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CrashStats

Bedford road accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 22,899 road traffic collisions in Bedford from 1979 to 2025, and 30,674 people were killed or injured in them. Of those collisions, 379 were fatal and 4,059 were serious.

In 2025 police recorded 293 collisions, up 2% on 2024 (288), and casualties rose from 366 to 383.

Collisions, 1979 to 2025
22,899
139th highest of 351 areas
Casualties
30,674
1.34 per collision
Fatal collisions
379
1.7% of collisions
Collisions in 2025
293
Up 2% on 2024

Crash severity in Bedford

1.7% of collisions in Bedford from 1979 to 2025 were fatal and 18% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by worst injury

  • Fatal3791.7%
  • Serious4,05918%
  • Slight18,46181%

People hurt, by injury

  • Fatal4171.4%
  • Serious4,74515%
  • Slight25,51283%

Bedford road accidents by year

Collisions and casualties in Bedford, 1979 to 2025

Collisions peaked at 717 in 1989. In 2025 there were 293, up 2% on 2024.

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 293
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
2025293383
2024288366
2023332430
2022328419
2021263370
2020284373
2019371484
2018348474
2017420543
2016394541
2015399539
2014443561
2013356451
2012380497
2011447580
2010408553
2009385508
2008462644
2007473613
2006408560
2005452632
2004436601
2003423602
2002494653
2001553797
2000514730
1999450630
1998576817
1997596809
1996573793
1995465668
1994511714
1993523706
1992531701
1991506681
1990601823
1989717938
1988617793
1987620884
1986646831
1985611826
1984693867
1983662881
1982669877
1981634797
1980670862
1979674872

When and where crashes happen in Bedford

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday3,218 (14%)
  • Tuesday3,409 (15%)
  • Wednesday3,485 (15%)
  • Thursday3,414 (15%)
  • Friday3,753 (16%)
  • Saturday3,120 (14%)
  • Sunday2,500 (11%)

Collisions by time of day

  • 00:00 to 02:59805 (3.5%)
  • 03:00 to 05:59380 (1.7%)
  • 06:00 to 08:593,219 (14%)
  • 09:00 to 11:593,047 (13%)
  • 12:00 to 14:593,992 (17%)
  • 15:00 to 17:595,651 (25%)
  • 18:00 to 20:593,632 (16%)
  • 21:00 to 23:592,173 (9.5%)

Collisions by month

  • January1,855 (8.1%)
  • February1,637 (7.1%)
  • March1,754 (7.7%)
  • April1,745 (7.6%)
  • May1,939 (8.5%)
  • June1,873 (8.2%)
  • July1,912 (8.3%)
  • August1,826 (8%)
  • September1,981 (8.7%)
  • October2,135 (9.3%)
  • November2,296 (10%)
  • December1,946 (8.5%)

Light conditions

  • Daylight16,404 (72%)
  • Dark, street lights lit4,578 (20%)
  • Dark, no street lighting1,668 (7.3%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown173 (0.8%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit74 (0.3%)
  • Not recorded2 (under 0.1%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds18,625 (81%)
  • Raining, no high winds2,631 (11%)
  • Fine with high winds500 (2.2%)
  • Raining with high winds271 (1.2%)
  • Fog or mist236 (1%)
  • Snowing, no high winds124 (0.5%)
  • Snowing with high winds22 (0.1%)
  • Other393 (1.7%)
  • Not recorded97 (0.4%)

Road surface

  • Dry15,041 (66%)
  • Wet or damp7,089 (31%)
  • Frost or ice544 (2.4%)
  • Snow114 (0.5%)
  • Flood over 3cm deep15 (0.1%)
  • Oil or diesel6 (under 0.1%)
  • Mud2 (under 0.1%)
  • Not recorded88 (0.4%)

Speed limit at the scene

  • 10 mph3 (under 0.1%)
  • 20 mph254 (1.1%)
  • 30 mph14,693 (64%)
  • 40 mph1,272 (5.6%)
  • 50 mph177 (0.8%)
  • 60 mph5,588 (24%)
  • 70 mph911 (4%)
  • Not recorded1 (under 0.1%)

Type of road

  • Single carriageway18,986 (83%)
  • Dual carriageway1,424 (6.2%)
  • Roundabout1,376 (6%)
  • One way street or slip road1,022 (4.5%)
  • Not recorded91 (0.4%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Who is hurt in road crashes in Bedford

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant17,120 (56%)
  • Motorcyclist3,940 (13%)
  • Pedestrian3,929 (13%)
  • Cyclist3,434 (11%)
  • Van occupant951 (3.1%)
  • Bus or coach occupant442 (1.4%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)356 (1.2%)
  • Taxi or private hire car occupant181 (0.6%)
  • Minibus occupant135 (0.4%)
  • Other vehicle occupant119 (0.4%)
  • Other38 (0.1%)
  • Not recorded29 (0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 5651 (2.1%)
  • 6 to 101,133 (3.7%)
  • 11 to 151,650 (5.4%)
  • 16 to 206,131 (20%)
  • 21 to 254,210 (14%)
  • 26 to 355,734 (19%)
  • 36 to 454,133 (13%)
  • 46 to 553,032 (9.9%)
  • 56 to 651,894 (6.2%)
  • 66 to 751,151 (3.8%)
  • Over 75776 (2.5%)
  • Not recorded179 (0.6%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider19,872 (65%)
  • Passenger6,873 (22%)
  • Pedestrian3,929 (13%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car29,359 (69%)
  • Motorcycle4,037 (9.5%)
  • Pedal cycle3,555 (8.4%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes2,440 (5.7%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes1,537 (3.6%)
  • Bus or coach617 (1.5%)
  • Other vehicle322 (0.8%)
  • Taxi or private hire car310 (0.7%)
  • Minibus159 (0.4%)
  • Goods vehicle, weight unknown65 (0.2%)
  • Other87 (0.2%)
  • Not recorded40 (0.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes and hotspots in Bedford

Map of the 24 most recent crashes and the 10 busiest accident hotspots in Bedford

Use the arrow keys to move the map and the plus and minus keys to zoom.

  • 24 crashes
  • Serious
  • Slight

Accident hotspots (10)

How Bedford ranks among 351 areas

Of the 351 areas in England, Scotland and Wales, Bedford had the 139th most road collisions from 1979 to 2025.

Collisions
139th
highest of 351 areas
Casualties
142nd
highest of 351 areas
Fatal collisions
Joint 144th
highest of 351 areas
Serious collisions
163rd
highest of 351 areas
Areas ranked by collisions, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
136thStafford23,37232,9054663,001
137thCambridge23,35726,6631174,228
138thYork23,09028,4972484,740
139thBedford (this area)22,89930,6743794,059
140thSolihull22,77530,8703575,037
141stFlintshire22,68732,9384623,637
142ndBasingstoke and Deane22,61030,8004315,603

Accident hotspots in Bedford

Greyfriars, Bedford, MK40 1AS area is the busiest accident hotspot in Bedford, with 1,503 collisions from 2001 to 2025, 5 of them fatal.

Roads in Bedford with the most crashes

The A6 had the most collisions in Bedford from 1979 to 2025: 2,943, including 67 fatal and 532 serious.

Roads ranked by collisions in Bedford, 1979 to 2025
RankRoadCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stA62,9434,02767532
2ndA4282,1583,11746383
3rdA6001,1171,49619200
4thA4211,0071,58033154
5thA51418201,081397
6thA51347649946136
7thA6037601,13920147
8thB531637782696
9thB66057179111127
10thA5140549700794
11thA15107971676
12thA4280292366239
13thA422205381652
14thB530191313531
15thA418144194839
16thB5604563012
17thB1042253106
18thB645233008
19thA45193114
20thB1043172113

Towns in Bedford

Bedford itself had the most collisions of any town in the area from 1979 to 2025: 10,850.

Postcode districts in Bedford

MK42 had the most collisions of any postcode district in Bedford from 1979 to 2025: 6,709.

Latest crashes in Bedford

Of the latest 24 crashes in Bedford, none were fatal and 7 were serious. The most recent was on 29 December 2025.

Severity