Trunk A-road

A7 traffic and collisions

The A7 is a trunk A-road of 94.2 miles in Scotland and England, from City of Edinburgh to Cumberland. This page covers its traffic at 35 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated
Records analysed
35 count points in 2025
Methodology
View methodology
  • Traffic in 2025 209m vehicle miles
  • Average daily traffic 6,086 vehicles a day, both directions
  • Busiest section 25,416 Parkhouse Rd to A595(T)
  • HGV share 5.9% of vehicle miles
  • Traffic since 2019 −1.3% same count points
  • Collisions, 2021 to 2025 258 26.1 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A7?

On an average day in 2025, 6,086 vehicles passed each point on the A7, counting both directions. The busiest section is Parkhouse Rd to A595(T) (Cumberland), with 25,416 a day; the quietest listed is B711 to B709, with 2,296.

Busiest sections, 2025

Parkhouse Rd to A595(T) carries 4.2 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A7 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section Vehicles a day
Parkhouse Rd to A595(T) Cumberland · 2.1 mi · HGVs 1.4% 25,416
A768 to A6094 Midlothian · 0.5 mi · HGVs 6.2% 21,582
A772 to A768 Midlothian · 0.6 mi · HGVs 5.7% 21,064
A700 to A6095 City of Edinburgh · 1.1 mi · HGVs 0.9% 18,295
A7 A72 split to A6091 Scottish Borders · 1.6 mi · HGVs 1.8% 18,149
B701 Ferniehill Road to A720 City of Edinburgh, Midlothian · 1.8 mi · HGVs 1.8% 13,868
A6095 to B701 Ferniehill Road City of Edinburgh · 1.9 mi · HGVs 1.6% 13,139
A698 to B6399 Albert Rd Scottish Borders · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.4% 9,850
A6091 to B7014 Dunsdale Haugh Scottish Borders · 4.2 mi · HGVs 3.9% 9,460
A6071 to M6 Cumberland · 5.5 mi · HGVs 8.8% 8,819

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Route

City of Edinburgh to Cumberland · 94.2 miles

City of Edinburgh Cumberland
Schematic route: each line joins the junctions at the ends of a DfT count point link.

A7 traffic and collisions by section

29 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 3 short link roads and spurs (0.5 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.

Show all 29 sections Tap a column heading to sort
Sections of the A7 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1A1 to A700City of Edinburgh1.18,3001.4%−36.7%44271.7
2A700 to A6095City of Edinburgh1.118,2950.9%−5.9%1645.0
3A6095 to B701 Ferniehill RoadCity of Edinburgh1.913,1391.6%−6.9%1329.4
4B701 Ferniehill Road to A720City of Edinburgh, Midlothian1.813,8681.8%−7.0%1432.0
5A720 to A772Midlothian0.311,9466.5%−6.6%fewer than 3
6A772 to A768Midlothian0.621,0645.7%−6.5%fewer than 3
7A768 to A6094Midlothian0.521,5826.2%−6.5%7
8A6094Midlothian7.85,8076.7%2024.6
9A7 A72 splitScottish Borders17.63,2044.5%2121.2
10A7 A72 split to A6091Scottish Borders1.618,1491.8%−5.3%5
11A6091 to B7014 Dunsdale HaughScottish Borders4.29,4603.9%+14.5%9
12B7014 Dunsdale Haugh to A707Scottish Borders0.65,7574.1%+3.8%fewer than 3
13A707 to A699Scottish Borders0.87,2233.8%−4.7%0
14A699 to B6359Scottish Borders9.25,8403.3%−10.4%1212.9
15B6359 to A7/A698 RoadaboutScottish Borders0.87,1343.0%−10.6%0
16A698 to B6399 Albert RdScottish Borders0.69,8502.4%+226.7%fewer than 3
17B6399 Albert Rd to B711Scottish Borders1.63,14910.6%+4.8%0
18B711 to B709Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway21.52,29620.1%+1.8%1315.4
19B709 Thomas Telford Road to B6318Dumfries & Galloway0.93,0268.2%−33.0%0
20B6318 to B6357Dumfries & Galloway4.93,83814.2%+5.6%5
21B6357 to B7201Dumfries & Galloway1.74,0877.5%+5.4%fewer than 3
22B7201 to A6071Dumfries & Galloway, Cumberland3.53,7548.7%−4.3%3
23At A6071Cumberland0.67,7997.8%−10.1%3
24A6071 to M6Cumberland5.58,8198.8%+9.0%2227.9
25M6 to Parkhouse RdCumberland0.223,1291.4%+4.0%0
26Parkhouse Rd to A595(T)Cumberland2.125,4161.4%+4.0%2830.8
27A595 to A69Cumberland0.328,4471.8%−2.2%4
28A69 to Lowther StCumberland0.39,0121.6%−5.2%4
29Warwick Rd to A6Cumberland0.14,0972.0%−6.5%fewer than 3

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A7 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.

A7 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 73.0% of the vehicle miles on the A7. HGVs account for 5.9%, rising to 20.1% on B711 to B709.

Vehicle mix, 2025

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

HGV share of traffic

HGVs as a share of vehicle miles on the A7, by year
Year HGV share
2000 6.2%
2001 6.0%
2002 6.2%
2003 5.7%
2004 5.7%
2005 5.9%
2006 6.3%
2007 6.7%
2008 6.9%
2009 6.5%
2010 6.6%
2011 6.6%
2012 6.5%
2013 6.7%
2014 6.7%
2015 6.6%
2016 6.4%
2017 6.3%
2018 6.3%
2019 6.2%
2020 6.9%
2021 6.8%
2022 6.4%
2023 6.1%
2024 5.8%
2025 5.9%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

A7 traffic trend

Traffic on the A7 came to 209 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 1.3% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 4.1% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 2.9% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A7 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year Vehicle miles
2000 216m
2001 219m
2002 236m
2003 239m
2004 243m
2005 245m
2006 243m
2007 238m
2008 235m
2009 237m
2010 236m
2011 236m
2012 233m
2013 233m
2014 238m
2015 237m
2016 243m
2017 239m
2018 238m
2019 236m
2020 162m
2021 182m
2022 193m
2023 199m
2024 206m
2025 209m

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A7, weighted by link length, by year
Year Vehicles a day
2000 6,277
2001 6,341
2002 6,856
2003 6,927
2004 7,051
2005 7,100
2006 7,042
2007 6,903
2008 6,829
2009 6,873
2010 6,862
2011 6,846
2012 6,767
2013 6,779
2014 6,942
2015 6,921
2016 7,068
2017 6,967
2018 6,934
2019 6,887
2020 4,721
2021 5,288
2022 5,606
2023 5,795
2024 6,004
2025 6,086

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 (73.0% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 8 of the 35 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A7 collisions

Police recorded 258 collisions with the A7 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 102 of them fatal or serious, including 15 fatal. That is 26.1 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.6 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

Up 8.3% from 2021 to 2025.

Police-reported collisions on the A7 by year: fatal or serious, and slight
Year SlightFatal or serious
2021 3018
2022 4419
2023 2323
2024 2920
2025 3022

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.

Collisions per 100 million vehicle miles by section of the A7, 2021 to 2025
Section Per 100m vehicle miles
A1 to A700 City of Edinburgh · 44 collisions 271.7
A700 to A6095 City of Edinburgh · 16 collisions 45.0
B701 Ferniehill Road to A720 City of Edinburgh, Midlothian · 14 collisions 32.0
Parkhouse Rd to A595(T) Cumberland · 28 collisions 30.8
A6095 to B701 Ferniehill Road City of Edinburgh · 13 collisions 29.4
A6071 to M6 Cumberland · 22 collisions 27.9
A6094 Midlothian · 20 collisions 24.6
A7 A72 split Scottish Borders · 21 collisions 21.2

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated

A further 45 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A7 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 A7

In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.

  • City of Edinburgh
  • Midlothian
  • Scottish Borders
  • Dumfries & Galloway
  • Cumberland

Roadworks on the A7 in Scotland

The Scottish Road Works Register lists 48 sets of roadworks on the A7 in Scotland, 10 of them under way. 20 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.

  • A7t A7t At Wilton Hill In Hawick To A7t At Entrance To Groundistone Mast

    Road closed Under way, until 24 Oct 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

  • A7t From Auchenrivock Road North To U250a, Canonbie

    Road closed Under way, until 25 Sept 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

  • A7t From Auchenrivock Road North To U250a, Canonbie

    Road closed Under way, until 25 Sept 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

  • A7t A7t At Entrance To Groundistone Mast To C18 At Ashkirktown, Selkirk

    Road closed 19 Sept 2026 to 20 Sept 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

  • A7 From Sheriffhall Roundabout To Murderdean Road, Dalkeith

    Lane closed 11 Oct 2026 to 13 Oct 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

  • A7 From Sheriffhall Roundabout To Murderdean Road, Dalkeith

    Road closed On 14 Oct 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

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

Datasets used on this page
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 35 count points in 2025 15 September 2026
Reported collisions Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport
Derived statistics UK Motoring
2021 to 2025 258 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.