A-road
A836 traffic and collisions
The A836 is an A-road of 120.8 miles, in Highland. This page covers its traffic at 14 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 52m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 1,187 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 4,046 A9 to B876
- HGV share 3.3% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +15.7% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 32 13.0 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A836?
On an average day in 2025, 1,187 vehicles passed each point on the A836, counting both directions. The busiest section is A9 to B876 (Highland), with 4,046 a day; the quietest listed is B873 to A838, with 258.
Busiest sections, 2025
A9 to B876 carries 3.4 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A9 to B876 Highland · 5.1 mi · HGVs 1.7% | 4,046 |
| A897 to A9 Highland · 14.7 mi · HGVs 1.3% | 2,400 |
| B876 to A99 Highland · 14.0 mi · HGVs 1.6% | 2,022 |
| B9176 to A949 Highland · 4.2 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 1,823 |
| A949 to A837 Highland · 4.0 mi · HGVs 5.7% | 1,749 |
| A837 to A839 Highland · 6.2 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 1,041 |
| A839 to A838 Highland · 2.6 mi · HGVs 8.1% | 853 |
| B871 to C-road crossroads at Bettyhill Highland · 2.8 mi · HGVs 6.5% | 742 |
| C-road at west edge of Bettyhill to A897 Highland · 15.0 mi · HGVs 2.9% | 693 |
| A9 to B9176 Highland · 8.5 mi · HGVs 18.3% | 677 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
In Highland · 120.8 miles
A836 traffic and collisions by section
14 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 | A9 to B9176Highland | 677 | 3 |
| 2 | B9176 to A949Highland | 1,823 | fewer than 3 |
| 3 | A949 to A837Highland | 1,749 | fewer than 3 |
| 4 | A837 to A839Highland | 1,041 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | At A839Highland | 1,923 | 0 |
| 6 | A839 to A838Highland | 853 | 0 |
| 7 | A838 to B873Highland | 449 | 0 |
| 8 | B873 to A838Highland | 258 | fewer than 3 |
| 9 | A838 to B871Highland | 503 | fewer than 3 |
| 10 | B871 to C-road crossroads at BettyhillHighland | 742 | 0 |
| 11 | C-road at west edge of Bettyhill to A897Highland | 693 | fewer than 3 |
| 12 | A897 to A9Highland | 2,400 | 8 |
| 13 | A9 to B876Highland | 4,046 | 6 |
| 14 | B876 to A99Highland | 2,022 | 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 A836 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.
A836 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 69.5% of the vehicle miles on the A836. HGVs account for 3.3%, rising to 18.3% on A9 to B9176.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.5% |
| 2001 | 4.4% |
| 2002 | 4.2% |
| 2003 | 4.0% |
| 2004 | 4.3% |
| 2005 | 4.7% |
| 2006 | 4.6% |
| 2007 | 4.7% |
| 2008 | 4.3% |
| 2009 | 4.9% |
| 2010 | 5.0% |
| 2011 | 4.9% |
| 2012 | 4.8% |
| 2013 | 4.6% |
| 2014 | 4.7% |
| 2015 | 4.7% |
| 2016 | 4.7% |
| 2017 | 4.8% |
| 2018 | 4.9% |
| 2019 | 4.9% |
| 2020 | 5.2% |
| 2021 | 4.6% |
| 2022 | 3.8% |
| 2023 | 3.7% |
| 2024 | 3.6% |
| 2025 | 3.3% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A836 traffic trend
Traffic on the A836 came to 52.3 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 15.7% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 20.5% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 28.6% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 41m |
| 2001 | 41m |
| 2002 | 44m |
| 2003 | 46m |
| 2004 | 44m |
| 2005 | 44m |
| 2006 | 43m |
| 2007 | 42m |
| 2008 | 41m |
| 2009 | 41m |
| 2010 | 40m |
| 2011 | 41m |
| 2012 | 40m |
| 2013 | 41m |
| 2014 | 42m |
| 2015 | 43m |
| 2016 | 44m |
| 2017 | 45m |
| 2018 | 45m |
| 2019 | 45m |
| 2020 | 35m |
| 2021 | 44m |
| 2022 | 49m |
| 2023 | 50m |
| 2024 | 51m |
| 2025 | 52m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 921 |
| 2001 | 938 |
| 2002 | 987 |
| 2003 | 1,038 |
| 2004 | 987 |
| 2005 | 996 |
| 2006 | 972 |
| 2007 | 956 |
| 2008 | 927 |
| 2009 | 925 |
| 2010 | 903 |
| 2011 | 923 |
| 2012 | 911 |
| 2013 | 934 |
| 2014 | 960 |
| 2015 | 983 |
| 2016 | 1,007 |
| 2017 | 1,017 |
| 2018 | 1,022 |
| 2019 | 1,026 |
| 2020 | 792 |
| 2021 | 997 |
| 2022 | 1,107 |
| 2023 | 1,130 |
| 2024 | 1,153 |
| 2025 | 1,187 |
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 14 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A836 collisions
Police recorded 32 collisions with the A836 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, fewer than 3 of them fatal or serious, including 7 fatal. That is 13.0 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.1 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 44.4% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 8 |
| 2023 | 6 |
| 2024 | 4 |
| 2025 | 5 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. How we count collisions
Council areas on the A836
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Highland
Roadworks on the A836 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 3 sets of roadworks on the A836 in Scotland, 1 of them under way. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A836 From A838 Junction To Access To Clebrig Farm Altnahara, Lairg
-
A836 From A838 Junction To Access To Clebrig Farm Altnahara, Lairg
-
A836 From A838 Junction To Access To Clebrig Farm Altnahara, Lairg
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 | 14 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 32 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.