A-road
A698 traffic and collisions
The A698 is an A-road of 42.6 miles in Scotland and England, from Scottish Borders to Northumberland. This page covers its traffic at 11 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 57m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 3,666 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 8,492 Roundabout A1 Trunk / A698 to A1167
- HGV share 4.8% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −1.1% same count points
How busy is the A698?
On an average day in 2025, 3,666 vehicles passed each point on the A698, counting both directions. The busiest section is Roundabout A1 Trunk / A698 to A1167 (Northumberland), with 8,492 a day; the quietest listed is A699/A6089 to A697, with 2,334.
Busiest sections, 2025
Roundabout A1 Trunk / A698 to A1167 carries 2.3 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| Roundabout A1 Trunk / A698 to A1167 Northumberland · 1.5 mi · HGVs 3.4% | 8,492 |
| A7(T) to Weensland Park Scottish Borders · 1.0 mi · HGVs 3.4% | 7,809 |
| Weensland Park to A6088 Scottish Borders · 0.6 mi · HGVs 6.8% | 6,327 |
| A6112 to A697 Scottish Borders, Northumberland · 1.4 mi · HGVs 5.0% | 4,145 |
| A68 to A699/A6089 Scottish Borders · 9.4 mi · HGVs 4.9% | 4,133 |
| B6470 to A1 Northumberland · 4.7 mi · HGVs 2.5% | 3,639 |
| A697 to A6112 Scottish Borders · 1.6 mi · HGVs 6.3% | 3,456 |
| Junction A698/A6088 to A68 Scottish Borders · 9.1 mi · HGVs 7.1% | 3,374 |
| A697 to B6470 Northumberland · 6.3 mi · HGVs 3.8% | 2,776 |
| A699/A6089 to A697 Scottish Borders · 7.0 mi · HGVs 4.6% | 2,334 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Scottish Borders to Northumberland · 42.6 miles
A698 traffic and collisions by section
10 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 | A7(T) to Weensland ParkScottish Borders | 7,809 | – |
| 2 | Weensland Park to A6088Scottish Borders | 6,327 | – |
| 3 | Junction A698/A6088 to A68Scottish Borders | 3,374 | – |
| 4 | A68 to A699/A6089Scottish Borders | 4,133 | – |
| 5 | A699/A6089 to A697Scottish Borders | 2,334 | – |
| 6 | A697 to A6112Scottish Borders | 3,456 | – |
| 7 | A6112 to A697Scottish Borders, Northumberland | 4,145 | – |
| 8 | A697 to B6470Northumberland | 2,776 | – |
| 9 | B6470 to A1Northumberland | 3,639 | – |
| 10 | Roundabout A1 Trunk / A698 to A1167Northumberland | 8,492 | – |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A698 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.
A698 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 75.0% of the vehicle miles on the A698. HGVs account for 4.8%, rising to 7.1% on Junction A698/A6088 to A68.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.5% |
| 2001 | 6.4% |
| 2002 | 6.1% |
| 2003 | 5.9% |
| 2004 | 6.1% |
| 2005 | 6.4% |
| 2006 | 6.4% |
| 2007 | 6.8% |
| 2008 | 6.5% |
| 2009 | 6.3% |
| 2010 | 6.4% |
| 2011 | 6.2% |
| 2012 | 6.2% |
| 2013 | 6.0% |
| 2014 | 6.0% |
| 2015 | 6.1% |
| 2016 | 6.0% |
| 2017 | 6.0% |
| 2018 | 6.0% |
| 2019 | 6.0% |
| 2020 | 7.0% |
| 2021 | 6.8% |
| 2022 | 5.4% |
| 2023 | 5.2% |
| 2024 | 4.8% |
| 2025 | 4.8% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A698 traffic trend
Traffic on the A698 came to 57 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 1.1% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 2.1% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 12.3% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 53m |
| 2001 | 52m |
| 2002 | 55m |
| 2003 | 57m |
| 2004 | 57m |
| 2005 | 56m |
| 2006 | 57m |
| 2007 | 56m |
| 2008 | 56m |
| 2009 | 56m |
| 2010 | 55m |
| 2011 | 55m |
| 2012 | 54m |
| 2013 | 55m |
| 2014 | 57m |
| 2015 | 58m |
| 2016 | 60m |
| 2017 | 60m |
| 2018 | 60m |
| 2019 | 59m |
| 2020 | 45m |
| 2021 | 49m |
| 2022 | 55m |
| 2023 | 55m |
| 2024 | 57m |
| 2025 | 57m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,341 |
| 2001 | 3,301 |
| 2002 | 3,463 |
| 2003 | 3,620 |
| 2004 | 3,603 |
| 2005 | 3,554 |
| 2006 | 3,633 |
| 2007 | 3,525 |
| 2008 | 3,537 |
| 2009 | 3,537 |
| 2010 | 3,466 |
| 2011 | 3,464 |
| 2012 | 3,424 |
| 2013 | 3,492 |
| 2014 | 3,585 |
| 2015 | 3,683 |
| 2016 | 3,762 |
| 2017 | 3,773 |
| 2018 | 3,814 |
| 2019 | 3,795 |
| 2020 | 2,908 |
| 2021 | 3,128 |
| 2022 | 3,550 |
| 2023 | 3,503 |
| 2024 | 3,630 |
| 2025 | 3,666 |
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 (75.1% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 3 of the 11 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A698 collisions
Police recorded fewer than 3 collisions with the A698 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, fewer than 3 of them fatal or serious.
Reported collisions by year
Down 60.0% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | 5 |
| 2022 | 9 | 5 |
| 2023 | 9 | 6 |
| 2024 | fewer than 3 | fewer than 3 |
| 2025 | 4 | fewer than 3 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 4 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A698 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 A698
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Scottish Borders
- Northumberland
Roadworks on the A698 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 7 sets of roadworks on the A698 in Scotland, 3 of them under way. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A698 A698 At Western Boundary Of Birgham To A698 At Eastern Boundary Of Birgham
-
A698 A697 At Fireburnmill West Of Coldstream To A698 At Kelso Road In Coldstream
-
A698 A698 At Eastern Boundary Of Birgham To A697 At Fireburnmill, Coldstream
-
A698 A6088 At Haughhead To U16-3 At Honeyburn, Hawick
-
A698 A698 At Weensland Road In Hawick To A6088 At Haughhead
-
A698 B6358 At Spittal-On-Rule To A68t At Cleikimin, Jedburgh
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 | 11 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 34 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.