A-road
A859 traffic and collisions
The A859 is an A-road of 55.3 miles, in Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. This page covers its traffic at 5 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 26m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 1,304 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 3,548 Intersection of A858 and A859 near Cleascro Road Houses to Roundabout where A858 and A857 meet
- HGV share 4.8% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −3.5% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 15 8 fatal or serious
How busy is the A859?
On an average day in 2025, 1,304 vehicles passed each point on the A859, counting both directions. The busiest section is Intersection of A858 and A859 near Cleascro Road Houses to Roundabout where A858 and A857 meet (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar), with 3,548 a day; the quietest listed is Roghadal to A868, with 631.
Busiest sections, 2025
Intersection of A858 and A859 near Cleascro Road Houses to Roundabout where A858 and A857 meet carries 2.7 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| Intersection of A858 and A859 near Cleascro Road Houses to Roundabout where A858 and A857 meet Comhairle nan Eilean Siar · 6.5 mi · HGVs 3.0% | 3,548 |
| B8060 to A858 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar · 8.6 mi · HGVs 2.7% | 2,110 |
| A868 to B887 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar · 3.1 mi · HGVs 23.3% | 1,358 |
| B887 to B8060 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar · 17.3 mi · HGVs 6.6% | 821 |
| Roghadal to A868 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar · 19.8 mi · HGVs 2.7% | 631 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
In Comhairle nan Eilean Siar · 55.3 miles
A859 traffic and collisions by section
5 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 | Roghadal to A868Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 631 | 0 |
| 2 | A868 to B887Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 1,358 | fewer than 3 |
| 3 | B887 to B8060Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 821 | 3 |
| 4 | B8060 to A858Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 2,110 | 3 |
| 5 | Intersection of A858 and A859 near Cleascro Road Houses to Roundabout where A858 and A857 meetComhairle nan Eilean Siar | 3,548 | 7 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A859 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.
A859 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 66.9% of the vehicle miles on the A859. HGVs account for 4.8%, rising to 23.3% on A868 to B887.
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 | 4.7% |
| 2003 | 4.6% |
| 2004 | 4.6% |
| 2005 | 5.2% |
| 2006 | 5.9% |
| 2007 | 5.7% |
| 2008 | 7.4% |
| 2009 | 8.9% |
| 2010 | 9.0% |
| 2011 | 8.9% |
| 2012 | 9.0% |
| 2013 | 8.6% |
| 2014 | 8.8% |
| 2015 | 9.1% |
| 2016 | 5.8% |
| 2017 | 6.9% |
| 2018 | 7.0% |
| 2019 | 7.2% |
| 2020 | 8.3% |
| 2021 | 8.0% |
| 2022 | 5.2% |
| 2023 | 4.9% |
| 2024 | 4.8% |
| 2025 | 4.8% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A859 traffic trend
Traffic on the A859 came to 26.3 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 3.5% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 2.9% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 45.6% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 17m |
| 2001 | 17m |
| 2002 | 17m |
| 2003 | 19m |
| 2004 | 19m |
| 2005 | 15m |
| 2006 | 23m |
| 2007 | 22m |
| 2008 | 18m |
| 2009 | 18m |
| 2010 | 18m |
| 2011 | 18m |
| 2012 | 18m |
| 2013 | 18m |
| 2014 | 18m |
| 2015 | 19m |
| 2016 | 37m |
| 2017 | 28m |
| 2018 | 28m |
| 2019 | 27m |
| 2020 | 21m |
| 2021 | 23m |
| 2022 | 25m |
| 2023 | 26m |
| 2024 | 26m |
| 2025 | 26m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 856 |
| 2001 | 873 |
| 2002 | 840 |
| 2003 | 943 |
| 2004 | 931 |
| 2005 | 763 |
| 2006 | 1,147 |
| 2007 | 1,127 |
| 2008 | 909 |
| 2009 | 896 |
| 2010 | 885 |
| 2011 | 897 |
| 2012 | 881 |
| 2013 | 883 |
| 2014 | 914 |
| 2015 | 943 |
| 2016 | 1,811 |
| 2017 | 1,373 |
| 2018 | 1,386 |
| 2019 | 1,351 |
| 2020 | 1,045 |
| 2021 | 1,159 |
| 2022 | 1,247 |
| 2023 | 1,272 |
| 2024 | 1,287 |
| 2025 | 1,304 |
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 5 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A859 collisions
Police recorded 15 collisions with the A859 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 8 of them fatal or serious.
Reported collisions by year
| Year | Collisions | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | fewer than 3 | fewer than 3 |
| 2022 | 3 | fewer than 3 |
| 2023 | 4 | fewer than 3 |
| 2024 | 5 | fewer than 3 |
| 2025 | fewer than 3 | fewer than 3 |
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 A859
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
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 | 5 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 15 reported collisions | 15 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.