Motorway
M8 traffic and collisions
The M8 is a motorway of 67.0 miles, from City of Edinburgh to Renfrewshire. This page covers its traffic at 63 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 1.7bn vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 69,777 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 158,065 J16 to J17
- HGV share 7.5% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +1.5% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 405 5.0 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the M8?
On an average day in 2025, 69,777 vehicles passed each point on the M8, counting both directions. The busiest section is J16 to J17 (Glasgow City), with 158,065 a day; the quietest listed is J31 to J30, with 26,294.
Busiest sections, 2025
J16 to J17 carries 2.3 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| J16 to J17 Glasgow City · 0.7 mi · HGVs 4.6% | 158,065 |
| J25 to M8 spur Renfrewshire · 0.9 mi · HGVs 3.6% | 148,359 |
| J15 to J16 Glasgow City · 0.7 mi · HGVs 6.0% | 145,537 |
| J14 to J15 Glasgow City · 0.7 mi · HGVs 3.5% | 130,386 |
| J24 to J25 Glasgow City · 1.0 mi · HGVs 3.8% | 124,608 |
| J23 to J24 Glasgow City · 0.6 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 121,988 |
| J26 to J27 Renfrewshire · 1.8 mi · HGVs 4.4% | 117,205 |
| J27 to J28 Renfrewshire · 0.9 mi · HGVs 3.8% | 117,198 |
| A8 to M74/M77/M8 Glasgow City · 0.9 mi · HGVs 4.7% | 111,060 |
| J17 to J18 Glasgow City · 0.7 mi · HGVs 6.4% | 105,715 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
City of Edinburgh to Renfrewshire · 67.0 miles
M8 traffic and collisions by section
39 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 21 short link roads and spurs (8.7 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Show all 39 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J1 to J2City of Edinburgh | 71,040 | 42 |
| 2 | J2 to J3City of Edinburgh | 37,081 | fewer than 3 |
| 3 | M8 split to J3City of Edinburgh, West Lothian | 79,203 | 26 |
| 4 | J3 to J3AWest Lothian | 63,025 | 21 |
| 5 | J3A to J4West Lothian | 66,519 | 21 |
| 6 | J4 to J5West Lothian, North Lanarkshire | 59,525 | 35 |
| 7 | J5 to J6North Lanarkshire | 65,767 | 14 |
| 8 | A8 to A73North Lanarkshire | 43,303 | fewer than 3 |
| 9 | A73North Lanarkshire | 48,637 | 4 |
| 10 | Count point 90103North Lanarkshire | 77,205 | 3 |
| 11 | Count point 90102North Lanarkshire | 98,942 | 6 |
| 12 | Count point 90101North Lanarkshire | 63,715 | 3 |
| 13 | Council boundary to M73Glasgow City | 35,002 | 4 |
| 14 | M73 to J9Glasgow City | 93,475 | 4 |
| 15 | J9 to J10Glasgow City | 92,013 | 3 |
| 16 | J10 to J11Glasgow City | 81,910 | 6 |
| 17 | J11 to J12Glasgow City | 78,577 | 19 |
| 18 | J12 to J13Glasgow City | 76,466 | 8 |
| 19 | J13 to J14Glasgow City | 78,457 | 7 |
| 20 | J14 to J15Glasgow City | 130,386 | 12 |
| 21 | J15 to J16Glasgow City | 145,537 | 19 |
| 22 | J16 to J17Glasgow City | 158,065 | 8 |
| 23 | J17 to J18Glasgow City | 105,715 | 23 |
| 24 | At M8Glasgow City | 110,264 | 3 |
| 25 | M8 Slips to A8Glasgow City | 121,535 | 6 |
| 26 | A8 to M74/M77/M8Glasgow City | 111,060 | fewer than 3 |
| 27 | J22 to J23Glasgow City | 51,678 | 5 |
| 28 | J23 to J24Glasgow City | 121,988 | 7 |
| 29 | J24 to J25Glasgow City | 124,608 | 7 |
| 30 | J25 to M8 spurRenfrewshire | 148,359 | 6 |
| 31 | M8 spur to Kings Inch Drive to J26Renfrewshire | 112,021 | 5 |
| 32 | J26 to J27Renfrewshire | 117,205 | 15 |
| 33 | J27 to J28Renfrewshire | 117,198 | 11 |
| 34 | J28 to spur to A737Renfrewshire | 95,642 | 3 |
| 35 | spur to A737 to J29Renfrewshire | 53,515 | fewer than 3 |
| 36 | J29Renfrewshire | 73,617 | 6 |
| 37 | J31Renfrewshire | 54,561 | 6 |
| 38 | J31 to J30Renfrewshire | 26,294 | 9 |
| 39 | A8T to A8PRenfrewshire | 32,804 | 0 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M8 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.
M8 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 71.8% of the vehicle miles on the M8. HGVs account for 7.5%, rising to 14.5% on J5 to J6.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.5% |
| 2001 | 8.2% |
| 2002 | 8.1% |
| 2003 | 8.5% |
| 2004 | 8.8% |
| 2005 | 8.8% |
| 2006 | 8.9% |
| 2007 | 8.9% |
| 2008 | 8.9% |
| 2009 | 8.3% |
| 2010 | 8.5% |
| 2011 | 8.3% |
| 2012 | 8.3% |
| 2013 | 8.3% |
| 2014 | 8.0% |
| 2015 | 7.9% |
| 2016 | 7.8% |
| 2017 | 8.1% |
| 2018 | 8.3% |
| 2019 | 8.2% |
| 2020 | 10.1% |
| 2021 | 9.8% |
| 2022 | 8.4% |
| 2023 | 7.9% |
| 2024 | 7.7% |
| 2025 | 7.5% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
M8 traffic trend
Traffic on the M8 came to 1.71 billion vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 1.5% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 4.3% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 13.3% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.3bn |
| 2001 | 1.3bn |
| 2002 | 1.3bn |
| 2003 | 1.4bn |
| 2004 | 1.4bn |
| 2005 | 1.4bn |
| 2006 | 1.4bn |
| 2007 | 1.5bn |
| 2008 | 1.5bn |
| 2009 | 1.5bn |
| 2010 | 1.4bn |
| 2011 | 1.4bn |
| 2012 | 1.4bn |
| 2013 | 1.5bn |
| 2014 | 1.4bn |
| 2015 | 1.4bn |
| 2016 | 1.5bn |
| 2017 | 1.5bn |
| 2018 | 1.6bn |
| 2019 | 1.7bn |
| 2020 | 1.2bn |
| 2021 | 1.4bn |
| 2022 | 1.6bn |
| 2023 | 1.7bn |
| 2024 | 1.7bn |
| 2025 | 1.7bn |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 64,270 |
| 2001 | 66,125 |
| 2002 | 67,761 |
| 2003 | 68,101 |
| 2004 | 70,895 |
| 2005 | 72,591 |
| 2006 | 70,270 |
| 2007 | 72,548 |
| 2008 | 73,057 |
| 2009 | 72,328 |
| 2010 | 71,317 |
| 2011 | 71,052 |
| 2012 | 67,209 |
| 2013 | 68,135 |
| 2014 | 69,470 |
| 2015 | 69,303 |
| 2016 | 70,460 |
| 2017 | 70,241 |
| 2018 | 69,570 |
| 2019 | 69,865 |
| 2020 | 52,174 |
| 2021 | 60,012 |
| 2022 | 66,110 |
| 2023 | 67,638 |
| 2024 | 69,011 |
| 2025 | 69,777 |
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 (81.5% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 32 of the 63 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
M8 collisions
Police recorded 405 collisions with the M8 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 132 of them fatal or serious, including 12 fatal. That is 5.0 per 100 million vehicle miles, close to the 4.9 for all motorways in Great Britain. On average there were 1.2 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 12.8% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | 31 |
| 2022 | 51 | 28 |
| 2023 | 59 | 25 |
| 2024 | 57 | 24 |
| 2025 | 51 | 24 |
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 |
|---|---|
| J17 to J18 Glasgow City · 23 collisions | 20.9 |
| J11 to J12 Glasgow City · 19 collisions | 11.0 |
| J1 to J2 City of Edinburgh · 42 collisions | 10.9 |
| J15 to J16 Glasgow City · 19 collisions | 10.7 |
| J14 to J15 Glasgow City · 12 collisions | 7.4 |
| J27 to J28 Renfrewshire · 11 collisions | 6.3 |
| J3A to J4 West Lothian · 21 collisions | 6.3 |
| J4 to J5 West Lothian, North Lanarkshire · 35 collisions | 5.3 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 18 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M8 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 M8
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- City of Edinburgh
- West Lothian
- North Lanarkshire
- Glasgow City
- Renfrewshire
Roadworks on the M8 in Scotland
The Scottish Road Works Register lists 589 sets of roadworks on the M8 in Scotland, 38 of them under way. 585 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.
-
M8 Westbound Junction 15 To Junction 16, Glasgow
-
M8 Westbound Junction 17 Off Slip To West Graham Street, Glasgow
-
M8 Eastbound Junction 17 On Slip From Great Western Road A82, Glasgow
-
M8 Eastbound Junction 17 To Junction 16, Glasgow
-
M8 Westbound Junction 15 On Slip From Stirling Road, Glasgow
-
M8 Eastbound Junction 22 To Junction 19 (Kingston Bridge), Glasgow
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 | 63 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 405 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.