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CrashStats

Central Bedfordshire road accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 39,453 road traffic collisions in Central Bedfordshire from 1979 to 2025, and 57,217 people were killed or injured in them. Of those collisions, 898 were fatal and 7,044 were serious.

In 2025 police recorded 475 collisions, down 7% on 2024 (510), and casualties fell from 738 to 688.

Collisions, 1979 to 2025
39,453
64th highest of 351 areas
Casualties
57,217
1.45 per collision
Fatal collisions
898
2.3% of collisions
Collisions in 2025
475
Down 7% on 2024

Crash severity in Central Bedfordshire

2.3% of collisions in Central Bedfordshire from 1979 to 2025 were fatal and 18% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by worst injury

  • Fatal8982.3%
  • Serious7,04418%
  • Slight31,51180%

People hurt, by injury

  • Fatal9961.7%
  • Serious8,63015%
  • Slight47,59183%

Central Bedfordshire road accidents by year

Collisions and casualties in Central Bedfordshire, 1979 to 2025

Collisions peaked at 1,211 in 1989. In 2025 there were 475, down 7% on 2024.

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
2025475688
2024510738
2023580838
2022528742
2021471695
2020437642
2019583884
2018649953
20177231,033
2016621894
2015609904
2014672964
2013565831
2012636865
2011624919
2010686991
20097071,030
20087021,020
20077731,121
20067821,090
20057711,101
20047791,155
20037601,145
20028051,170
20018911,321
20009881,470
19999721,435
19989711,436
19979711,401
19969591,367
19958991,370
19949061,307
19939151,339
19921,0121,493
19919731,441
19901,1661,696
19891,2111,769
19881,1171,667
19871,1761,680
19861,1571,677
19851,1361,561
19841,1291,629
19831,0221,426
19821,0861,516
19811,0311,488
19801,1661,659
19791,1511,656

When and where crashes happen in Central Bedfordshire

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday5,265 (13%)
  • Tuesday5,542 (14%)
  • Wednesday5,660 (14%)
  • Thursday5,844 (15%)
  • Friday6,620 (17%)
  • Saturday5,659 (14%)
  • Sunday4,863 (12%)

Collisions by time of day

  • 00:00 to 02:591,663 (4.2%)
  • 03:00 to 05:591,006 (2.5%)
  • 06:00 to 08:595,723 (15%)
  • 09:00 to 11:595,594 (14%)
  • 12:00 to 14:596,405 (16%)
  • 15:00 to 17:598,793 (22%)
  • 18:00 to 20:596,386 (16%)
  • 21:00 to 23:593,883 (9.8%)

Collisions by month

  • January3,334 (8.5%)
  • February2,965 (7.5%)
  • March3,098 (7.9%)
  • April2,954 (7.5%)
  • May3,122 (7.9%)
  • June3,178 (8.1%)
  • July3,393 (8.6%)
  • August3,238 (8.2%)
  • September3,408 (8.6%)
  • October3,556 (9%)
  • November3,685 (9.3%)
  • December3,522 (8.9%)

Light conditions

  • Daylight27,529 (70%)
  • Dark, street lights lit6,977 (18%)
  • Dark, no street lighting4,550 (12%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown238 (0.6%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit156 (0.4%)
  • Not recorded3 (under 0.1%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds31,162 (79%)
  • Raining, no high winds4,924 (12%)
  • Fine with high winds875 (2.2%)
  • Raining with high winds599 (1.5%)
  • Fog or mist562 (1.4%)
  • Snowing, no high winds284 (0.7%)
  • Snowing with high winds73 (0.2%)
  • Other771 (2%)
  • Not recorded203 (0.5%)

Road surface

  • Dry24,269 (62%)
  • Wet or damp13,392 (34%)
  • Frost or ice1,265 (3.2%)
  • Snow302 (0.8%)
  • Flood over 3cm deep60 (0.2%)
  • Mud10 (under 0.1%)
  • Oil or diesel10 (under 0.1%)
  • Not recorded145 (0.4%)

Speed limit at the scene

  • 10 mph3 (under 0.1%)
  • 15 mph2 (under 0.1%)
  • 20 mph505 (1.3%)
  • 30 mph15,833 (40%)
  • 40 mph1,844 (4.7%)
  • 50 mph763 (1.9%)
  • 60 mph14,189 (36%)
  • 70 mph6,314 (16%)

Type of road

  • Single carriageway29,262 (74%)
  • Dual carriageway7,824 (20%)
  • Roundabout1,780 (4.5%)
  • One way street or slip road460 (1.2%)
  • Not recorded127 (0.3%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Who is hurt in road crashes in Central Bedfordshire

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant38,658 (68%)
  • Motorcyclist5,974 (10%)
  • Pedestrian4,572 (8%)
  • Cyclist3,011 (5.3%)
  • Van occupant2,469 (4.3%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)1,123 (2%)
  • Bus or coach occupant533 (0.9%)
  • Minibus occupant317 (0.6%)
  • Other vehicle occupant233 (0.4%)
  • Taxi or private hire car occupant217 (0.4%)
  • Other84 (0.1%)
  • Not recorded26 (under 0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 51,210 (2.1%)
  • 6 to 101,950 (3.4%)
  • 11 to 152,767 (4.8%)
  • 16 to 2010,366 (18%)
  • 21 to 258,128 (14%)
  • 26 to 3511,956 (21%)
  • 36 to 458,154 (14%)
  • 46 to 555,690 (9.9%)
  • 56 to 653,533 (6.2%)
  • 66 to 751,974 (3.5%)
  • Over 751,176 (2.1%)
  • Not recorded313 (0.5%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider36,997 (65%)
  • Passenger15,648 (27%)
  • Pedestrian4,572 (8%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car55,105 (72%)
  • Motorcycle5,978 (7.9%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes4,907 (6.4%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes4,769 (6.3%)
  • Pedal cycle3,124 (4.1%)
  • Bus or coach713 (0.9%)
  • Other vehicle588 (0.8%)
  • Taxi or private hire car304 (0.4%)
  • Minibus252 (0.3%)
  • Goods vehicle, weight unknown239 (0.3%)
  • Other116 (0.2%)
  • Not recorded47 (0.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes and hotspots in Central Bedfordshire

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

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

  • 24 crashes
  • Fatal
  • Serious
  • Slight

Accident hotspots (10)

How Central Bedfordshire ranks among 351 areas

Of the 351 areas in England, Scotland and Wales, Central Bedfordshire had the 64th most road collisions from 1979 to 2025.

Collisions
64th
highest of 351 areas
Casualties
46th
highest of 351 areas
Fatal collisions
24th
highest of 351 areas
Serious collisions
58th
highest of 351 areas
Areas ranked by collisions, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
61stCoventry40,21251,31748410,476
62ndHavering40,18352,3974246,013
63rdPlymouth39,63249,1973587,366
64thCentral Bedfordshire (this area)39,45357,2178987,044
65thCumberland38,87954,4469917,829
66thSefton38,81053,5304575,012
67thHammersmith and Fulham38,52343,6933025,763

Accident hotspots in Central Bedfordshire

Dunstable East, Central Bedfordshire, LU5 4RP area is the busiest accident hotspot in Central Bedfordshire, with 822 collisions from 2001 to 2025, 5 of them fatal.

Roads in Central Bedfordshire with the most crashes

The M1 had the most collisions in Central Bedfordshire from 1979 to 2025: 4,309, including 95 fatal and 582 serious.

Roads ranked by collisions in Central Bedfordshire, 1979 to 2025
RankRoadCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stM14,3097,39995582
2ndA52,9224,19478487
3rdA11,9102,87268377
4thA51201,7212,48529318
5thA5071,7102,59268366
6thA61,4382,38755322
7thA5051,3721,84536189
8thA4219401,55340144
9thA60017469745124
10thA41467051,02923128
11thA401268896319133
12thA41859882413102
13thB48958682110103
14thB104256275713130
15thA60047969315116
16thB6584476732088
17thB4540379591975
18thB10403695371578
19thB530321513867
20thB579290434456

Towns in Central Bedfordshire

Dunstable had the most collisions of any town in Central Bedfordshire from 1979 to 2025: 3,647.

Postcode districts in Central Bedfordshire

LU5 had the most collisions of any postcode district in Central Bedfordshire from 1979 to 2025: 5,897.

Latest crashes in Central Bedfordshire

Of the latest 24 crashes in Central Bedfordshire, 1 was fatal and 8 were serious. The most recent was on 31 December 2025.

Severity