A-road
A70 traffic and collisions
The A70 is an A-road of 73.9 miles, from City of Edinburgh to South Ayrshire. This page covers its traffic at 20 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 133m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 4,934 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 13,106 A71 to B701
- HGV share 6.1% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −7.5% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 153 23.9 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A70?
On an average day in 2025, 4,934 vehicles passed each point on the A70, counting both directions. The busiest section is A71 to B701 (City of Edinburgh), with 13,106 a day; the quietest listed is Ravelrig Rd to B7008, with 1,561.
Busiest sections, 2025
A71 to B701 carries 2.7 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A71 to B701 City of Edinburgh · 2.9 mi · HGVs 1.1% | 13,106 |
| B730 to A77 East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire · 5.7 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 11,412 |
| B701 to Ravelrig Rd City of Edinburgh · 3.2 mi · HGVs 0.9% | 10,882 |
| Hillfoot Rd to A713 South Ayrshire · 1.1 mi · HGVs 1.7% | 10,445 |
| A721 to A743 South Lanarkshire · 1.4 mi · HGVs 5.3% | 9,001 |
| A76 to B730 East Ayrshire · 7.3 mi · HGVs 4.8% | 6,947 |
| A8 to A71 City of Edinburgh · 0.6 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 6,427 |
| A721 Carstairs to A721 Carnwath South Lanarkshire · 2.7 mi · HGVs 6.1% | 5,974 |
| A73 to M74 South Lanarkshire · 6.8 mi · HGVs 13.0% | 3,872 |
| A743 to A73 South Lanarkshire · 2.1 mi · HGVs 26.8% | 3,729 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
City of Edinburgh to South Ayrshire · 73.9 miles
A70 traffic and collisions by section
17 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.
Show all 17 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A8 to A71City of Edinburgh | 6,427 | 13 |
| 2 | A71 to B701City of Edinburgh | 13,106 | 30 |
| 3 | B701 to Ravelrig RdCity of Edinburgh | 10,882 | 15 |
| 4 | Ravelrig Rd to B7008City of Edinburgh, West Lothian | 1,561 | 11 |
| 5 | B7008 to A721West Lothian, South Lanarkshire | 1,982 | 4 |
| 6 | A721 Carstairs to A721 CarnwathSouth Lanarkshire | 5,974 | fewer than 3 |
| 7 | A721 to A743South Lanarkshire | 9,001 | 5 |
| 8 | A743 to A73South Lanarkshire | 3,729 | fewer than 3 |
| 9 | A73 to M74South Lanarkshire | 3,872 | 13 |
| 10 | M74 to Council boundarySouth Lanarkshire | 2,489 | 9 |
| 11 | A76East Ayrshire | 2,825 | 12 |
| 12 | A76 to B730East Ayrshire | 6,947 | 10 |
| 13 | B730 to A77East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire | 11,412 | 16 |
| 14 | A77 to Hillfoot RdSouth Ayrshire | 10,549 | fewer than 3 |
| 15 | Hillfoot Rd to A713South Ayrshire | 10,445 | fewer than 3 |
| 16 | A713 to A70 Miller RdSouth Ayrshire | 19,421 | 3 |
| 17 | A719 to A70 Beresfrod TerraceSouth Ayrshire | 6,378 | 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 A70 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.
A70 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 74.0% of the vehicle miles on the A70. HGVs account for 6.1%, rising to 26.8% on A743 to A73.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.4% |
| 2001 | 8.8% |
| 2002 | 8.4% |
| 2003 | 8.3% |
| 2004 | 8.6% |
| 2005 | 8.0% |
| 2006 | 7.9% |
| 2007 | 8.3% |
| 2008 | 8.4% |
| 2009 | 7.8% |
| 2010 | 7.8% |
| 2011 | 7.8% |
| 2012 | 7.6% |
| 2013 | 7.5% |
| 2014 | 7.7% |
| 2015 | 7.8% |
| 2016 | 7.8% |
| 2017 | 7.9% |
| 2018 | 8.1% |
| 2019 | 8.1% |
| 2020 | 9.8% |
| 2021 | 9.4% |
| 2022 | 6.9% |
| 2023 | 6.3% |
| 2024 | 6.2% |
| 2025 | 6.1% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A70 traffic trend
Traffic on the A70 came to 133 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 7.5% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 5.2% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 4.8% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 141m |
| 2001 | 145m |
| 2002 | 146m |
| 2003 | 143m |
| 2004 | 143m |
| 2005 | 146m |
| 2006 | 147m |
| 2007 | 146m |
| 2008 | 139m |
| 2009 | 139m |
| 2010 | 138m |
| 2011 | 139m |
| 2012 | 136m |
| 2013 | 136m |
| 2014 | 139m |
| 2015 | 140m |
| 2016 | 143m |
| 2017 | 144m |
| 2018 | 146m |
| 2019 | 145m |
| 2020 | 104m |
| 2021 | 117m |
| 2022 | 129m |
| 2023 | 131m |
| 2024 | 132m |
| 2025 | 133m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 5,206 |
| 2001 | 5,321 |
| 2002 | 5,392 |
| 2003 | 5,257 |
| 2004 | 5,253 |
| 2005 | 5,359 |
| 2006 | 5,402 |
| 2007 | 5,380 |
| 2008 | 5,117 |
| 2009 | 5,125 |
| 2010 | 5,095 |
| 2011 | 5,130 |
| 2012 | 5,002 |
| 2013 | 4,992 |
| 2014 | 5,101 |
| 2015 | 5,140 |
| 2016 | 5,268 |
| 2017 | 5,311 |
| 2018 | 5,341 |
| 2019 | 5,301 |
| 2020 | 3,869 |
| 2021 | 4,319 |
| 2022 | 4,794 |
| 2023 | 4,846 |
| 2024 | 4,887 |
| 2025 | 4,934 |
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 (80.4% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 2 of the 20 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A70 collisions
Police recorded 153 collisions with the A70 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 72 of them fatal or serious, including 11 fatal. That is 23.9 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.4 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 38.5% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | 10 |
| 2022 | 15 | 10 |
| 2023 | 19 | 16 |
| 2024 | 13 | 18 |
| 2025 | 18 | 18 |
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 |
|---|---|
| A8 to A71 City of Edinburgh · 13 collisions | 185.2 |
| Ravelrig Rd to B7008 City of Edinburgh, West Lothian · 11 collisions | 45.7 |
| A71 to B701 City of Edinburgh · 30 collisions | 44.7 |
| A73 to M74 South Lanarkshire · 13 collisions | 27.9 |
| B701 to Ravelrig Rd City of Edinburgh · 15 collisions | 24.0 |
| A76 East Ayrshire · 12 collisions | 16.4 |
| B730 to A77 East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire · 16 collisions | 14.2 |
| A76 to B730 East Ayrshire · 10 collisions | 11.3 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 17 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A70 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 A70
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- City of Edinburgh
- West Lothian
- South Lanarkshire
- East Ayrshire
- South Ayrshire
Roadworks on the A70 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 34 sets of roadworks on the A70 in Scotland, 3 of them under way. 3 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A70 At Coalhall To B730
-
A70 From Douglas To Rigside
-
A70 From Carnwath To Boundary By Tarbrax
-
A70 From Hillhead East To Council Boundary At Coyle Bridge, Coylton
-
A70 From South Ayrshire Boundary To Coalhall
-
A70 From B730 To U74 Bardarroch, Ochiltree
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 | 20 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 153 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.