A-road
A965 traffic and collisions
The A965 is an A-road of 15.9 miles, in Orkney Islands. This page covers its traffic at 7 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 21m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 3,558 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 4,392 A966 to A963
- HGV share 5.2% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +9.4% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 12 7 fatal or serious
How busy is the A965?
On an average day in 2025, 3,558 vehicles passed each point on the A965, counting both directions. The busiest section is A966 to A963 (Orkney Islands), with 4,392 a day; the quietest listed is end of A-road status, south Stromness to A967, with 574.
Busiest sections, 2025
A966 to A963 carries 1.2 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| A966 to A963 Orkney Islands · 6.4 mi · HGVs 5.7% | 4,392 |
| A986 to A966 Orkney Islands · 1.4 mi · HGVs 5.8% | 3,884 |
| A967 to A964 Orkney Islands · 2.0 mi · HGVs 3.6% | 3,855 |
| A964 to B9055 Orkney Islands · 1.8 mi · HGVs 3.2% | 3,003 |
| B9055 to A986 Orkney Islands · 2.1 mi · HGVs 6.0% | 2,778 |
| end of A-road status, south Stromness to A967 Orkney Islands · 1.8 mi · HGVs 10.1% | 574 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
In Orkney Islands · 15.9 miles
A965 traffic and collisions by section
7 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 | end of A-road status, south Stromness to A967Orkney Islands | 574 | 0 |
| 2 | A967 to A964Orkney Islands | 3,855 | fewer than 3 |
| 3 | A964 to B9055Orkney Islands | 3,003 | fewer than 3 |
| 4 | B9055 to A986Orkney Islands | 2,778 | 3 |
| 5 | A986 to A966Orkney Islands | 3,884 | fewer than 3 |
| 6 | A966 to A963Orkney Islands | 4,392 | 4 |
| 7 | A963 to A960Orkney Islands | 7,591 | 0 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A965 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.
A965 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 65.0% of the vehicle miles on the A965. HGVs account for 5.2%, rising to 10.1% on end of A-road status, south Stromness to A967.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.3% |
| 2001 | 4.7% |
| 2002 | 4.7% |
| 2003 | 6.0% |
| 2004 | 5.6% |
| 2005 | 5.7% |
| 2006 | 5.7% |
| 2007 | 5.8% |
| 2008 | 6.1% |
| 2009 | 6.1% |
| 2010 | 6.5% |
| 2011 | 7.0% |
| 2012 | 5.5% |
| 2013 | 5.4% |
| 2014 | 5.4% |
| 2015 | 5.6% |
| 2016 | 5.6% |
| 2017 | 5.7% |
| 2018 | 5.7% |
| 2019 | 5.7% |
| 2020 | 6.6% |
| 2021 | 6.5% |
| 2022 | 6.2% |
| 2023 | 5.6% |
| 2024 | 5.5% |
| 2025 | 5.2% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A965 traffic trend
Traffic on the A965 came to 20.6 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 9.4% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 15.0% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 15.6% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 18m |
| 2001 | 18m |
| 2002 | 19m |
| 2003 | 18m |
| 2004 | 17m |
| 2005 | 17m |
| 2006 | 18m |
| 2007 | 17m |
| 2008 | 17m |
| 2009 | 17m |
| 2010 | 17m |
| 2011 | 17m |
| 2012 | 17m |
| 2013 | 17m |
| 2014 | 17m |
| 2015 | 18m |
| 2016 | 18m |
| 2017 | 19m |
| 2018 | 19m |
| 2019 | 19m |
| 2020 | 15m |
| 2021 | 16m |
| 2022 | 17m |
| 2023 | 18m |
| 2024 | 18m |
| 2025 | 21m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,070 |
| 2001 | 3,148 |
| 2002 | 3,285 |
| 2003 | 3,155 |
| 2004 | 2,975 |
| 2005 | 2,985 |
| 2006 | 3,041 |
| 2007 | 3,015 |
| 2008 | 2,960 |
| 2009 | 2,959 |
| 2010 | 2,894 |
| 2011 | 2,855 |
| 2012 | 2,858 |
| 2013 | 2,910 |
| 2014 | 2,995 |
| 2015 | 3,085 |
| 2016 | 3,170 |
| 2017 | 3,214 |
| 2018 | 3,239 |
| 2019 | 3,252 |
| 2020 | 2,507 |
| 2021 | 2,776 |
| 2022 | 3,003 |
| 2023 | 3,116 |
| 2024 | 3,156 |
| 2025 | 3,558 |
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, 1 of the 7 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A965 collisions
Police recorded 12 collisions with the A965 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 7 of them fatal or serious.
Reported collisions by year
| Year | Collisions | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | fewer than 3 | fewer than 3 |
| 2022 | 4 | 3 |
| 2023 | 4 | fewer than 3 |
| 2024 | fewer than 3 | fewer than 3 |
| 2025 | fewer than 3 | 0 |
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 A965
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Orkney Islands
Roadworks on the A965 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 2 sets of roadworks on the A965 in Scotland, 1 of them under way. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A965 From 70m West Of Milestone Cottage Finstown To Strathyre Finstown
-
A965 From Kirkwall Golf Course To Wideford Hill, St Ola
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 | 7 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 12 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.