Motorway
M73 traffic and collisions
The M73 is a motorway of 7.5 miles, in North Lanarkshire. This page covers its traffic at 12 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 189m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 68,987 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 98,610 M74 to J2
- HGV share 9.9% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +18.4% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 41 4.7 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the M73?
On an average day in 2025, 68,987 vehicles passed each point on the M73, counting both directions. The busiest section is M74 to J2 (North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City), with 98,610 a day; the quietest listed is M73 underpasses A80 to J4, with 54,217.
Busiest sections, 2025
M74 to J2 carries 1.4 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| M74 to J2 North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City · 1.5 mi · HGVs 9.7% | 98,610 |
| J2 to J2A Glasgow City, North Lanarkshire · 2.7 mi · HGVs 9.7% | 68,767 |
| J2A to J3 North Lanarkshire · 1.9 mi · HGVs 10.3% | 64,529 |
| M73 underpasses A80 to J4 North Lanarkshire · 0.7 mi · HGVs 10.1% | 54,217 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
In North Lanarkshire · 7.5 miles
M73 traffic and collisions by section
5 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 3 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 | M74 to J2North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City | 98,610 | 16 |
| 2 | J2 to J2AGlasgow City, North Lanarkshire | 68,767 | 13 |
| 3 | J2A to J3North Lanarkshire | 64,529 | 8 |
| 4 | J3 to M73 underpasses A80North Lanarkshire | 53,769 | 0 |
| 5 | M73 underpasses A80 to J4North Lanarkshire | 54,217 | 3 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M73 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.
M73 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 68.4% of the vehicle miles on the M73. HGVs account for 9.9%.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 14.1% |
| 2001 | 14.0% |
| 2002 | 10.8% |
| 2003 | 11.0% |
| 2004 | 11.2% |
| 2005 | 13.6% |
| 2006 | 13.8% |
| 2007 | 13.6% |
| 2008 | 12.8% |
| 2009 | 12.4% |
| 2010 | 12.3% |
| 2011 | 11.9% |
| 2012 | 11.7% |
| 2013 | 11.9% |
| 2014 | 11.6% |
| 2015 | 10.7% |
| 2016 | 11.1% |
| 2017 | 11.3% |
| 2018 | 11.5% |
| 2019 | 11.5% |
| 2020 | 14.6% |
| 2021 | 13.0% |
| 2022 | 11.9% |
| 2023 | 10.7% |
| 2024 | 10.3% |
| 2025 | 9.9% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
M73 traffic trend
Traffic on the M73 came to 189 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 18.4% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 26.0% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 60.5% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 103m |
| 2001 | 106m |
| 2002 | 105m |
| 2003 | 106m |
| 2004 | 110m |
| 2005 | 116m |
| 2006 | 122m |
| 2007 | 123m |
| 2008 | 124m |
| 2009 | 125m |
| 2010 | 124m |
| 2011 | 126m |
| 2012 | 144m |
| 2013 | 148m |
| 2014 | 151m |
| 2015 | 143m |
| 2016 | 150m |
| 2017 | 147m |
| 2018 | 151m |
| 2019 | 155m |
| 2020 | 111m |
| 2021 | 144m |
| 2022 | 168m |
| 2023 | 182m |
| 2024 | 187m |
| 2025 | 189m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 44,840 |
| 2001 | 46,264 |
| 2002 | 45,634 |
| 2003 | 45,979 |
| 2004 | 47,700 |
| 2005 | 50,243 |
| 2006 | 53,024 |
| 2007 | 53,580 |
| 2008 | 53,908 |
| 2009 | 54,523 |
| 2010 | 53,763 |
| 2011 | 54,711 |
| 2012 | 56,510 |
| 2013 | 57,873 |
| 2014 | 59,214 |
| 2015 | 55,995 |
| 2016 | 58,879 |
| 2017 | 57,694 |
| 2018 | 59,245 |
| 2019 | 60,564 |
| 2020 | 43,514 |
| 2021 | 56,155 |
| 2022 | 65,682 |
| 2023 | 66,602 |
| 2024 | 68,126 |
| 2025 | 68,987 |
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 (56.0% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 10 of the 12 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
M73 collisions
Police recorded 41 collisions with the M73 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 13 of them fatal or serious. That is 4.7 per 100 million vehicle miles, close to the 4.9 for all motorways in Great Britain. On average there were 1.1 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 28.6% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 |
| 2022 | 10 |
| 2023 | 13 |
| 2024 | 6 |
| 2025 | 5 |
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 |
|---|---|
| M74 to J2 North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City · 16 collisions | 6.4 |
| J2 to J2A Glasgow City, North Lanarkshire · 13 collisions | 4.1 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 8 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M73 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 97.6% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions
Council areas on the M73
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- North Lanarkshire
- Glasgow City
Roadworks on the M73 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 9 sets of roadworks on the M73 in Scotland, 6 of them under way. 9 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
M73 Northbound Onslip From Junction-2a Towards Junction-3, Gartcosh
-
M73 Southbound Link Road Towards M74 Nb At South Lanarkshire Boundary, Uddingston
-
M73 Northbound From Junction-2a To Junction-3, Gartcosh
-
M73 Northbound Onslip From Junction-2a Towards Junction-3, Gartcosh
-
M73 Northbound Onslip From Junction-3 Towards M80 Northbound Merge, Mollinsburn
-
M73 Southbound Link Road Towards M74 Nb At South Lanarkshire Boundary, Uddingston
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 | 12 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 41 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.