Trunk A-road

A96 traffic and collisions

The A96 is a trunk A-road of 104.1 miles, from Aberdeen City to Highland. This page covers its traffic at 38 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated: 15 September 2026
Data source: Department for Transport
Records analysed: 38 count points in 2025
Methodology: View methodology

Traffic in 2025 561m vehicle miles
Average daily traffic 14,761 vehicles a day, both directions
Busiest section 33,442 A96 Junction just North of Manor Park (Caravan Park) to Roundabout A947/A96
HGV share 6.2% of vehicle miles
Traffic since 2019 +8.4% same count points
Collisions, 2021 to 2025 170 6.5 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the A96?

On an average day in 2025, 14,761 vehicles passed each point on the A96, counting both directions. The busiest section is A96 Junction just North of Manor Park (Caravan Park) to Roundabout A947/A96 (Aberdeen City), with 33,442 a day; the quietest listed is A944 to B991, with 6,242.

Busiest sections, 2025

A96 Junction just North of Manor Park (Caravan Park) to Roundabout A947/A96 carries 2.3 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the A96 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section	Vehicles a day
A96 Junction just North of Manor Park (Caravan Park) to Roundabout A947/A96 Aberdeen City · 1.3 mi · HGVs 1.6%	33,442
B979 to B977 Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire · 3.5 mi · HGVs 4.3%	30,835
B977 to B993 Aberdeenshire · 3.1 mi · HGVs 3.8%	30,748
B9039 to A9 Highland · 4.3 mi · HGVs 9.8%	28,726
Roundabout connecting A96 (south of Aberdeen International Business Park in Aberdeen City) to B979 (near Clinterty Woods) Aberdeen City · 1.5 mi · HGVs 5.2%	27,851
At B979 Aberdeen City · 1.6 mi · HGVs 4.6%	26,845
Junction with A96 and Bankhead Avenue to Roundabout connecting A96 (south of Aberdeen International Business Park in Aberdeen City) Aberdeen City · 1.2 mi · HGVs 2.5%	25,448
B993 to C-road to Conglas Aberdeenshire · 3.2 mi · HGVs 4.4%	18,941
A98 to A941 Moray · 9.9 mi · HGVs 6.0%	17,606
A978 to A90 Aberdeen City · 1.2 mi · HGVs 3.0%	17,456

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

Route

Aberdeen City to Highland · 104.1 miles

Schematic route: each line joins the junctions at the ends of a DfT count point link.

A96 traffic and collisions by section

33 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 2 short link roads and spurs (0.6 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.

Show all 33 sections Tap a column heading to sort

Sections of the A96 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1	A956 to A944Aberdeen City	0.6	11,138	5.8%	−4.8%	5	–
2	A944 to B991Aberdeen City	0.6	6,242	5.2%	−5.6%	fewer than 3	–
3	B991 to A978Aberdeen City	0.5	15,032	3.2%	−5.8%	fewer than 3	–
4	A978 to A90Aberdeen City	1.2	17,456	3.0%	+9.8%	6	–
5	Haudagain Roundabout to A96 Junction just North of Manor Park (Caravan Park)Aberdeen City	0.1	17,347	2.4%	–	fewer than 3	–
6	A96 Junction just North of Manor Park (Caravan Park) to Roundabout A947/A96Aberdeen City	1.3	33,442	1.6%	–	7	–
7	Roundabout connecting A96 and Bankhead Avenue (minor road) to Roundabout conncting A947 and A96 (just East of Bucksburn, Aberdeen City)Aberdeen City	0.4	28,247	2.5%	−11.8%	fewer than 3	–
8	Junction with A96 and Bankhead Avenue to Roundabout connecting A96 (south of Aberdeen International Business Park in Aberdeen City)Aberdeen City	1.2	25,448	2.5%	−12.5%	3	–
9	Roundabout connecting A96 (south of Aberdeen International Business Park in Aberdeen City) to B979 (near Clinterty Woods)Aberdeen City	1.5	27,851	5.2%	+137.0%	fewer than 3	–
10	At B979Aberdeen City	1.6	26,845	4.6%	−16.6%	fewer than 3	–
11	B979 to B977Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire	3.5	30,835	4.3%	+12.5%	5	–
12	B977 to B993Aberdeenshire	3.1	30,748	3.8%	+8.8%	0	–
13	B993 to C-road to ConglasAberdeenshire	3.2	18,941	4.4%	−1.0%	7	–
14	C-road Drimmies to B9002Aberdeenshire	4.5	10,385	5.6%	−7.8%	3	–
15	B9002 to A920Aberdeenshire	5.5	8,328	8.2%	−0.6%	11	14.1
16	A920 to A97Aberdeenshire	8.6	9,241	6.0%	+9.8%	9	–
17	At A97Aberdeenshire	0.3	11,407	6.7%	−2.9%	0	–
18	At A97Aberdeenshire	0.9	9,280	8.4%	−3.1%	fewer than 3	–
19	A97 to A920Aberdeenshire	0.9	9,874	7.1%	−4.2%	5	–
20	A920 to A95Aberdeenshire, Moray	9.6	7,582	8.7%	−4.6%	6	–
21	At A95Moray	1.0	10,395	6.1%	−4.2%	fewer than 3	–
22	A95 to A98Moray	6.6	7,388	6.1%	+10.1%	3	–
23	A98 to A941Moray	9.9	17,606	6.0%	–	18	6.1
24	At A941Moray	0.3	20,832	4.2%	−5.9%	fewer than 3	–
25	A941 to Morriston RdMoray	0.9	16,378	6.3%	−2.8%	4	–
26	Morriston Rd, Elgin to B9011Moray	9.9	12,791	6.6%	+7.3%	6	–
27	B9011 to A940Moray	1.1	14,197	7.8%	+6.2%	0	–
28	A940 to B9111Moray, Highland	8.6	12,180	6.4%	+8.2%	17	9.7
29	B9111 to A939Highland	1.0	11,016	5.8%	−3.0%	0	–
30	A939 to B9092Highland	2.6	13,172	8.9%	−4.9%	11	18.2
31	B9092 to B9006Highland	3.8	12,151	7.0%	−1.7%	4	–
32	B9006 to B9039Highland	4.4	15,336	9.7%	+12.6%	6	–
33	B9039 to A9Highland	4.3	28,726	9.8%	+49.6%	21	9.3

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A96 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.

A96 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 73.6% of the vehicle miles on the A96. HGVs account for 6.2%, rising to 9.8% on B9039 to A9.

Vehicle mix, 2025

Share of vehicle miles on the A96 by vehicle type
Category	Share
Cars and taxis	73.6%
Vans (LGVs)	19.2%
HGVs	6.2%
Buses and coaches	0.6%
Motorcycles	0.4%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

HGV share of traffic

HGVs as a share of vehicle miles on the A96, by year
Year	HGV share
2000	7.6%
2001	7.1%
2002	6.7%
2003	7.2%
2004	7.4%
2005	7.2%
2006	7.7%
2007	8.1%
2008	7.7%
2009	7.3%
2010	7.4%
2011	7.3%
2012	7.3%
2013	7.3%
2014	7.2%
2015	7.3%
2016	7.3%
2017	6.6%
2018	6.7%
2019	6.1%
2020	7.3%
2021	7.3%
2022	6.7%
2023	6.4%
2024	6.4%
2025	6.2%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

A96 traffic trend

Traffic on the A96 came to 561 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 8.4% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 22.4% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 34.1% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the A96 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year	Vehicle miles
2000	397m
2001	411m
2002	432m
2003	444m
2004	440m
2005	447m
2006	450m
2007	446m
2008	428m
2009	425m
2010	422m
2011	422m
2012	427m
2013	427m
2014	431m
2015	438m
2016	451m
2017	486m
2018	499m
2019	515m
2020	393m
2021	484m
2022	509m
2023	540m
2024	544m
2025	561m

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the A96, weighted by link length, by year
Year	Vehicles a day
2000	10,663
2001	11,047
2002	11,592
2003	11,921
2004	11,818
2005	11,996
2006	12,079
2007	11,991
2008	11,498
2009	11,428
2010	11,343
2011	11,330
2012	11,456
2013	11,476
2014	11,573
2015	11,775
2016	12,120
2017	13,045
2018	13,306
2019	13,658
2020	10,362
2021	12,777
2022	13,424
2023	14,204
2024	14,314
2025	14,761

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

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 (88.9% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 23 of the 38 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

A96 collisions

Police recorded 170 collisions with the A96 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 103 of them fatal or serious. That is 6.5 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.3 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

About the same in 2025 as in 2021.

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

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.

Collisions per 100 million vehicle miles by section of the A96, 2021 to 2025
Section	Per 100m vehicle miles
A939 to B9092 Highland · 11 collisions	18.2
B9002 to A920 Aberdeenshire · 11 collisions	14.1
A940 to B9111 Moray, Highland · 17 collisions	9.7
B9039 to A9 Highland · 21 collisions	9.3
A98 to A941 Moray · 18 collisions	6.1

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated 15 Sept 2026

A further 12 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A96 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 A96

In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.

Aberdeen City
Aberdeenshire
Moray
Highland

Roadworks on the A96 in Scotland

The Scottish Road Works Register lists 66 sets of roadworks on the A96 in Scotland, 7 of them under way. 21 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.

A96t From Coul Brae Roundabout To Spey Bay Roundabout, Fochabers

Road closed Under way, until 17 Jan 2027 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company
A96 South Carriageway Clinterty Roundabout To Aberdeenshire Boundary

Lane closed Under way, until 17 Sept 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company
A96t Kinellar Roundabout To Clinterty Roundabout, Blackburn

Lane closed Under way, until 17 Sept 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company
A96t Kinellar Roundabout To Boghead Access Road

Lane closed Under way, until 17 Sept 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company
A96t Boghead Access Road To Broomhill Roundabout, Kintore

Lane closed Under way, until 17 Sept 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company
A96t Kinellar Roundabout To Clinterty Roundabout, Blackburn

Lane closed Under way, until 17 Sept 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company

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 16 Sept 2026

Data sources and methodology

Datasets used on this page
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	38 count points in 2025	15 September 2026
Reported collisions	Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring	2021 to 2025	170 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”.

How we calculate these figures All data sources

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

How busy is the A96?

Route

A96 traffic and collisions by section

A96 traffic by vehicle type

A96 traffic trend

A96 collisions

Council areas on the A96

Roads that meet the A96

Roadworks on the A96 in Scotland

Data sources and methodology

Related statistics