Trunk A-road
A985 traffic and collisions
The A985 is a trunk A-road of 14.3 miles, from Fife to Falkirk. This page covers its traffic at 9 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 60m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 11,482 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 13,708 B980 to B9156
- HGV share 8.0% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −2.3% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 37 12.8 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A985?
On an average day in 2025, 11,482 vehicles passed each point on the A985, counting both directions. The busiest section is B980 to B9156 (Fife), with 13,708 a day; the quietest listed is A977(T) to A876(T), with 9,236.
Busiest sections, 2025
B980 to B9156 carries 1.2 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| B980 to B9156 Fife · 1.9 mi · HGVs 5.0% | 13,708 |
| B980 King's Rd to B980 Castlandhill Rd Fife · 0.6 mi · HGVs 10.2% | 12,661 |
| Silver St to A977 Roundabout Fife, Falkirk · 0.6 mi · HGVs 6.8% | 11,777 |
| A994 to B9037 Fife · 3.0 mi · HGVs 10.2% | 11,043 |
| B9037 to A977(T) Fife · 3.2 mi · HGVs 7.2% | 11,039 |
| B9156 to A994 Fife · 3.7 mi · HGVs 9.9% | 11,016 |
| A977(T) to A876(T) Fife · 0.9 mi · HGVs 6.0% | 9,236 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Fife to Falkirk · 14.3 miles
A985 traffic and collisions by section
8 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 | B980 to M90/A90/A921Fife | 14,903 | fewer than 3 |
| 2 | B980 King's Rd to B980 Castlandhill RdFife | 12,661 | fewer than 3 |
| 3 | B980 to B9156Fife | 13,708 | 10 |
| 4 | B9156 to A994Fife | 11,016 | 8 |
| 5 | A994 to B9037Fife | 11,043 | 6 |
| 6 | B9037 to A977(T)Fife | 11,039 | 7 |
| 7 | A977(T) to A876(T)Fife | 9,236 | fewer than 3 |
| 8 | Silver St to A977 RoundaboutFife, Falkirk | 11,777 | 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 A985 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.
A985 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 70.4% of the vehicle miles on the A985. HGVs account for 8.0%, rising to 10.2% on B980 King's Rd to B980 Castlandhill Rd.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 11.1% |
| 2001 | 10.6% |
| 2002 | 8.5% |
| 2003 | 8.9% |
| 2004 | 9.6% |
| 2005 | 7.7% |
| 2006 | 12.3% |
| 2007 | 12.6% |
| 2008 | 10.7% |
| 2009 | 9.7% |
| 2010 | 8.8% |
| 2011 | 8.9% |
| 2012 | 8.9% |
| 2013 | 9.0% |
| 2014 | 8.9% |
| 2015 | 9.0% |
| 2016 | 9.0% |
| 2017 | 7.9% |
| 2018 | 8.0% |
| 2019 | 7.9% |
| 2020 | 9.3% |
| 2021 | 9.1% |
| 2022 | 8.2% |
| 2023 | 8.0% |
| 2024 | 8.0% |
| 2025 | 8.0% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A985 traffic trend
Traffic on the A985 came to 59.9 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 2.3% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 12.3% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 9.4% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 54m |
| 2001 | 55m |
| 2002 | 61m |
| 2003 | 62m |
| 2004 | 60m |
| 2005 | 60m |
| 2006 | 62m |
| 2007 | 61m |
| 2008 | 50m |
| 2009 | 49m |
| 2010 | 46m |
| 2011 | 47m |
| 2012 | 48m |
| 2013 | 48m |
| 2014 | 50m |
| 2015 | 50m |
| 2016 | 52m |
| 2017 | 64m |
| 2018 | 61m |
| 2019 | 61m |
| 2020 | 47m |
| 2021 | 52m |
| 2022 | 57m |
| 2023 | 61m |
| 2024 | 61m |
| 2025 | 60m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 11,122 |
| 2001 | 11,345 |
| 2002 | 12,621 |
| 2003 | 12,854 |
| 2004 | 12,288 |
| 2005 | 12,203 |
| 2006 | 12,505 |
| 2007 | 12,378 |
| 2008 | 10,178 |
| 2009 | 10,027 |
| 2010 | 9,395 |
| 2011 | 9,566 |
| 2012 | 9,641 |
| 2013 | 9,746 |
| 2014 | 10,101 |
| 2015 | 10,179 |
| 2016 | 10,586 |
| 2017 | 12,458 |
| 2018 | 11,662 |
| 2019 | 11,753 |
| 2020 | 9,013 |
| 2021 | 9,924 |
| 2022 | 10,844 |
| 2023 | 11,638 |
| 2024 | 11,634 |
| 2025 | 11,482 |
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, 7 of the 9 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A985 collisions
Police recorded 37 collisions with the A985 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, fewer than 3 of them fatal or serious. That is 12.8 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 0.5 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 50.0% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 9 |
| 2023 | 7 |
| 2024 | 6 |
| 2025 | 9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
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.
| Section | Per 100m vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| B980 to B9156 Fife · 10 collisions | 21.8 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 6 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A985 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 A985
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Fife
- Falkirk
Roadworks on the A985 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 3 sets of roadworks on the A985 in Scotland, 1 of them under way. 3 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
A985t From Longannet Roundabout To U016 Junction North Of Culross, Devilla Forest
-
A985t From Longannet Roundabout To U016 Junction North Of Culross, Devilla Forest
-
A985t From North Approach Road Kincardine To Longannet Roundabout
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 | 9 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 37 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.