Trunk A-road
A726 traffic and collisions
The A726 is a trunk A-road of 28.9 miles, from South Lanarkshire to Renfrewshire. This page covers its traffic at 18 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 178m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 16,857 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 27,672 Stewartfield Way to M77
- HGV share 2.6% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −1.2% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 113 14.0 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A726?
On an average day in 2025, 16,857 vehicles passed each point on the A726, counting both directions. The busiest section is Stewartfield Way to M77 (South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire), with 27,672 a day; the quietest listed is Strathaven to East Kilbride, with 7,786.
Busiest sections, 2025
Stewartfield Way to M77 carries 1.6 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| Stewartfield Way to M77 South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire · 5.9 mi · HGVs 3.5% | 27,672 |
| B761 West Mains Road to Stewartfield Way South Lanarkshire · 0.8 mi · HGVs 1.9% | 24,553 |
| McFarlane St to M8 Renfrewshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 2.1% | 20,190 |
| A736 to A761 Glasgow City, Renfrewshire · 2.7 mi · HGVs 1.5% | 17,994 |
| A8 Renfrewshire · 3.2 mi · HGVs 0.7% | 17,863 |
| A726 Old Sneddon St to McFarlane St Renfrewshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 1.1% | 16,761 |
| M77 to A736 Glasgow City · 1.7 mi · HGVs 2.9% | 16,244 |
| M8 to B790 Houston Road Renfrewshire · 1.9 mi · HGVs 6.2% | 16,189 |
| A725 to B761 West Mains Road South Lanarkshire · 2.0 mi · HGVs 2.4% | 12,706 |
| Strathaven to East Kilbride South Lanarkshire · 7.5 mi · HGVs 2.0% | 7,786 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
South Lanarkshire to Renfrewshire · 28.9 miles
A726 traffic and collisions by section
15 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 1 short link roads and spurs (0.3 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A71 to A723South Lanarkshire | 3,139 | 0 |
| 2 | Strathaven to East KilbrideSouth Lanarkshire | 7,786 | 16 |
| 3 | A725 to B761 West Mains RoadSouth Lanarkshire | 12,706 | 10 |
| 4 | B761 West Mains Road to Stewartfield WaySouth Lanarkshire | 24,553 | 7 |
| 5 | Stewartfield Way to M77South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire | 27,672 | 16 |
| 6 | M77 to A736Glasgow City | 16,244 | 14 |
| 7 | A736 to A761Glasgow City, Renfrewshire | 17,994 | 19 |
| 8 | A761 to A726Renfrewshire | 19,792 | 3 |
| 9 | A761 to A726 Weir StRenfrewshire | 25,149 | fewer than 3 |
| 10 | A726 St James St to A726 Renfrew RdRenfrewshire | 19,531 | fewer than 3 |
| 11 | A726 Old Sneddon St to McFarlane StRenfrewshire | 16,761 | 0 |
| 12 | McFarlane St to M8Renfrewshire | 20,190 | 5 |
| 13 | M8 to B790 Houston RoadRenfrewshire | 16,189 | 7 |
| 14 | B790 Houston Road to A8Renfrewshire | 12,443 | fewer than 3 |
| 15 | A8Renfrewshire | 17,863 | 10 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A726 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.
A726 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 80.2% of the vehicle miles on the A726. HGVs account for 2.6%, rising to 6.2% on M8 to B790 Houston Road.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.3% |
| 2001 | 3.2% |
| 2002 | 3.5% |
| 2003 | 3.7% |
| 2004 | 3.8% |
| 2005 | 3.9% |
| 2006 | 4.6% |
| 2007 | 4.3% |
| 2008 | 4.1% |
| 2009 | 3.6% |
| 2010 | 3.6% |
| 2011 | 3.5% |
| 2012 | 3.0% |
| 2013 | 3.2% |
| 2014 | 3.1% |
| 2015 | 3.2% |
| 2016 | 3.2% |
| 2017 | 3.4% |
| 2018 | 3.3% |
| 2019 | 3.0% |
| 2020 | 3.4% |
| 2021 | 3.2% |
| 2022 | 3.0% |
| 2023 | 2.6% |
| 2024 | 2.5% |
| 2025 | 2.6% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A726 traffic trend
Traffic on the A726 came to 178 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 1.2% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 6.6% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 0.9% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 167m |
| 2001 | 169m |
| 2002 | 171m |
| 2003 | 170m |
| 2004 | 168m |
| 2005 | 152m |
| 2006 | 218m |
| 2007 | 212m |
| 2008 | 212m |
| 2009 | 213m |
| 2010 | 212m |
| 2011 | 208m |
| 2012 | 206m |
| 2013 | 202m |
| 2014 | 206m |
| 2015 | 210m |
| 2016 | 215m |
| 2017 | 178m |
| 2018 | 182m |
| 2019 | 174m |
| 2020 | 133m |
| 2021 | 148m |
| 2022 | 160m |
| 2023 | 162m |
| 2024 | 161m |
| 2025 | 178m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 16,781 |
| 2001 | 16,994 |
| 2002 | 17,160 |
| 2003 | 17,019 |
| 2004 | 16,846 |
| 2005 | 15,821 |
| 2006 | 18,565 |
| 2007 | 18,054 |
| 2008 | 18,102 |
| 2009 | 18,217 |
| 2010 | 18,108 |
| 2011 | 17,758 |
| 2012 | 17,574 |
| 2013 | 17,241 |
| 2014 | 17,615 |
| 2015 | 17,923 |
| 2016 | 18,343 |
| 2017 | 17,070 |
| 2018 | 16,827 |
| 2019 | 16,363 |
| 2020 | 12,616 |
| 2021 | 14,005 |
| 2022 | 15,165 |
| 2023 | 15,383 |
| 2024 | 15,220 |
| 2025 | 16,857 |
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 (63.0% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 3 of the 18 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A726 collisions
Police recorded 113 collisions with the A726 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 53 of them fatal or serious, including 6 fatal. That is 14.0 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.8 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 15.8% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6 | 13 |
| 2022 | 16 | 12 |
| 2023 | 12 | 9 |
| 2024 | 12 | 11 |
| 2025 | 14 | 8 |
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 |
|---|---|
| M77 to A736 Glasgow City · 14 collisions | 28.7 |
| A725 to B761 West Mains Road South Lanarkshire · 10 collisions | 22.2 |
| A736 to A761 Glasgow City, Renfrewshire · 19 collisions | 22.1 |
| Strathaven to East Kilbride South Lanarkshire · 16 collisions | 19.5 |
| A8 Renfrewshire · 10 collisions | 9.9 |
| Stewartfield Way to M77 South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire · 16 collisions | 6.7 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 20 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A726 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 A726
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- South Lanarkshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow City
- Renfrewshire
Roadworks on the A726 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 2 sets of roadworks on the A726 in Scotland, 0 of them under way. 2 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A726 Westbound Glasgow Road - Mearnskirk, Newton Mearns
-
A726 Eastbound (J5 M77 - Mearnskirk), Newton Mearns
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 | 113 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.