Motorway

M90 traffic and collisions

The M90 is a motorway of 43.1 miles, from City of Edinburgh to Perth & Kinross. This page covers its traffic at 21 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.

Last updated
Records analysed
21 count points in 2025
Methodology
View methodology
  • Traffic in 2025 591m vehicle miles
  • Average daily traffic 37,563 vehicles a day, both directions
  • Busiest section 74,455 A904 to B981
  • HGV share 8.9% of vehicle miles
  • Traffic since 2019 −4.8% same count points
  • Collisions, 2021 to 2025 115 4.0 per 100m vehicle miles

How busy is the M90?

On an average day in 2025, 37,563 vehicles passed each point on the M90, counting both directions. The busiest section is A904 to B981 (City of Edinburgh, Fife), with 74,455 a day; the quietest listed is J3 to J2, with 25,209.

Busiest sections, 2025

A904 to B981 carries 2.0 times the road’s average flow.

Sections of the M90 with the highest average daily flow, 2025
Section Vehicles a day
A904 to B981 City of Edinburgh, Fife · 2.6 mi · HGVs 7.0% 74,455
B981 to M90 Fife · 1.0 mi · HGVs 7.2% 71,577
J1 to J2 Fife · 0.6 mi · HGVs 5.9% 68,518
J2 to J3 Fife · 2.3 mi · HGVs 9.4% 66,888
J7 to J8 Perth & Kinross · 2.3 mi · HGVs 7.6% 37,964
J9 to J10 Perth & Kinross · 2.2 mi · HGVs 9.3% 36,471
J3 to J4 Fife · 4.0 mi · HGVs 8.4% 35,278
Motorway crosses B800 to M9 meets A90 City of Edinburgh · 2.8 mi · HGVs 10.5% 33,483
J4 to J5 Fife, Perth & Kinross · 3.0 mi · HGVs 7.5% 32,863
J6 to J7 Perth & Kinross · 1.5 mi · HGVs 10.5% 32,119

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Route

City of Edinburgh to Perth & Kinross · 43.1 miles

City of Edinburgh Perth & Kinross
Schematic route: each line joins the junctions at the ends of a DfT count point link.

M90 traffic and collisions by section

15 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 4 short link roads and spurs (4.0 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.

Sections Tap a column heading to sort
Sections of the M90 in route order, 2025 traffic
#
1Motorway crosses B800 to M9 meets A90City of Edinburgh2.833,48310.5%−19.6%147.2
2A904 to B981City of Edinburgh, Fife2.674,4557.0%−2.7%133.7
3B981 to M90Fife1.071,5777.2%−3.1%7
4A90 to A985Fife0.272,2937.2%−3.1%fewer than 3
5J1 to J2Fife0.668,5185.9%+2.5%4
6J2 to J3Fife2.366,8889.4%+4.8%135.0
7J3 to J2Fife0.725,2098.3%−12.4%5
8J3 to J4Fife4.035,2788.4%−4.0%7
9J4 to J5Fife, Perth & Kinross3.032,8637.5%+1.2%6
10J5 to J6Perth & Kinross3.731,5779.4%−0.2%9
11J6 to J7Perth & Kinross1.532,11910.5%−8.1%fewer than 3
12J7 to J8Perth & Kinross2.337,9647.6%−0.8%fewer than 3
13J8 to J9Perth & Kinross8.927,3669.5%−6.1%143.3
14J9 to J10Perth & Kinross2.236,4719.3%−5.2%4
15J10 to A9Perth & Kinross3.331,19210.8%−13.6%9

Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M90 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.

M90 traffic by vehicle type

Cars and taxis make up 70.9% of the vehicle miles on the M90. HGVs account for 8.9%, rising to 10.8% on J10 to A9.

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 M90, by year
Year HGV share
2000 9.1%
2001 8.6%
2002 8.6%
2003 9.3%
2004 9.3%
2005 9.3%
2006 9.4%
2007 9.5%
2008 9.3%
2009 8.8%
2010 9.0%
2011 8.6%
2012 8.5%
2013 8.6%
2014 8.1%
2015 8.1%
2016 8.2%
2017 8.6%
2018 8.4%
2019 8.3%
2020 10.7%
2021 10.2%
2022 9.3%
2023 8.8%
2024 8.8%
2025 8.9%

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

M90 traffic trend

Traffic on the M90 came to 591 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 4.8% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 8.3% on 2015.

Vehicle miles a year

Like for like, traffic is up 20.5% on 2000.

Vehicle miles on the M90 each year, the whole road as it was that year
Year Vehicle miles
2000 348m
2001 356m
2002 374m
2003 390m
2004 392m
2005 393m
2006 398m
2007 405m
2008 403m
2009 399m
2010 390m
2011 384m
2012 374m
2013 379m
2014 393m
2015 390m
2016 428m
2017 517m
2018 607m
2019 621m
2020 447m
2021 514m
2022 571m
2023 595m
2024 583m
2025 591m

Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated

Average daily flow

Average daily flow along the M90, weighted by link length, by year
Year Vehicles a day
2000 28,128
2001 28,744
2002 30,262
2003 31,515
2004 31,647
2005 31,758
2006 32,181
2007 32,703
2008 32,595
2009 32,262
2010 31,535
2011 31,025
2012 30,222
2013 30,609
2014 31,729
2015 31,544
2016 34,604
2017 35,579
2018 38,582
2019 39,476
2020 28,421
2021 32,689
2022 36,311
2023 37,803
2024 37,025
2025 37,563

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, 11 of the 21 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.

M90 collisions

Police recorded 115 collisions with the M90 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 44 of them fatal or serious. That is 4.0 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 4.9 for all motorways in Great Britain. On average there were 0.5 a year for each mile of road.

Reported collisions by year

Up 27.8% from 2021 to 2025.

Police-reported collisions on the M90 by year: fatal or serious, and slight
Year SlightFatal or serious
2021 126
2022 1610
2023 136
2024 1712
2025 1310

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.

Collisions per 100 million vehicle miles by section of the M90, 2021 to 2025
Section Per 100m vehicle miles
Motorway crosses B800 to M9 meets A90 City of Edinburgh · 14 collisions 7.2
J2 to J3 Fife · 13 collisions 5.0
A904 to B981 City of Edinburgh, Fife · 13 collisions 3.7
J8 to J9 Perth & Kinross · 14 collisions 3.3

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

A further 6 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M90 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 M90

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

  • City of Edinburgh
  • Fife
  • Perth & Kinross

Roadworks on the M90 in Scotland

The Scottish Road Works Register lists 86 sets of roadworks on the M90 in Scotland, 18 of them under way. 83 close the road, a lane or a slip road. From the extract of 16 September 2026.

  • M90t Northbound From Junction 10 To Junction 11, Perth

    Road closed Under way, until 30 Dec 2030 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company

  • M90t Southbound From Junction 11 To Junction 10, Perth

    Road closed Under way, until 30 Dec 2030 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company

  • M90t Southbound Junction 10 On Slip From A912 And Western By Pass, Perth

    Slip road closed Under way, until 28 Dec 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company

  • M90t Southbound Junction 10 On Slip From A912, Perth

    Slip road closed Under way, until 28 Dec 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company

  • M90t Southbound Through Junction 10 From Broxden Roundabout, Perth

    Slip road closed Under way, until 28 Dec 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company

  • M90t Northwards Inbound Slip To The A912 At Junction 10, Perth

    Slip road closed Under way, until 28 Dec 2026 Transport Scotland - NE Unit Op Company

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

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 21 count points in 2025 15 September 2026
Reported collisions Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport
Derived statistics UK Motoring
2021 to 2025 115 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.