Motorway
M50 traffic and collisions
The M50 is a motorway of 21.9 miles, from Worcestershire to Herefordshire. This page covers its traffic at 11 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 213m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 26,680 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 34,557 M5 to J1
- HGV share 15.1% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +2.4% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 47 4.9 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the M50?
On an average day in 2025, 26,680 vehicles passed each point on the M50, counting both directions. The busiest section is M5 to J1 (Worcestershire, Gloucestershire), with 34,557 a day; the quietest listed is J2 to J3, with 22,861.
Busiest sections, 2025
M5 to J1 carries 1.3 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| M5 to J1 Worcestershire, Gloucestershire · 1.6 mi · HGVs 13.0% | 34,557 |
| J3 to J4 Herefordshire · 3.5 mi · HGVs 12.4% | 29,932 |
| A38 to J2 Gloucestershire, Worcestershire · 9.2 mi · HGVs 15.4% | 27,671 |
| J2 to J3 Gloucestershire, Herefordshire · 7.1 mi · HGVs 17.0% | 22,861 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Worcestershire to Herefordshire · 21.9 miles
M50 traffic and collisions by section
5 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 2 short link roads and spurs (0.3 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M5 to J1Worcestershire, Gloucestershire | 34,557 | 8 |
| 2 | J1 to A38Gloucestershire | 29,182 | 0 |
| 3 | A38 to J2Gloucestershire, Worcestershire | 27,671 | 14 |
| 4 | J2 to J3Gloucestershire, Herefordshire | 22,861 | 17 |
| 5 | J3 to J4Herefordshire | 29,932 | 8 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M50 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.
M50 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 66.1% of the vehicle miles on the M50. HGVs account for 15.1%, rising to 17.0% on J2 to J3.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 21.1% |
| 2001 | 20.7% |
| 2002 | 19.5% |
| 2003 | 19.4% |
| 2004 | 18.5% |
| 2005 | 19.1% |
| 2006 | 17.6% |
| 2007 | 17.7% |
| 2008 | 17.9% |
| 2009 | 16.8% |
| 2010 | 17.1% |
| 2011 | 16.5% |
| 2012 | 16.8% |
| 2013 | 16.8% |
| 2014 | 16.1% |
| 2015 | 16.1% |
| 2016 | 16.1% |
| 2017 | 16.6% |
| 2018 | 16.8% |
| 2019 | 16.7% |
| 2020 | 21.1% |
| 2021 | 20.4% |
| 2022 | 18.6% |
| 2023 | 17.9% |
| 2024 | 17.7% |
| 2025 | 15.1% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
M50 traffic trend
Traffic on the M50 came to 213 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 2.4% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 4.5% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 12.6% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 184m |
| 2001 | 186m |
| 2002 | 194m |
| 2003 | 191m |
| 2004 | 199m |
| 2005 | 203m |
| 2006 | 206m |
| 2007 | 216m |
| 2008 | 217m |
| 2009 | 213m |
| 2010 | 209m |
| 2011 | 210m |
| 2012 | 186m |
| 2013 | 190m |
| 2014 | 195m |
| 2015 | 199m |
| 2016 | 204m |
| 2017 | 219m |
| 2018 | 212m |
| 2019 | 208m |
| 2020 | 130m |
| 2021 | 165m |
| 2022 | 191m |
| 2023 | 194m |
| 2024 | 200m |
| 2025 | 213m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 23,521 |
| 2001 | 23,799 |
| 2002 | 24,817 |
| 2003 | 24,473 |
| 2004 | 25,532 |
| 2005 | 25,921 |
| 2006 | 26,426 |
| 2007 | 27,591 |
| 2008 | 27,789 |
| 2009 | 27,257 |
| 2010 | 26,767 |
| 2011 | 26,823 |
| 2012 | 23,817 |
| 2013 | 24,261 |
| 2014 | 24,997 |
| 2015 | 25,439 |
| 2016 | 26,101 |
| 2017 | 27,603 |
| 2018 | 26,571 |
| 2019 | 26,062 |
| 2020 | 16,205 |
| 2021 | 20,655 |
| 2022 | 23,873 |
| 2023 | 24,311 |
| 2024 | 24,953 |
| 2025 | 26,680 |
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, 5 of the 11 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
M50 collisions
Police recorded 47 collisions with the M50 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 15 of them fatal or serious. That is 4.9 per 100 million vehicle miles, close to the 4.9 for all motorways in Great Britain. On average there were 0.4 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 12.5% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 |
| 2022 | 11 |
| 2023 | 10 |
| 2024 | 9 |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| J2 to J3 Gloucestershire, Herefordshire · 17 collisions | 6.0 |
| A38 to J2 Gloucestershire, Worcestershire · 14 collisions | 3.4 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 11 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M50 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 100.0% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions
Council areas on the M50
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Worcestershire
- Gloucestershire
- Herefordshire
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 | 11 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 47 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.