Trunk A-road
A720 traffic and collisions
The A720 is a trunk A-road of 14.0 miles, from City of Edinburgh to East Lothian. This page covers its traffic at 10 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 348m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 68,177 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 93,585 M8 to A71
- HGV share 5.3% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +4.3% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 139 8.5 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A720?
On an average day in 2025, 68,177 vehicles passed each point on the A720, counting both directions. The busiest section is M8 to A71 (City of Edinburgh), with 93,585 a day; the quietest listed is A8 to M8, with 35,309.
Busiest sections, 2025
M8 to A71 carries 1.4 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| M8 to A71 City of Edinburgh · 0.7 mi · HGVs 5.0% | 93,585 |
| Dreghorn Link junction to A702 City of Edinburgh · 1.6 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 91,857 |
| A71 to Dreghorn Link junction City of Edinburgh · 3.6 mi · HGVs 5.1% | 78,369 |
| A702 to A701 City of Edinburgh · 1.7 mi · HGVs 4.6% | 78,304 |
| A701 to A772 City of Edinburgh · 2.1 mi · HGVs 6.6% | 60,645 |
| A68 to A1 Midlothian, East Lothian · 0.8 mi · HGVs 5.4% | 52,395 |
| A6106 to A68 Midlothian · 1.4 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 50,842 |
| A772 to A7/A6106 City of Edinburgh · 0.9 mi · HGVs 6.4% | 48,815 |
| A8 to M8 City of Edinburgh · 1.2 mi · HGVs 2.5% | 35,309 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
City of Edinburgh to East Lothian · 14.0 miles
A720 traffic and collisions by section
9 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 | A8 to M8City of Edinburgh | 35,309 | 19 |
| 2 | M8 to A71City of Edinburgh | 93,585 | 16 |
| 3 | A71 to Dreghorn Link junctionCity of Edinburgh | 78,369 | 43 |
| 4 | Dreghorn Link junction to A702City of Edinburgh | 91,857 | 11 |
| 5 | A702 to A701City of Edinburgh | 78,304 | 8 |
| 6 | A701 to A772City of Edinburgh | 60,645 | 17 |
| 7 | A772 to A7/A6106City of Edinburgh | 48,815 | 7 |
| 8 | A6106 to A68Midlothian | 50,842 | 12 |
| 9 | A68 to A1Midlothian, East Lothian | 52,395 | 6 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A720 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.
A720 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 74.5% of the vehicle miles on the A720. HGVs account for 5.3%, rising to 6.7% on A6106 to A68.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.4% |
| 2001 | 7.1% |
| 2002 | 6.9% |
| 2003 | 6.8% |
| 2004 | 7.4% |
| 2005 | 7.7% |
| 2006 | 7.6% |
| 2007 | 7.6% |
| 2008 | 7.7% |
| 2009 | 6.8% |
| 2010 | 7.0% |
| 2011 | 7.0% |
| 2012 | 7.0% |
| 2013 | 7.1% |
| 2014 | 6.8% |
| 2015 | 6.8% |
| 2016 | 6.8% |
| 2017 | 6.8% |
| 2018 | 6.7% |
| 2019 | 6.6% |
| 2020 | 7.0% |
| 2021 | 6.3% |
| 2022 | 5.8% |
| 2023 | 5.5% |
| 2024 | 5.4% |
| 2025 | 5.3% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A720 traffic trend
Traffic on the A720 came to 348 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 4.3% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 6.5% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 23.5% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 263m |
| 2001 | 271m |
| 2002 | 280m |
| 2003 | 284m |
| 2004 | 287m |
| 2005 | 292m |
| 2006 | 302m |
| 2007 | 300m |
| 2008 | 280m |
| 2009 | 303m |
| 2010 | 286m |
| 2011 | 287m |
| 2012 | 284m |
| 2013 | 291m |
| 2014 | 288m |
| 2015 | 303m |
| 2016 | 310m |
| 2017 | 307m |
| 2018 | 315m |
| 2019 | 334m |
| 2020 | 231m |
| 2021 | 284m |
| 2022 | 330m |
| 2023 | 336m |
| 2024 | 345m |
| 2025 | 348m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 54,534 |
| 2001 | 56,193 |
| 2002 | 58,084 |
| 2003 | 58,961 |
| 2004 | 59,476 |
| 2005 | 60,680 |
| 2006 | 62,617 |
| 2007 | 62,229 |
| 2008 | 58,033 |
| 2009 | 62,889 |
| 2010 | 59,440 |
| 2011 | 59,532 |
| 2012 | 58,970 |
| 2013 | 60,415 |
| 2014 | 59,863 |
| 2015 | 62,858 |
| 2016 | 64,416 |
| 2017 | 63,629 |
| 2018 | 63,830 |
| 2019 | 65,371 |
| 2020 | 45,282 |
| 2021 | 55,610 |
| 2022 | 64,620 |
| 2023 | 65,803 |
| 2024 | 67,522 |
| 2025 | 68,177 |
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, 7 of the 10 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A720 collisions
Police recorded 139 collisions with the A720 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 34 of them fatal or serious, including 3 fatal. That is 8.5 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 2.0 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 24.0% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | 5 |
| 2022 | 25 | 6 |
| 2023 | 22 | 6 |
| 2024 | 19 | 5 |
| 2025 | 19 | 12 |
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 M8 City of Edinburgh · 19 collisions | 27.4 |
| M8 to A71 City of Edinburgh · 16 collisions | 16.6 |
| A6106 to A68 Midlothian · 12 collisions | 9.9 |
| A71 to Dreghorn Link junction City of Edinburgh · 43 collisions | 8.7 |
| A701 to A772 City of Edinburgh · 17 collisions | 7.6 |
| Dreghorn Link junction to A702 City of Edinburgh · 11 collisions | 4.3 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 11 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A720 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 100.0% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions
Council areas on the A720
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- City of Edinburgh
- Midlothian
- East Lothian
Roadworks on the A720 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 21 sets of roadworks on the A720 in Scotland, 3 of them under way. 21 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
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A720t City Of Edinburgh Bypass
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A720t City Of Edinburgh Bypass
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A720t City Of Edinburgh Bypass
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A720t City Of Edinburgh Bypass
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A720t City Of Edinburgh Bypass
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A720t City Of Edinburgh Bypass
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 | 10 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 139 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.