A-road
A81 traffic and collisions
The A81 is an A-road of 36.5 miles, from Glasgow City to Stirling. This page covers its traffic at 15 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 67m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 5,041 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 19,593 A808 to A807
- HGV share 3.0% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −7.2% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 77 23.8 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A81?
On an average day in 2025, 5,041 vehicles passed each point on the A81, counting both directions. The busiest section is A808 to A807 (East Dunbartonshire), with 19,593 a day; the quietest listed is A873 to A84, with 1,620.
Busiest sections, 2025
A808 to A807 carries 3.9 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A808 to A807 East Dunbartonshire · 1.3 mi · HGVs 2.1% | 19,593 |
| A739 to A808 East Dunbartonshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 1.8% | 17,271 |
| B808 to A739 Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire · 2.5 mi · HGVs 2.7% | 14,886 |
| M8/A804 to B808 Bilsland Drive Glasgow City · 1.3 mi · HGVs 2.9% | 9,585 |
| A807 to Lynn Drive East Dunbartonshire · 0.8 mi · HGVs 1.6% | 6,510 |
| Lynn Drive to A891 East Dunbartonshire, Stirling · 3.6 mi · HGVs 3.3% | 6,057 |
| A891 to A875 Stirling · 3.7 mi · HGVs 2.2% | 5,309 |
| A811 to A821 Stirling · 6.3 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 2,580 |
| A821 to A873 Stirling · 5.2 mi · HGVs 4.5% | 2,246 |
| A875 to A811 Stirling · 5.6 mi · HGVs 3.0% | 2,196 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Glasgow City to Stirling · 36.5 miles
A81 traffic and collisions by section
13 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 | M8/A804 to B808 Bilsland DriveGlasgow City | 9,585 | 19 |
| 2 | B808 to A739Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire | 14,886 | 22 |
| 3 | A739 to A808East Dunbartonshire | 17,271 | 5 |
| 4 | A808 to A807East Dunbartonshire | 19,593 | 6 |
| 5 | A807 to Lynn DriveEast Dunbartonshire | 6,510 | fewer than 3 |
| 6 | Lynn Drive to A891East Dunbartonshire, Stirling | 6,057 | fewer than 3 |
| 7 | A891 to A875Stirling | 5,309 | 4 |
| 8 | A875 to A811Stirling | 2,196 | 6 |
| 9 | At A811Stirling | 7,233 | fewer than 3 |
| 10 | A811 to A821Stirling | 2,580 | 5 |
| 11 | A821 to A873Stirling | 2,246 | fewer than 3 |
| 12 | A873 to A84Stirling | 1,620 | 4 |
| 13 | A84 to C-road to GartchonzieStirling | 2,905 | 0 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A81 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.
A81 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 79.2% of the vehicle miles on the A81. HGVs account for 3.0%, rising to 6.7% on A811 to A821.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.6% |
| 2001 | 2.6% |
| 2002 | 2.8% |
| 2003 | 2.8% |
| 2004 | 3.0% |
| 2005 | 3.0% |
| 2006 | 2.7% |
| 2007 | 2.8% |
| 2008 | 2.8% |
| 2009 | 2.5% |
| 2010 | 2.5% |
| 2011 | 2.7% |
| 2012 | 3.0% |
| 2013 | 3.0% |
| 2014 | 3.0% |
| 2015 | 3.0% |
| 2016 | 3.0% |
| 2017 | 3.1% |
| 2018 | 3.1% |
| 2019 | 3.1% |
| 2020 | 3.5% |
| 2021 | 3.4% |
| 2022 | 3.2% |
| 2023 | 3.1% |
| 2024 | 3.1% |
| 2025 | 3.0% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A81 traffic trend
Traffic on the A81 came to 67.2 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 7.2% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 4.6% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 10.4% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 75m |
| 2001 | 75m |
| 2002 | 74m |
| 2003 | 74m |
| 2004 | 75m |
| 2005 | 74m |
| 2006 | 77m |
| 2007 | 76m |
| 2008 | 74m |
| 2009 | 74m |
| 2010 | 73m |
| 2011 | 70m |
| 2012 | 68m |
| 2013 | 68m |
| 2014 | 70m |
| 2015 | 70m |
| 2016 | 72m |
| 2017 | 72m |
| 2018 | 72m |
| 2019 | 72m |
| 2020 | 55m |
| 2021 | 60m |
| 2022 | 65m |
| 2023 | 66m |
| 2024 | 67m |
| 2025 | 67m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 5,634 |
| 2001 | 5,606 |
| 2002 | 5,594 |
| 2003 | 5,601 |
| 2004 | 5,664 |
| 2005 | 5,547 |
| 2006 | 5,776 |
| 2007 | 5,739 |
| 2008 | 5,596 |
| 2009 | 5,559 |
| 2010 | 5,515 |
| 2011 | 5,301 |
| 2012 | 5,127 |
| 2013 | 5,101 |
| 2014 | 5,234 |
| 2015 | 5,292 |
| 2016 | 5,410 |
| 2017 | 5,428 |
| 2018 | 5,406 |
| 2019 | 5,433 |
| 2020 | 4,126 |
| 2021 | 4,505 |
| 2022 | 4,841 |
| 2023 | 4,933 |
| 2024 | 5,001 |
| 2025 | 5,041 |
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, 0 of the 15 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A81 collisions
Police recorded 77 collisions with the A81 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 36 of them fatal or serious. That is 23.8 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.4 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 5.6% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | 8 |
| 2022 | 7 | 4 |
| 2023 | 6 | 10 |
| 2024 | 7 | 8 |
| 2025 | 11 | 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 |
|---|---|
| M8/A804 to B808 Bilsland Drive Glasgow City · 19 collisions | 86.3 |
| B808 to A739 Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire · 22 collisions | 33.4 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 15 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A81 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 A81
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Glasgow City
- East Dunbartonshire
- Stirling
Roadworks on the A81 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 15 sets of roadworks on the A81 in Scotland, 2 of them under way. 4 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A81 From Junction With C114 To Junction With Access To Auchrig, Callander
-
A81 From Northernmost Junction With A811 To Junction With C31, Balfron Station
-
A81 From Council Boundary To Strathblane
-
A81 From Northernmost Junction With A811 To Junction With C31, Balfron Station
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A81 From Northernmost Junction With A811 To Junction With C31, Balfron Station
-
A81 From Junction With Glasgow Road To Junction With Access To Quinloch, Blanefield
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 | 77 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.