4.9% |
| 2022 | 4.7% |
| 2023 | 4.5% |
| 2024 | 4.3% |
| 2025 | 4.0% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A650 traffic trend
Traffic on the A650 came to 232 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 3.4% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 2.8% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 8.3% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 206m |
| 2001 | 201m |
| 2002 | 201m |
| 2003 | 202m |
| 2004 | 197m |
| 2005 | 207m |
| 2006 | 214m |
| 2007 | 212m |
| 2008 | 210m |
| 2009 | 213m |
| 2010 | 216m |
| 2011 | 219m |
| 2012 | 216m |
| 2013 | 214m |
| 2014 | 219m |
| 2015 | 223m |
| 2016 | 224m |
| 2017 | 226m |
| 2018 | 227m |
| 2019 | 225m |
| 2020 | 177m |
| 2021 | 194m |
| 2022 | 212m |
| 2023 | 220m |
| 2024 | 227m |
| 2025 | 232m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 22,694 |
| 2001 | 22,132 |
| 2002 | 22,161 |
| 2003 | 22,184 |
| 2004 | 21,724 |
| 2005 | 23,212 |
| 2006 | 23,883 |
| 2007 | 23,703 |
| 2008 | 23,444 |
| 2009 | 23,821 |
| 2010 | 24,190 |
| 2011 | 24,490 |
| 2012 | 24,165 |
| 2013 | 23,885 |
| 2014 | 24,501 |
| 2015 | 24,976 |
| 2016 | 25,007 |
| 2017 | 25,001 |
| 2018 | 25,455 |
| 2019 | 25,236 |
| 2020 | 20,248 |
| 2021 | 22,202 |
| 2022 | 24,375 |
| 2023 | 25,338 |
| 2024 | 25,610 |
| 2025 | 26,116 |
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, 6 of the 27 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A650 collisions
Police recorded 457 collisions with the A650 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 125 of them fatal or serious, including 3 fatal. That is 42.2 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 3.8 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 23.2% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | 28 |
| 2022 | 75 | 24 |
| 2023 | 68 | 31 |
| 2024 | 62 | 22 |
| 2025 | 56 | 20 |
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 |
|---|---|
| A6181 to A6177 Bradford · 39 collisions | 215.3 |
| A6177 to A6038 Bradford · 43 collisions | 94.6 |
| A651 to A650 split Bradford · 34 collisions | 83.5 |
| A629(T) to B6265 Bradford · 18 collisions | 60.1 |
| A6029 to A643 Leeds · 23 collisions | 52.9 |
| A6038 to A657 Bradford · 15 collisions | 52.7 |
| A6177 to A647 Bradford · 46 collisions | 51.8 |
| A654 to M62 Leeds · 13 collisions | 45.3 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 96 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A650 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 A650
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Wakefield
- Leeds
- Bradford
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 | 27 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 457 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.