A-road
A861 traffic and collisions
The A861 is an A-road of 66.2 miles, in Highland. This page covers its traffic at 6 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 12m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 493 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 949 Corran ferry to B8043
- HGV share 4.6% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −5.1% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 8 6 fatal or serious
How busy is the A861?
On an average day in 2025, 493 vehicles passed each point on the A861, counting both directions. The busiest section is Corran ferry to B8043 (Highland), with 949 a day; the quietest listed is A830 to Corran ferry, with 172.
Busiest sections, 2025
Corran ferry to B8043 carries 1.9 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| Corran ferry to B8043 Highland · 6.5 mi · HGVs 5.3% | 949 |
| B8043 to A884 Highland · 6.3 mi · HGVs 5.2% | 783 |
| B8007 to B8044 Highland · 2.9 mi · HGVs 2.1% | 681 |
| A884 to B8007 Highland · 11.2 mi · HGVs 1.4% | 576 |
| B8044 to A830 Highland · 18.6 mi · HGVs 6.4% | 514 |
| A830 to Corran ferry Highland · 20.7 mi · HGVs 5.2% | 172 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
In Highland · 66.2 miles
A861 traffic and collisions by section
6 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 | A830 to Corran ferryHighland | 172 | 0 |
| 2 | Corran ferry to B8043Highland | 949 | 0 |
| 3 | B8043 to A884Highland | 783 | fewer than 3 |
| 4 | A884 to B8007Highland | 576 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | B8007 to B8044Highland | 681 | fewer than 3 |
| 6 | B8044 to A830Highland | 514 | 3 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A861 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.
A861 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 63.1% of the vehicle miles on the A861. HGVs account for 4.6%, rising to 6.4% on B8044 to A830.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.1% |
| 2001 | 3.9% |
| 2002 | 3.8% |
| 2003 | 4.4% |
| 2004 | 4.7% |
| 2005 | 4.9% |
| 2006 | 4.7% |
| 2007 | 5.1% |
| 2008 | 5.1% |
| 2009 | 5.0% |
| 2010 | 5.0% |
| 2011 | 4.9% |
| 2012 | 4.7% |
| 2013 | 4.6% |
| 2014 | 4.6% |
| 2015 | 4.8% |
| 2016 | 4.8% |
| 2017 | 4.9% |
| 2018 | 4.9% |
| 2019 | 4.5% |
| 2020 | 5.2% |
| 2021 | 5.3% |
| 2022 | 5.0% |
| 2023 | 4.8% |
| 2024 | 4.7% |
| 2025 | 4.6% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A861 traffic trend
Traffic on the A861 came to 11.9 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 5.1% on 2019, before the pandemic, and about the same as in 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 27.6% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.3m |
| 2001 | 9.6m |
| 2002 | 10m |
| 2003 | 11m |
| 2004 | 11m |
| 2005 | 12m |
| 2006 | 12m |
| 2007 | 12m |
| 2008 | 12m |
| 2009 | 12m |
| 2010 | 12m |
| 2011 | 12m |
| 2012 | 11m |
| 2013 | 11m |
| 2014 | 12m |
| 2015 | 12m |
| 2016 | 12m |
| 2017 | 12m |
| 2018 | 13m |
| 2019 | 13m |
| 2020 | 9.6m |
| 2021 | 11m |
| 2022 | 11m |
| 2023 | 12m |
| 2024 | 12m |
| 2025 | 12m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 386 |
| 2001 | 396 |
| 2002 | 412 |
| 2003 | 461 |
| 2004 | 473 |
| 2005 | 476 |
| 2006 | 485 |
| 2007 | 497 |
| 2008 | 495 |
| 2009 | 506 |
| 2010 | 503 |
| 2011 | 504 |
| 2012 | 457 |
| 2013 | 466 |
| 2014 | 482 |
| 2015 | 494 |
| 2016 | 508 |
| 2017 | 515 |
| 2018 | 520 |
| 2019 | 520 |
| 2020 | 399 |
| 2021 | 436 |
| 2022 | 472 |
| 2023 | 481 |
| 2024 | 486 |
| 2025 | 493 |
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 6 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A861 collisions
Police recorded 8 collisions with the A861 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 6 of them fatal or serious.
Reported collisions by year
| Year | Collisions | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | fewer than 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | 3 | 3 |
| 2023 | fewer than 3 | fewer than 3 |
| 2024 | fewer than 3 | 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 A861
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Highland
Roadworks on the A861 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 9 sets of roadworks on the A861 in Scotland, 4 of them under way. 1 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A861 From B8007 Junction At Salen To A884 Junction At Carnoch, Strontian
-
A861 From B8043 Junction At Inversanda To U1381 Junction At North Corran, Ardgour
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A861 From A82 Junction To Corran Ferry Slip, Onich
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A861 From U1381 North Corran Housing Junction To Stronchreggan Bridge, Ardgour
-
A861 From U1381 North Corran Housing Junction To Stronchreggan Bridge, Ardgour
-
A861 From U1381 North Corran Housing Junction To Stronchreggan Bridge, Ardgour
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 | 6 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 8 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.