Trunk A-road

A702 traffic and collisions

The A702 is a trunk A-road of 81.7 miles, from City of Edinburgh to Dumfries & Galloway. This page covers its traffic at 21 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated
Records analysed
21 count points in 2025
Methodology
View methodology
  • Traffic in 2025 97m vehicle miles
  • Average daily traffic 3,240 vehicles a day, both directions
  • Busiest section 22,200 A720 to A703
  • HGV share 7.6% of vehicle miles
  • Traffic since 2019 −3.1% same count points
  • Collisions, 2021 to 2025 110 23.5 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A702?

On an average day in 2025, 3,240 vehicles passed each point on the A702, counting both directions. The busiest section is A720 to A703 (City of Edinburgh, Midlothian), with 22,200 a day; the quietest listed is B7075 to A713, with 246.

Busiest sections, 2025

A720 to A703 carries 6.9 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A702 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section Vehicles a day
A720 to A703 City of Edinburgh, Midlothian · 0.6 mi · HGVs 3.5% 22,200
A700 to B701 Oxgangs Road City of Edinburgh · 3.0 mi · HGVs 1.2% 11,603
At A72 South Lanarkshire · 1.7 mi · HGVs 4.5% 6,421
A73 to M74/A74(M) South Lanarkshire · 1.3 mi · HGVs 12.6% 6,294
A703 to A766 Midlothian · 7.1 mi · HGVs 8.3% 5,932
A766 to A721 Midlothian, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire · 11.1 mi · HGVs 10.0% 5,351
A721 to A72 South Lanarkshire · 4.5 mi · HGVs 13.0% 4,319
A72 to A73 South Lanarkshire · 9.6 mi · HGVs 7.6% 4,296
A74M/M74 to B797 South Lanarkshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 5.3% 1,937
B797 to A74(M) South Lanarkshire · 2.3 mi · HGVs 11.2% 1,002

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Route

City of Edinburgh to Dumfries & Galloway · 81.7 miles

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

A702 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
Sections of the A702 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1A700 to B701 Oxgangs RoadCity of Edinburgh3.011,6031.2%−6.2%4065.0
2B701 Oxgangs Road to Swanston AvenueCity of Edinburgh0.121,4470.9%−8.1%0
3Swanston Avenue to A720City of Edinburgh0.221,2350.9%−8.1%3
4A720 to A703City of Edinburgh, Midlothian0.622,2003.5%+0.4%4
5A703 to A766Midlothian7.15,9328.3%+0.3%2432.8
6A766 to A721Midlothian, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire11.15,35110.0%−3.2%7
7A721 to A72South Lanarkshire4.54,31913.0%−8.0%6
8At A72South Lanarkshire1.76,4214.5%−18.3%fewer than 3
9A72 to A73South Lanarkshire9.64,2967.6%+1.2%1115.1
10A73 to M74/A74(M)South Lanarkshire1.36,29412.6%−2.6%0
11A74M/M74 to B797South Lanarkshire1.21,9375.3%−5.5%0
12B797 to A74(M)South Lanarkshire2.31,00211.2%−2.3%0
13At A74(M)South Lanarkshire1.992814.3%−4.0%0
14A74(M) to A76South Lanarkshire, Dumfries & Galloway16.07107.9%−3.6%8
15A76 to B729 High StreetDumfries & Galloway8.39358.8%+5.4%fewer than 3
16B729 to B7075Dumfries & Galloway11.12667.5%+14.7%4
17B7075 to A713Dumfries & Galloway1.72467.3%−5.0%0

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A702 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.

A702 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 70.6% of the vehicle miles on the A702. HGVs account for 7.6%, rising to 14.3% on At A74(M).

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 A702, by year
Year HGV share
2000 6.2%
2001 6.1%
2002 6.7%
2003 6.6%
2004 6.5%
2005 6.3%
2006 6.9%
2007 6.8%
2008 7.6%
2009 7.1%
2010 7.2%
2011 7.2%
2012 7.2%
2013 7.2%
2014 7.2%
2015 7.3%
2016 7.2%
2017 7.3%
2018 7.4%
2019 7.6%
2020 8.7%
2021 8.7%
2022 8.0%
2023 7.7%
2024 7.6%
2025 7.6%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

A702 traffic trend

Traffic on the A702 came to 96.6 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 3.1% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 5.2% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is down 6.4% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A702 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year Vehicle miles
2000 108m
2001 109m
2002 101m
2003 102m
2004 100m
2005 99m
2006 101m
2007 105m
2008 105m
2009 102m
2010 101m
2011 102m
2012 102m
2013 102m
2014 104m
2015 106m
2016 110m
2017 113m
2018 110m
2019 100m
2020 73m
2021 85m
2022 96m
2023 95m
2024 94m
2025 97m

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A702, weighted by link length, by year
Year Vehicles a day
2000 3,600
2001 3,620
2002 3,377
2003 3,394
2004 3,327
2005 3,309
2006 3,367
2007 3,515
2008 3,513
2009 3,416
2010 3,377
2011 3,401
2012 3,402
2013 3,415
2014 3,468
2015 3,537
2016 3,659
2017 3,776
2018 3,659
2019 3,343
2020 2,444
2021 2,854
2022 3,229
2023 3,185
2024 3,162
2025 3,240

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, 9 of the 21 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A702 collisions

Police recorded 110 collisions with the A702 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 51 of them fatal or serious, including 5 fatal. That is 23.5 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 3.8% from 2021 to 2025.

Police-reported collisions on the A702 by year: fatal or serious, and slight
Year SlightFatal or serious
2021 1511
2022 1410
2023 109
2024 88
2025 1213

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 A702, 2021 to 2025
Section Per 100m vehicle miles
A700 to B701 Oxgangs Road City of Edinburgh · 40 collisions 65.0
A703 to A766 Midlothian · 24 collisions 32.8
A72 to A73 South Lanarkshire · 11 collisions 15.1

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

A further 23 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A702 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 A702

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

  • City of Edinburgh
  • Midlothian
  • Scottish Borders
  • South Lanarkshire
  • Dumfries & Galloway

Roadworks on the A702 in Scotland

The Scottish Road Works Register lists 26 sets of roadworks on the A702 in Scotland, 4 of them under way. 8 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.

  • A702 From Biggar To A721 At Melbourne Crossroads

    Road closed On 27 Sept 2026 BT

  • A702t, Penicuik

    Road closed 1 Oct 2026 to 15 Nov 2026 SP Energy Networks

  • A702 From Biggar To A721 At Melbourne Crossroads

    Road closed 14 Oct 2026 to 15 Oct 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

  • A702t, Penicuik

    Road closed 14 Sept 2026 to 1 Oct 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

  • A702 From Biggar To A721 At Melbourne Crossroads

    Road closed 16 Nov 2026 to 20 Nov 2026 Transport Scotland - SE Unit Op Company

  • A702 From Biggar To A721 At Melbourne Crossroads (plus 2 more)

    Road closed 16 Nov 2026 to 20 Nov 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 21 count points in 2025 15 September 2026
Reported collisions Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport
Derived statistics UK Motoring
2021 to 2025 110 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.