A-road
A73 traffic and collisions
The A73 is an A-road of 39.4 miles, from North Lanarkshire to South Lanarkshire. This page covers its traffic at 20 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 132m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 9,207 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 18,681 A89 to Lancaster Avenue
- HGV share 6.1% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −6.8% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 91 14.1 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A73?
On an average day in 2025, 9,207 vehicles passed each point on the A73, counting both directions. The busiest section is A89 to Lancaster Avenue (North Lanarkshire), with 18,681 a day; the quietest listed is A72 to A702, with 1,900.
Busiest sections, 2025
A89 to Lancaster Avenue carries 2.0 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A89 to Lancaster Avenue North Lanarkshire · 2.4 mi · HGVs 6.9% | 18,681 |
| McCarrison Rd to A722 North Lanarkshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 14,922 |
| A80 to B8058 Airdriehill Street North Lanarkshire · 5.8 mi · HGVs 5.9% | 14,152 |
| B8058 Airdriehill Street to A89 North Lanarkshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 6.8% | 14,094 |
| B7066 to McCarrison Rd North Lanarkshire · 3.7 mi · HGVs 3.8% | 13,947 |
| A721 to Goremire Rd South Lanarkshire · 1.0 mi · HGVs 1.8% | 13,030 |
| A721 to Weighhouse Rd, Carluke South Lanarkshire · 1.9 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 10,901 |
| Goremire Rd, Carluke to A72 South Lanarkshire · 4.3 mi · HGVs 3.6% | 7,750 |
| A71 to A721 North Lanarkshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 5.5% | 7,468 |
| A743 to A70 South Lanarkshire · 2.4 mi · HGVs 7.7% | 5,565 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
North Lanarkshire to South Lanarkshire · 39.4 miles
A73 traffic and collisions by section
20 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.
Show all 20 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A80 to B8058 Airdriehill StreetNorth Lanarkshire | 14,152 | 12 |
| 2 | B8058 Airdriehill Street to A89North Lanarkshire | 14,094 | 6 |
| 3 | A89 to Lancaster AvenueNorth Lanarkshire | 18,681 | 20 |
| 4 | Lancaster Avenue to M8North Lanarkshire | 17,000 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | M8 to A775North Lanarkshire | 23,722 | 0 |
| 6 | B7066 Motherwell Road to B7066North Lanarkshire | 23,263 | fewer than 3 |
| 7 | B7066 to McCarrison RdNorth Lanarkshire | 13,947 | 8 |
| 8 | McCarrison Rd to A722North Lanarkshire | 14,922 | 3 |
| 9 | A722 to A71North Lanarkshire | 17,303 | fewer than 3 |
| 10 | A71 to A721North Lanarkshire | 7,468 | 6 |
| 11 | A721 to Weighhouse Rd, CarlukeSouth Lanarkshire | 10,901 | 5 |
| 12 | Weighhouse Rd, Carluke to A721South Lanarkshire | 12,100 | fewer than 3 |
| 13 | A721 to Goremire RdSouth Lanarkshire | 13,030 | 5 |
| 14 | Goremire Rd, Carluke to A72South Lanarkshire | 7,750 | 7 |
| 15 | A72 to A706South Lanarkshire | 14,783 | 3 |
| 16 | A706 to A743South Lanarkshire | 15,621 | 0 |
| 17 | A743 to A70South Lanarkshire | 5,565 | 3 |
| 18 | At A70South Lanarkshire | 7,156 | 3 |
| 19 | A70 to A72South Lanarkshire | 4,531 | 5 |
| 20 | A72 to A702South Lanarkshire | 1,900 | fewer than 3 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A73 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.
A73 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 71.6% of the vehicle miles on the A73. HGVs account for 6.1%, rising to 13.5% on A72 to A702.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.9% |
| 2001 | 8.3% |
| 2002 | 8.4% |
| 2003 | 8.8% |
| 2004 | 8.6% |
| 2005 | 9.1% |
| 2006 | 9.2% |
| 2007 | 9.2% |
| 2008 | 8.6% |
| 2009 | 8.1% |
| 2010 | 8.0% |
| 2011 | 7.7% |
| 2012 | 7.7% |
| 2013 | 7.2% |
| 2014 | 7.1% |
| 2015 | 7.1% |
| 2016 | 7.2% |
| 2017 | 7.4% |
| 2018 | 6.3% |
| 2019 | 6.1% |
| 2020 | 7.1% |
| 2021 | 6.9% |
| 2022 | 6.6% |
| 2023 | 6.3% |
| 2024 | 6.2% |
| 2025 | 6.1% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A73 traffic trend
Traffic on the A73 came to 132 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 6.8% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 5.3% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 11.8% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 142m |
| 2001 | 140m |
| 2002 | 142m |
| 2003 | 145m |
| 2004 | 148m |
| 2005 | 136m |
| 2006 | 140m |
| 2007 | 143m |
| 2008 | 141m |
| 2009 | 140m |
| 2010 | 139m |
| 2011 | 138m |
| 2012 | 136m |
| 2013 | 134m |
| 2014 | 138m |
| 2015 | 141m |
| 2016 | 142m |
| 2017 | 142m |
| 2018 | 139m |
| 2019 | 142m |
| 2020 | 110m |
| 2021 | 121m |
| 2022 | 129m |
| 2023 | 131m |
| 2024 | 133m |
| 2025 | 132m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 10,074 |
| 2001 | 9,947 |
| 2002 | 10,052 |
| 2003 | 10,299 |
| 2004 | 10,502 |
| 2005 | 9,683 |
| 2006 | 9,904 |
| 2007 | 10,114 |
| 2008 | 10,008 |
| 2009 | 9,928 |
| 2010 | 9,884 |
| 2011 | 9,781 |
| 2012 | 9,632 |
| 2013 | 9,488 |
| 2014 | 9,756 |
| 2015 | 9,990 |
| 2016 | 10,056 |
| 2017 | 10,100 |
| 2018 | 9,716 |
| 2019 | 9,875 |
| 2020 | 7,648 |
| 2021 | 8,414 |
| 2022 | 8,976 |
| 2023 | 9,130 |
| 2024 | 9,243 |
| 2025 | 9,207 |
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, 2 of the 20 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A73 collisions
Police recorded 91 collisions with the A73 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 36 of them fatal or serious. 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 0.5 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 5.9% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | 9 |
| 2022 | 10 | 5 |
| 2023 | 19 | 5 |
| 2024 | 7 | 12 |
| 2025 | 11 | 5 |
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 |
|---|---|
| A89 to Lancaster Avenue North Lanarkshire · 20 collisions | 25.2 |
| A80 to B8058 Airdriehill Street North Lanarkshire · 12 collisions | 7.9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 16 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A73 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 A73
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- North Lanarkshire
- South Lanarkshire
Roadworks on the A73 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 2 sets of roadworks on the A73 in Scotland, 1 of them under way. 1 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A73 From Symington A72 To Hyndford Bridge
-
A73 From Symington A72 To Hyndford Bridge, Thankerton
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 | 20 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 91 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.