Motorway

M275 traffic and collisions

The M275 is a motorway of 2.7 miles, in Portsmouth. This page covers its traffic at 5 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated
Records analysed
5 count points in 2025
Methodology
View methodology
  • Traffic in 2025 70m vehicle miles
  • Average daily traffic 71,021 vehicles a day, both directions
  • Busiest section 86,395 start of principal section to M275 split
  • HGV share 2.1% of vehicle miles
  • Traffic since 2019 +1.2% same count points

How busy is the M275?

On an average day in 2025, 71,021 vehicles passed each point on the M275, counting both directions. The busiest section is start of principal section to M275 split (Portsmouth), with 86,395 a day; the quietest listed is M27 to end of Principal section, with 86,395.

Busiest sections, 2025

start of principal section to M275 split carries 1.2 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the M275 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section Vehicles a day
start of principal section to M275 split Portsmouth · 0.5 mi · HGVs 2.2% 86,395
M27 to end of Principal section Portsmouth · 1.2 mi · HGVs 2.2% 86,395

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Route

In Portsmouth · 2.7 miles

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

M275 traffic and collisions by section

4 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 1 short link roads and spurs (0.4 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.

Sections Tap a column heading to sort
Sections of the M275 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1M275 to M27Portsmouth0.443,1982.2%+0.1%
2start of principal section to M275 splitPortsmouth0.586,3952.2%+4.7%
3M27 to end of Principal sectionPortsmouth1.286,3952.2%+0.1%
4A3 to A3 / A2047Portsmouth0.251,6310.8%

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M275 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.

M275 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 84.6% of the vehicle miles on the M275. HGVs account for 2.1%.

Vehicle mix, 2025

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

HGV share of traffic

HGVs as a share of vehicle miles on the M275, by year
Year HGV share
2000 3.1%
2001 3.2%
2002 3.0%
2003 2.9%
2004 3.1%
2005 3.0%
2006 3.0%
2007 2.9%
2008 2.6%
2009 2.4%
2010 2.6%
2011 2.5%
2012 2.8%
2013 2.7%
2014 3.3%
2015 3.4%
2016 2.8%
2017 2.4%
2018 2.5%
2019 2.3%
2020 2.5%
2021 2.4%
2022 2.2%
2023 2.2%
2024 2.4%
2025 2.1%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

M275 traffic trend

Traffic on the M275 came to 70 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 1.2% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 5.5% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 1.2% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the M275 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year Vehicle miles
2000 69m
2001 65m
2002 67m
2003 66m
2004 68m
2005 68m
2006 70m
2007 71m
2008 64m
2009 64m
2010 70m
2011 71m
2012 70m
2013 72m
2014 68m
2015 69m
2016 79m
2017 71m
2018 70m
2019 71m
2020 58m
2021 65m
2022 68m
2023 69m
2024 60m
2025 70m

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the M275, weighted by link length, by year
Year Vehicles a day
2000 67,222
2001 63,971
2002 65,593
2003 64,517
2004 66,095
2005 66,211
2006 68,832
2007 69,520
2008 62,754
2009 62,246
2010 68,186
2011 69,262
2012 68,874
2013 70,017
2014 66,515
2015 67,253
2016 77,001
2017 69,295
2018 68,789
2019 69,306
2020 57,096
2021 63,212
2022 69,065
2023 70,237
2024 60,655
2025 71,021

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, 2 of the 5 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

M275 collisions

Police recorded fewer than 3 collisions with the M275 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, fewer than 3 of them fatal or serious.

Reported collisions by year

Police-reported collisions on the M275 by year
Year Collisions Fatal or serious
2021 fewer than 3 0
2022 8 fewer than 3
2023 14 0
2024 5 0
2025 4 0

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

A further 4 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M275 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 66.7% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions

Council areas on the M275

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

  • Portsmouth

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 5 count points in 2025 15 September 2026
Reported collisions Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport
Derived statistics UK Motoring
2021 to 2025 33 reported collisions 15 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.