A-road
A98 traffic and collisions
The A98 is an A-road of 51.5 miles, from Moray to Aberdeenshire. This page covers its traffic at 16 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 93m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 4,971 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 9,668 Goldenknowes Rd to A97
- HGV share 6.9% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −3.3% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 39 8.7 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A98?
On an average day in 2025, 4,971 vehicles passed each point on the A98, counting both directions. The busiest section is Goldenknowes Rd to A97 (Aberdeenshire), with 9,668 a day; the quietest listed is A950 to Boothby Rd, Fraserburgh, with 2,761.
Busiest sections, 2025
Goldenknowes Rd to A97 carries 1.9 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| Goldenknowes Rd to A97 Aberdeenshire · 0.9 mi · HGVs 6.8% | 9,668 |
| A947 to B9031 Aberdeenshire · 2.0 mi · HGVs 3.4% | 7,996 |
| Boothby Rd to A90 Aberdeenshire · 1.1 mi · HGVs 1.6% | 7,982 |
| A990 to A942 Moray · 2.5 mi · HGVs 7.3% | 7,943 |
| A96 to A990 Moray · 3.9 mi · HGVs 4.6% | 7,928 |
| A95 to Goldenknowes Rd Aberdeenshire · 4.0 mi · HGVs 8.7% | 7,182 |
| A942 to B9018 Moray · 1.9 mi · HGVs 5.6% | 6,314 |
| C-road west edge of Portsoy to B9139 Aberdeenshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 6.4% | 5,899 |
| At A942 Moray · 4.2 mi · HGVs 11.4% | 5,394 |
| B9018 to B9139 Portsoy Moray, Aberdeenshire · 4.5 mi · HGVs 5.6% | 4,857 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Moray to Aberdeenshire · 51.5 miles
A98 traffic and collisions by section
15 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 | A96 to A990Moray | 7,928 | 4 |
| 2 | A990 to A942Moray | 7,943 | 5 |
| 3 | At A942Moray | 5,394 | 4 |
| 4 | A942 to B9018Moray | 6,314 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | B9018 to B9139 PortsoyMoray, Aberdeenshire | 4,857 | 0 |
| 6 | C-road west edge of Portsoy to B9139Aberdeenshire | 5,899 | 3 |
| 7 | B9139 to A95Aberdeenshire | 4,124 | fewer than 3 |
| 8 | A95 to Goldenknowes RdAberdeenshire | 7,182 | 7 |
| 9 | Goldenknowes Rd to A97Aberdeenshire | 9,668 | fewer than 3 |
| 10 | A97 to A947Aberdeenshire | 10,621 | 0 |
| 11 | A947 to B9031Aberdeenshire | 7,996 | 4 |
| 12 | B9031 to A950Aberdeenshire | 3,053 | fewer than 3 |
| 13 | A950 to Boothby Rd, FraserburghAberdeenshire | 2,761 | 3 |
| 14 | Boothby Rd to A90Aberdeenshire | 7,982 | fewer than 3 |
| 15 | A90 to B9034 Station BraeAberdeenshire | 4,087 | 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 A98 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.
A98 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 69.4% of the vehicle miles on the A98. HGVs account for 6.9%, rising to 11.4% on At A942.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.3% |
| 2001 | 7.2% |
| 2002 | 7.2% |
| 2003 | 7.5% |
| 2004 | 7.3% |
| 2005 | 7.6% |
| 2006 | 7.5% |
| 2007 | 7.3% |
| 2008 | 7.3% |
| 2009 | 7.5% |
| 2010 | 7.8% |
| 2011 | 7.9% |
| 2012 | 7.8% |
| 2013 | 7.6% |
| 2014 | 7.7% |
| 2015 | 7.8% |
| 2016 | 7.8% |
| 2017 | 8.0% |
| 2018 | 8.1% |
| 2019 | 8.1% |
| 2020 | 9.4% |
| 2021 | 7.8% |
| 2022 | 7.4% |
| 2023 | 7.1% |
| 2024 | 7.0% |
| 2025 | 6.9% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A98 traffic trend
Traffic on the A98 came to 93.4 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 3.3% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 0.8% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 18.0% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 80m |
| 2001 | 82m |
| 2002 | 85m |
| 2003 | 87m |
| 2004 | 89m |
| 2005 | 89m |
| 2006 | 90m |
| 2007 | 91m |
| 2008 | 90m |
| 2009 | 92m |
| 2010 | 89m |
| 2011 | 88m |
| 2012 | 87m |
| 2013 | 88m |
| 2014 | 89m |
| 2015 | 92m |
| 2016 | 95m |
| 2017 | 97m |
| 2018 | 98m |
| 2019 | 97m |
| 2020 | 75m |
| 2021 | 83m |
| 2022 | 90m |
| 2023 | 91m |
| 2024 | 93m |
| 2025 | 93m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 4,196 |
| 2001 | 4,283 |
| 2002 | 4,447 |
| 2003 | 4,544 |
| 2004 | 4,658 |
| 2005 | 4,674 |
| 2006 | 4,740 |
| 2007 | 4,796 |
| 2008 | 4,722 |
| 2009 | 4,815 |
| 2010 | 4,687 |
| 2011 | 4,599 |
| 2012 | 4,566 |
| 2013 | 4,590 |
| 2014 | 4,691 |
| 2015 | 4,841 |
| 2016 | 4,963 |
| 2017 | 5,110 |
| 2018 | 5,135 |
| 2019 | 5,140 |
| 2020 | 3,962 |
| 2021 | 4,429 |
| 2022 | 4,771 |
| 2023 | 4,859 |
| 2024 | 4,918 |
| 2025 | 4,971 |
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 16 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A98 collisions
Police recorded 39 collisions with the A98 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 27 of them fatal or serious. That is 8.7 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.2 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 12.5% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 |
| 2022 | 8 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 6 |
| 2025 | 9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 3 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A98 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 A98
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Moray
- Aberdeenshire
Roadworks on the A98 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 3 sets of roadworks on the A98 in Scotland, 1 of them under way. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A98 From A942 At Smithstown To A942 East Of Inchgower, Buckie
-
A98 From Castle Terrace In Cullen To A942 At Smithstown
-
A98 From A990 At Enzie To C17e At Swiss Cottage, Buckie
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 | 16 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 39 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.