A-road
A721 traffic and collisions
The A721 is an A-road of 28.2 miles, from Scottish Borders to North Lanarkshire. This page covers its traffic at 18 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 90m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 8,718 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 34,929 A722 to A721 Menteith Rd
- HGV share 3.5% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +3.0% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 75 17.0 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A721?
On an average day in 2025, 8,718 vehicles passed each point on the A721, counting both directions. The busiest section is A722 to A721 Menteith Rd (North Lanarkshire), with 34,929 a day; the quietest listed is A72 to A702, with 1,174.
Busiest sections, 2025
A722 to A721 Menteith Rd carries 4.0 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A722 to A721 Menteith Rd North Lanarkshire · 3.1 mi · HGVs 1.8% | 34,929 |
| B7070 North Road to A725 North Lanarkshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 4.2% | 15,906 |
| A71 to A722 North Lanarkshire · 1.1 mi · HGVs 0.9% | 10,842 |
| B7056 Boghall Rd to A73 South Lanarkshire · 1.6 mi · HGVs 2.4% | 8,601 |
| A70 to A706 South Lanarkshire · 1.4 mi · HGVs 6.2% | 8,479 |
| A725 to A752 North Lanarkshire · 1.8 mi · HGVs 5.1% | 7,429 |
| A73 to A71 North Lanarkshire · 1.4 mi · HGVs 3.3% | 6,937 |
| A706 to B7056 Boghall Rd South Lanarkshire · 3.7 mi · HGVs 7.8% | 6,151 |
| A721 Hope St to A721 Main St North Lanarkshire · 2.2 mi · HGVs 2.1% | 3,457 |
| A702 to A70 South Lanarkshire · 7.6 mi · HGVs 9.6% | 2,218 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Scottish Borders to North Lanarkshire · 28.2 miles
A721 traffic and collisions by section
15 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 2 short link roads and spurs (0.5 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A72 to A702Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire | 1,174 | fewer than 3 |
| 2 | A702 to A70South Lanarkshire | 2,218 | 6 |
| 3 | A70 to A706South Lanarkshire | 8,479 | 3 |
| 4 | A706 to B7056 Boghall RdSouth Lanarkshire | 6,151 | 7 |
| 5 | B7056 Boghall Rd to A73South Lanarkshire | 8,601 | 5 |
| 6 | A73 to A71North Lanarkshire | 6,937 | 3 |
| 7 | A71 to A722North Lanarkshire | 10,842 | fewer than 3 |
| 8 | A722 to A721 Menteith RdNorth Lanarkshire | 34,929 | 28 |
| 9 | A721 Menteith Rd to A723North Lanarkshire | 13,756 | fewer than 3 |
| 10 | A723 to A721 Hope StNorth Lanarkshire | 7,559 | 0 |
| 11 | A721 Hope St to A721 Main StNorth Lanarkshire | 3,457 | 9 |
| 12 | A721 Motherwell Rd to B7070 Hamilton RoadNorth Lanarkshire | 6,825 | 0 |
| 13 | B7070 Hamilton Road to B7070 North RoadNorth Lanarkshire | 9,521 | 0 |
| 14 | B7070 North Road to A725North Lanarkshire | 15,906 | fewer than 3 |
| 15 | A725 to A752North Lanarkshire | 7,429 | 7 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A721 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.
A721 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 78.6% of the vehicle miles on the A721. HGVs account for 3.5%, rising to 9.6% on A702 to A70.
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 | 4.3% |
| 2003 | 4.4% |
| 2004 | 4.3% |
| 2005 | 5.3% |
| 2006 | 5.5% |
| 2007 | 5.8% |
| 2008 | 5.7% |
| 2009 | 4.5% |
| 2010 | 4.6% |
| 2011 | 4.5% |
| 2012 | 4.6% |
| 2013 | 4.6% |
| 2014 | 4.6% |
| 2015 | 4.6% |
| 2016 | 4.1% |
| 2017 | 4.2% |
| 2018 | 4.3% |
| 2019 | 4.1% |
| 2020 | 4.6% |
| 2021 | 3.9% |
| 2022 | 3.7% |
| 2023 | 3.6% |
| 2024 | 3.4% |
| 2025 | 3.5% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A721 traffic trend
Traffic on the A721 came to 89.7 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 3.0% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 11.3% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 6.5% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 105m |
| 2001 | 106m |
| 2002 | 105m |
| 2003 | 103m |
| 2004 | 104m |
| 2005 | 105m |
| 2006 | 104m |
| 2007 | 102m |
| 2008 | 99m |
| 2009 | 100m |
| 2010 | 98m |
| 2011 | 97m |
| 2012 | 95m |
| 2013 | 93m |
| 2014 | 95m |
| 2015 | 95m |
| 2016 | 101m |
| 2017 | 99m |
| 2018 | 99m |
| 2019 | 87m |
| 2020 | 67m |
| 2021 | 83m |
| 2022 | 88m |
| 2023 | 90m |
| 2024 | 92m |
| 2025 | 90m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8,889 |
| 2001 | 8,957 |
| 2002 | 8,849 |
| 2003 | 8,731 |
| 2004 | 8,798 |
| 2005 | 8,834 |
| 2006 | 8,767 |
| 2007 | 8,619 |
| 2008 | 8,398 |
| 2009 | 8,450 |
| 2010 | 8,302 |
| 2011 | 8,165 |
| 2012 | 8,009 |
| 2013 | 7,871 |
| 2014 | 8,031 |
| 2015 | 8,060 |
| 2016 | 8,544 |
| 2017 | 8,448 |
| 2018 | 8,417 |
| 2019 | 8,466 |
| 2020 | 6,517 |
| 2021 | 8,012 |
| 2022 | 8,589 |
| 2023 | 8,740 |
| 2024 | 8,941 |
| 2025 | 8,718 |
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, 1 of the 18 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A721 collisions
Police recorded 75 collisions with the A721 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, fewer than 3 of them fatal or serious. That is 17.0 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.5 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 14.3% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 |
| 2022 | 15 |
| 2023 | 12 |
| 2024 | 18 |
| 2025 | 16 |
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 |
|---|---|
| A722 to A721 Menteith Rd North Lanarkshire · 28 collisions | 13.8 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 19 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A721 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 A721
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Scottish Borders
- South Lanarkshire
- North Lanarkshire
Roadworks on the A721 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 1 set of roadworks on the A721 in Scotland, 0 of them under way. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A721 From Carnwath To A702 Melbourne
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 | 18 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 75 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.