A-road
A697 traffic and collisions
The A697 is an A-road of 65.3 miles in England and Scotland, from Northumberland to Scottish Borders. This page covers its traffic at 6 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 100m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 4,198 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 5,387 Count point 92250
- HGV share 7.1% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −5.8% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 83 17.0 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A697?
On an average day in 2025, 4,198 vehicles passed each point on the A697, counting both directions. The busiest section is Count point 92250 (Northumberland), with 5,387 a day; the quietest listed is A698 to A6105, with 1,763.
Busiest sections, 2025
Count point 92250 carries 1.3 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| Count point 92250 Northumberland · 41.1 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 5,387 |
| A6089 to A697 split Scottish Borders · 2.6 mi · HGVs 6.8% | 4,280 |
| A697 split, High Cross to A68 Scottish Borders · 5.2 mi · HGVs 8.9% | 2,311 |
| A6105 to A6089 Scottish Borders · 7.5 mi · HGVs 10.1% | 1,779 |
| A698 to A6105 Scottish Borders · 8.7 mi · HGVs 8.5% | 1,763 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Northumberland to Scottish Borders · 65.3 miles
A697 traffic and collisions by section
6 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 | Count point 92250Northumberland | 5,387 | 21 |
| 2 | A698 to A6105Scottish Borders | 1,763 | 6 |
| 3 | At A6105Scottish Borders | 4,652 | 0 |
| 4 | A6105 to A6089Scottish Borders | 1,779 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | A6089 to A697 splitScottish Borders | 4,280 | fewer than 3 |
| 6 | A697 split, High Cross to A68Scottish Borders | 2,311 | 4 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A697 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.
A697 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 75.0% of the vehicle miles on the A697. HGVs account for 7.1%, rising to 10.1% on A6105 to A6089.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.0% |
| 2001 | 6.9% |
| 2002 | 7.4% |
| 2003 | 7.6% |
| 2004 | 7.9% |
| 2005 | 7.8% |
| 2006 | 7.9% |
| 2007 | 7.6% |
| 2008 | 8.2% |
| 2009 | 7.9% |
| 2010 | 8.1% |
| 2011 | 8.2% |
| 2012 | 8.4% |
| 2013 | 8.2% |
| 2014 | 8.3% |
| 2015 | 8.1% |
| 2016 | 7.8% |
| 2017 | 7.9% |
| 2018 | 7.6% |
| 2019 | 7.6% |
| 2020 | 8.5% |
| 2021 | 8.1% |
| 2022 | 7.8% |
| 2023 | 7.3% |
| 2024 | 7.2% |
| 2025 | 7.1% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A697 traffic trend
Traffic on the A697 came to 100 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 5.8% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 1.5% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 21.8% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 81m |
| 2001 | 84m |
| 2002 | 79m |
| 2003 | 81m |
| 2004 | 77m |
| 2005 | 77m |
| 2006 | 75m |
| 2007 | 76m |
| 2008 | 72m |
| 2009 | 73m |
| 2010 | 71m |
| 2011 | 71m |
| 2012 | 70m |
| 2013 | 71m |
| 2014 | 74m |
| 2015 | 84m |
| 2016 | 86m |
| 2017 | 87m |
| 2018 | 88m |
| 2019 | 88m |
| 2020 | 86m |
| 2021 | 94m |
| 2022 | 96m |
| 2023 | 98m |
| 2024 | 99m |
| 2025 | 100m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,317 |
| 2001 | 3,440 |
| 2002 | 3,237 |
| 2003 | 3,351 |
| 2004 | 3,174 |
| 2005 | 3,190 |
| 2006 | 3,076 |
| 2007 | 3,202 |
| 2008 | 3,017 |
| 2009 | 3,060 |
| 2010 | 2,985 |
| 2011 | 2,999 |
| 2012 | 2,946 |
| 2013 | 3,001 |
| 2014 | 3,087 |
| 2015 | 3,516 |
| 2016 | 3,610 |
| 2017 | 3,649 |
| 2018 | 3,684 |
| 2019 | 3,691 |
| 2020 | 3,587 |
| 2021 | 3,961 |
| 2022 | 4,031 |
| 2023 | 4,104 |
| 2024 | 4,150 |
| 2025 | 4,198 |
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 (37.1% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 0 of the 6 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A697 collisions
Police recorded 83 collisions with the A697 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, fewer than 3 of them fatal or serious. That is 17.0 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.3 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 21.1% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 |
| 2022 | 16 |
| 2023 | 19 |
| 2024 | 14 |
| 2025 | 15 |
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 92250 Northumberland · 21 collisions | 5.3 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 6 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A697 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 A697
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Northumberland
- Scottish Borders
Roadworks on the A697 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 4 sets of roadworks on the A697 in Scotland, 2 of them under way. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A697 A698 At Fireburnmill To B6461 At Orange Lane, Coldstream
-
A697 A697 At Eastern Boundary Of Houndslow To A697 At Western Boundary Of Houndslow
-
A697 A698 At Fireburnmill To B6461 At Orange Lane, Coldstream
-
A697 A698 At Fireburnmill To B6461 At Orange Lane, Coldstream
Works in Scotland only, and only where the register records them against the road number. The register publishes one extract a day, so works can start, finish or change after it is taken. Roadworks across Scotland
Source:SRWR Extract of 2026-09-16 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 | 6 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 83 reported collisions | 15 September 2026 |
| Roadworks | Scottish Road Works Register open data Scottish Road Works Commissioner | Extract of 2026-09-16 | 22,074 sets of roadworks recorded in Scotland | 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.