A-road
A72 traffic and collisions
The A72 is an A-road of 52.3 miles, from Scottish Borders to South Lanarkshire. This page covers its traffic at 15 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 118m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 6,156 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 23,174 A723 to A724
- HGV share 2.8% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −3.2% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 79 14.1 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A72?
On an average day in 2025, 6,156 vehicles passed each point on the A72, counting both directions. The busiest section is A723 to A724 (South Lanarkshire), with 23,174 a day; the quietest listed is A701 to A702, with 1,335.
Busiest sections, 2025
A723 to A724 carries 3.8 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A723 to A724 South Lanarkshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 0.7% | 23,174 |
| A71 to M74 South Lanarkshire · 2.0 mi · HGVs 3.6% | 15,834 |
| Kilnknowe Place to A7 Scottish Borders · 0.8 mi · HGVs 1.4% | 10,346 |
| Smithycroft, Haughead to A723 South Lanarkshire · 0.5 mi · HGVs 4.1% | 9,671 |
| M74 to Smithycroft, Haughead South Lanarkshire · 2.5 mi · HGVs 4.1% | 8,713 |
| Kilnknowe Place, Galashiels to A703 Scottish Borders · 13.6 mi · HGVs 1.8% | 7,399 |
| A73 to B7086 Lanark Road South Lanarkshire · 2.4 mi · HGVs 4.1% | 6,321 |
| A707 to Kilnknowe Place, Galashiels Scottish Borders · 3.7 mi · HGVs 1.8% | 5,170 |
| B7086 Lanark Road to A71 South Lanarkshire · 5.3 mi · HGVs 2.3% | 5,125 |
| A703 to A701 Scottish Borders · 10.0 mi · HGVs 3.9% | 4,085 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Scottish Borders to South Lanarkshire · 52.3 miles
A72 traffic and collisions by section
14 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 | Kilnknowe Place to A7Scottish Borders | 10,346 | fewer than 3 |
| 2 | A707 to Kilnknowe Place, GalashielsScottish Borders | 5,170 | 3 |
| 3 | Kilnknowe Place, Galashiels to A703Scottish Borders | 7,399 | 14 |
| 4 | A703 to A701Scottish Borders | 4,085 | 7 |
| 5 | A701 to A721Scottish Borders | 3,143 | 0 |
| 6 | A721 to A701Scottish Borders | 2,173 | fewer than 3 |
| 7 | A701 to A702Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire | 1,335 | fewer than 3 |
| 8 | A702 to A73South Lanarkshire | 3,672 | fewer than 3 |
| 9 | A73 to B7086 Lanark RoadSouth Lanarkshire | 6,321 | 8 |
| 10 | B7086 Lanark Road to A71South Lanarkshire | 5,125 | 7 |
| 11 | A71 to M74South Lanarkshire | 15,834 | 4 |
| 12 | M74 to Smithycroft, HaugheadSouth Lanarkshire | 8,713 | 9 |
| 13 | Smithycroft, Haughead to A723South Lanarkshire | 9,671 | 6 |
| 14 | A723 to A724South Lanarkshire | 23,174 | 12 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A72 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.
A72 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 77.6% of the vehicle miles on the A72. HGVs account for 2.8%, rising to 8.0% on A721 to A701.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.4% |
| 2001 | 4.0% |
| 2002 | 4.0% |
| 2003 | 4.1% |
| 2004 | 4.4% |
| 2005 | 5.0% |
| 2006 | 4.5% |
| 2007 | 4.8% |
| 2008 | 4.8% |
| 2009 | 4.6% |
| 2010 | 4.6% |
| 2011 | 4.6% |
| 2012 | 4.4% |
| 2013 | 4.0% |
| 2014 | 4.0% |
| 2015 | 4.1% |
| 2016 | 4.2% |
| 2017 | 4.3% |
| 2018 | 4.3% |
| 2019 | 3.8% |
| 2020 | 4.3% |
| 2021 | 4.2% |
| 2022 | 4.0% |
| 2023 | 3.3% |
| 2024 | 3.3% |
| 2025 | 2.8% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A72 traffic trend
Traffic on the A72 came to 118 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 3.2% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 2.5% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 17.6% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 92m |
| 2001 | 96m |
| 2002 | 99m |
| 2003 | 98m |
| 2004 | 99m |
| 2005 | 98m |
| 2006 | 109m |
| 2007 | 109m |
| 2008 | 107m |
| 2009 | 112m |
| 2010 | 110m |
| 2011 | 111m |
| 2012 | 109m |
| 2013 | 109m |
| 2014 | 112m |
| 2015 | 114m |
| 2016 | 117m |
| 2017 | 118m |
| 2018 | 117m |
| 2019 | 116m |
| 2020 | 95m |
| 2021 | 105m |
| 2022 | 111m |
| 2023 | 114m |
| 2024 | 114m |
| 2025 | 118m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 4,826 |
| 2001 | 5,015 |
| 2002 | 5,182 |
| 2003 | 5,221 |
| 2004 | 5,280 |
| 2005 | 5,155 |
| 2006 | 5,700 |
| 2007 | 5,702 |
| 2008 | 5,603 |
| 2009 | 5,857 |
| 2010 | 5,759 |
| 2011 | 5,825 |
| 2012 | 5,719 |
| 2013 | 5,724 |
| 2014 | 5,850 |
| 2015 | 5,973 |
| 2016 | 6,117 |
| 2017 | 6,171 |
| 2018 | 6,132 |
| 2019 | 6,060 |
| 2020 | 4,983 |
| 2021 | 5,498 |
| 2022 | 5,808 |
| 2023 | 5,975 |
| 2024 | 5,992 |
| 2025 | 6,156 |
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 (74.0% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 3 of the 15 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A72 collisions
Police recorded 79 collisions with the A72 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 39 of them fatal or serious, including 3 fatal. That is 14.1 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 31.3% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | 4 |
| 2022 | 6 | 15 |
| 2023 | 8 | 5 |
| 2024 | 9 | 9 |
| 2025 | 5 | 6 |
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 |
|---|---|
| A723 to A724 South Lanarkshire · 12 collisions | 24.4 |
| Kilnknowe Place, Galashiels to A703 Scottish Borders · 14 collisions | 7.7 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 8 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A72 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 A72
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Scottish Borders
- South Lanarkshire
Roadworks on the A72 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 15 sets of roadworks on the A72 in Scotland, 4 of them under way. 3 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A72 A721 At Kirkdean To A701 At Blyth Bridge
-
A72 A721 At Kirkdean To A701 At Blyth Bridge
-
A72 A721 At Kirkdean To A701 At Blyth Bridge
-
A72 B7088 At Cardrona To A72 At Peebles Road In Innerleithen
-
A72 A72 At Entrance To Thornielee Toll Cottage To A72 West Boundary The Nest Kennels, Galashiels
-
A72 A72 At Entrance To Ladyurd Farm To B712 At Beggarpath Bridge, Peebles
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 | 15 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 79 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.