Motorway
M53 traffic and collisions
The M53 is a motorway of 22.3 miles, from Wirral to West Cheshire. This page covers its traffic at 19 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 531m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 65,277 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 78,813 J10 to M53 spur
- HGV share 5.2% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +5.7% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 101 4.0 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the M53?
On an average day in 2025, 65,277 vehicles passed each point on the M53, counting both directions. The busiest section is J10 to M53 spur (West Cheshire), with 78,813 a day; the quietest listed is M53 spur to M56 spur, with 56,784.
Busiest sections, 2025
J10 to M53 spur carries 1.2 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| J10 to M53 spur West Cheshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 7.2% | 78,813 |
| J3 to J4 Wirral · 3.1 mi · HGVs 4.0% | 76,314 |
| J2 to J3 Wirral · 2.1 mi · HGVs 4.0% | 76,090 |
| J1 to J2 Wirral · 1.4 mi · HGVs 4.1% | 73,363 |
| M56 spur to A56 West Cheshire · 2.3 mi · HGVs 6.2% | 73,218 |
| J8 to J9 West Cheshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 72,559 |
| J5 to J6 Wirral · 0.6 mi · HGVs 4.9% | 70,399 |
| J7 to J8 West Cheshire · 0.8 mi · HGVs 7.4% | 66,674 |
| J4 to J5 Wirral · 4.1 mi · HGVs 4.5% | 64,315 |
| J9 to J10 West Cheshire · 1.8 mi · HGVs 6.8% | 64,257 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Wirral to West Cheshire · 22.3 miles
M53 traffic and collisions by section
14 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 5 short link roads and spurs (2.3 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A5139 to A554 mid-juncWirral | 20,655 | fewer than 3 |
| 2 | J1 to J2Wirral | 73,363 | 6 |
| 3 | J2 to J3Wirral | 76,090 | 10 |
| 4 | J3 to J4Wirral | 76,314 | 12 |
| 5 | J4 to J5Wirral | 64,315 | 11 |
| 6 | J5 to J6Wirral | 70,399 | fewer than 3 |
| 7 | J6 to J7West Cheshire | 63,526 | 9 |
| 8 | J7 to J8West Cheshire | 66,674 | 5 |
| 9 | J8 to J9West Cheshire | 72,559 | 6 |
| 10 | J9 to J10West Cheshire | 64,257 | 7 |
| 11 | J10 to M53 spurWest Cheshire | 78,813 | 9 |
| 12 | M53 spur to M56 spurWest Cheshire | 56,784 | 3 |
| 13 | M56 spur to A56West Cheshire | 73,218 | 11 |
| 14 | J12 to A55 TWest Cheshire | 47,697 | 0 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M53 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.
M53 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 79.4% of the vehicle miles on the M53. HGVs account for 5.2%, rising to 7.4% on J7 to J8.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.1% |
| 2001 | 7.8% |
| 2002 | 7.7% |
| 2003 | 7.8% |
| 2004 | 7.9% |
| 2005 | 7.3% |
| 2006 | 7.6% |
| 2007 | 7.4% |
| 2008 | 7.9% |
| 2009 | 7.7% |
| 2010 | 7.8% |
| 2011 | 7.0% |
| 2012 | 6.6% |
| 2013 | 6.2% |
| 2014 | 6.2% |
| 2015 | 6.1% |
| 2016 | 6.2% |
| 2017 | 6.4% |
| 2018 | 5.7% |
| 2019 | 5.6% |
| 2020 | 6.8% |
| 2021 | 6.4% |
| 2022 | 5.5% |
| 2023 | 5.1% |
| 2024 | 5.2% |
| 2025 | 5.2% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
M53 traffic trend
Traffic on the M53 came to 531 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 5.7% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 7.5% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 33.0% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 394m |
| 2001 | 409m |
| 2002 | 423m |
| 2003 | 426m |
| 2004 | 437m |
| 2005 | 451m |
| 2006 | 449m |
| 2007 | 470m |
| 2008 | 463m |
| 2009 | 459m |
| 2010 | 458m |
| 2011 | 465m |
| 2012 | 453m |
| 2013 | 459m |
| 2014 | 472m |
| 2015 | 488m |
| 2016 | 497m |
| 2017 | 481m |
| 2018 | 494m |
| 2019 | 503m |
| 2020 | 404m |
| 2021 | 467m |
| 2022 | 498m |
| 2023 | 529m |
| 2024 | 529m |
| 2025 | 531m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 50,727 |
| 2001 | 52,614 |
| 2002 | 54,417 |
| 2003 | 54,768 |
| 2004 | 56,241 |
| 2005 | 57,987 |
| 2006 | 57,764 |
| 2007 | 60,406 |
| 2008 | 59,509 |
| 2009 | 59,051 |
| 2010 | 58,857 |
| 2011 | 59,832 |
| 2012 | 58,294 |
| 2013 | 59,089 |
| 2014 | 60,704 |
| 2015 | 62,763 |
| 2016 | 63,920 |
| 2017 | 61,022 |
| 2018 | 62,628 |
| 2019 | 61,783 |
| 2020 | 49,679 |
| 2021 | 57,371 |
| 2022 | 61,120 |
| 2023 | 65,015 |
| 2024 | 64,982 |
| 2025 | 65,277 |
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, 6 of the 19 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
M53 collisions
Police recorded 101 collisions with the M53 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, fewer than 3 of them fatal or serious, including 3 fatal. That is 4.0 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 4.9 for all motorways in Great Britain. On average there were 0.9 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 116.7% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2022 | 22 |
| 2023 | 22 |
| 2024 | 19 |
| 2025 | 26 |
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 |
|---|---|
| M56 spur to A56 West Cheshire · 11 collisions | 4.1 |
| J2 to J3 Wirral · 10 collisions | 3.8 |
| J3 to J4 Wirral · 12 collisions | 2.9 |
| J4 to J5 Wirral · 11 collisions | 2.2 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 36 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M53 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 M53
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Wirral
- West Cheshire
Planned closures on the M53 in England
National Highways has 38 planned closures on the M53 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, all of them starting in that period. 27 close a carriageway rather than a lane or slip road, and 37 start between 7pm and 6am.
-
Carriageway M53 Northbound Jct 9 entry slip road closure
-
Carriageway M53 Northbound Jct 10 entry slip road closure
-
Carriageway M53 Northbound Jct 8 entry slip road closure
-
Carriageway M53 Northbound Jct 8 exit slip road closure
-
Carriageway M53 Northbound Jct 8 exit slip road closure
-
Carriageway M53 Northbound Jct 8 entry slip road closure
-
Carriageway M53 Southbound Jct 5 exit slip road closure
-
Lane or slip M53 Southbound Lanes 2 and 3 closure (MP 17/7 to 18/7)
30 more planned closures in this period are not shown.
Planned closures only: National Highways can cancel or change them, and closures caused by incidents are not shown. Council roads in England are not covered. Roadworks and closures across the UK
Source:National Highways 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 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 | 19 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 101 reported collisions | 15 September 2026 |
| Planned closures | Transport Data Feeds (DATEX II) National Highways | 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 | 2,304 planned closure schemes | 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.
Powered by National Highways’ Transport Data Feeds