A-road
A666 traffic and collisions
The A666 is an A-road of 25.9 miles, from Salford to Lancashire. This page covers its traffic at 28 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 185m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 19,586 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 60,889 M61 to A575
- HGV share 2.3% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +1.6% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 300 35.7 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A666?
On an average day in 2025, 19,586 vehicles passed each point on the A666, counting both directions. The busiest section is M61 to A575 (Bolton), with 60,889 a day; the quietest listed is Longworth Rd to B6193, with 5,876.
Busiest sections, 2025
M61 to A575 carries 3.1 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| M61 to A575 Bolton · 1.5 mi · HGVs 2.7% | 60,889 |
| A575 to A579 Bolton · 1.4 mi · HGVs 2.3% | 59,012 |
| Bradford Street to Folds Road Bolton · 0.5 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 44,985 |
| A6099 to A58 Bolton · 0.9 mi · HGVs 1.4% | 24,021 |
| A58 to B6472 Bolton · 1.7 mi · HGVs 1.6% | 19,064 |
| A6062 to A6078 Blackburn with Darwen · 1.0 mi · HGVs 1.0% | 18,127 |
| A6044 to M60 Salford · 1.7 mi · HGVs 2.4% | 17,755 |
| M60 to A667 Salford, Bolton · 2.1 mi · HGVs 2.4% | 14,754 |
| Watery Lane to M65 slip Blackburn with Darwen · 2.6 mi · HGVs 3.3% | 14,634 |
| M65 to A6062 intersection Blackburn with Darwen · 1.2 mi · HGVs 2.1% | 13,008 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Salford to Lancashire · 25.9 miles
A666 traffic and collisions by section
24 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 24 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A6 to A6044Salford | 15,774 | 4 |
| 2 | A6044 to M60Salford | 17,755 | 24 |
| 3 | M60 to A667Salford, Bolton | 14,754 | 11 |
| 4 | A667 to M61Bolton | 28,080 | 8 |
| 5 | M61 to A6053Bolton | 12,178 | fewer than 3 |
| 6 | M61 to A575Bolton | 60,889 | 5 |
| 7 | A575 to A579Bolton | 59,012 | 10 |
| 8 | Bradford Street to Folds RoadBolton | 44,985 | 3 |
| 9 | A676 to A673Bolton | 47,517 | 3 |
| 10 | A673 to A6099Bolton | 33,141 | 5 |
| 11 | A6099 to A58Bolton | 24,021 | 25 |
| 12 | A58 to B6472Bolton | 19,064 | 14 |
| 13 | B6472 to Longworth rdBolton | 8,797 | 4 |
| 14 | Longworth Rd to B6193Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen | 5,876 | 10 |
| 15 | B6391 to Lark StBlackburn with Darwen | 8,169 | 3 |
| 16 | Lark St to Watery LaneBlackburn with Darwen | 9,068 | 0 |
| 17 | Watery Lane to M65 slipBlackburn with Darwen | 14,634 | 52 |
| 18 | M65 to A6062 intersectionBlackburn with Darwen | 13,008 | 25 |
| 19 | A6062 to A6078Blackburn with Darwen | 18,127 | 25 |
| 20 | A666 to Canterbury StreetBlackburn with Darwen | 12,819 | fewer than 3 |
| 21 | A677 to A6119Blackburn with Darwen | 8,744 | 40 |
| 22 | A6119 to B6245Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire | 10,698 | 13 |
| 23 | B6245 to Hollies RdLancashire | 7,647 | 4 |
| 24 | Hollies Rd, Wilpshire to A59Lancashire | 6,528 | 3 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A666 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.
A666 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 82.7% of the vehicle miles on the A666. HGVs account for 2.3%, rising to 3.4% on Longworth Rd to B6193.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.0% |
| 2001 | 3.9% |
| 2002 | 4.0% |
| 2003 | 3.8% |
| 2004 | 4.0% |
| 2005 | 4.0% |
| 2006 | 4.1% |
| 2007 | 3.9% |
| 2008 | 4.2% |
| 2009 | 3.8% |
| 2010 | 4.1% |
| 2011 | 3.7% |
| 2012 | 3.5% |
| 2013 | 3.6% |
| 2014 | 3.6% |
| 2015 | 3.4% |
| 2016 | 3.3% |
| 2017 | 3.3% |
| 2018 | 2.8% |
| 2019 | 2.5% |
| 2020 | 2.9% |
| 2021 | 2.9% |
| 2022 | 2.6% |
| 2023 | 2.4% |
| 2024 | 2.4% |
| 2025 | 2.3% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A666 traffic trend
Traffic on the A666 came to 185 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 1.6% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 1.3% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 2.5% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 180m |
| 2001 | 183m |
| 2002 | 187m |
| 2003 | 188m |
| 2004 | 197m |
| 2005 | 193m |
| 2006 | 188m |
| 2007 | 190m |
| 2008 | 186m |
| 2009 | 185m |
| 2010 | 180m |
| 2011 | 178m |
| 2012 | 176m |
| 2013 | 175m |
| 2014 | 179m |
| 2015 | 177m |
| 2016 | 173m |
| 2017 | 175m |
| 2018 | 172m |
| 2019 | 177m |
| 2020 | 140m |
| 2021 | 153m |
| 2022 | 164m |
| 2023 | 168m |
| 2024 | 170m |
| 2025 | 185m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 18,882 |
| 2001 | 19,182 |
| 2002 | 19,828 |
| 2003 | 19,983 |
| 2004 | 20,867 |
| 2005 | 20,252 |
| 2006 | 20,300 |
| 2007 | 20,545 |
| 2008 | 20,180 |
| 2009 | 20,074 |
| 2010 | 19,451 |
| 2011 | 19,243 |
| 2012 | 19,104 |
| 2013 | 18,999 |
| 2014 | 19,329 |
| 2015 | 19,153 |
| 2016 | 18,767 |
| 2017 | 18,971 |
| 2018 | 18,518 |
| 2019 | 18,895 |
| 2020 | 14,998 |
| 2021 | 16,360 |
| 2022 | 17,556 |
| 2023 | 17,988 |
| 2024 | 18,235 |
| 2025 | 19,586 |
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, 7 of the 28 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A666 collisions
Police recorded 300 collisions with the A666 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 98 of them fatal or serious, including 6 fatal. That is 35.7 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 2.3 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 5.8% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | 17 |
| 2022 | 44 | 16 |
| 2023 | 39 | 20 |
| 2024 | 49 | 25 |
| 2025 | 35 | 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 |
|---|---|
| A677 to A6119 Blackburn with Darwen · 40 collisions | 134.2 |
| M65 to A6062 intersection Blackburn with Darwen · 25 collisions | 101.0 |
| A6062 to A6078 Blackburn with Darwen · 25 collisions | 89.7 |
| Watery Lane to M65 slip Blackburn with Darwen · 52 collisions | 77.3 |
| A6119 to B6245 Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire · 13 collisions | 76.4 |
| A6099 to A58 Bolton · 25 collisions | 66.2 |
| Longworth Rd to B6193 Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen · 10 collisions | 53.9 |
| A6044 to M60 Salford · 24 collisions | 45.0 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 70 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A666 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 A666
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Salford
- Bolton
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Lancashire
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 | 28 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 300 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.