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CrashStats

Colchester road accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 24,962 road traffic collisions in Colchester from 1979 to 2025, and 32,755 people were killed or injured in them. Of those collisions, 363 were fatal and 5,140 were serious.

In 2025 police recorded 321 collisions, level with 2024 (322), and casualties fell from 420 to 403.

Collisions, 1979 to 2025
24,962
124th highest of 351 areas
Casualties
32,755
1.31 per collision
Fatal collisions
363
1.5% of collisions
Collisions in 2025
321
Level with 2024

Crash severity in Colchester

1.5% of collisions in Colchester from 1979 to 2025 were fatal and 21% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by worst injury

  • Fatal3631.5%
  • Serious5,14021%
  • Slight19,45978%

People hurt, by injury

  • Fatal3851.2%
  • Serious5,82918%
  • Slight26,54181%

Colchester road accidents by year

Collisions and casualties in Colchester, 1979 to 2025

Collisions peaked at 770 in 1989. In 2025 there were 321, level with 2024.

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 321
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
2025321403
2024322420
2023303383
2022334420
2021319410
2020294392
2019346457
2018359461
2017310393
2016402533
2015385514
2014402519
2013389512
2012390521
2011402518
2010356455
2009390483
2008422532
2007495620
2006461565
2005552687
2004603761
2003590782
2002581755
2001583766
2000633872
1999610810
1998566709
1997549697
1996533718
1995598761
1994620858
1993642834
1992669895
1991692931
1990735977
19897701,043
19887571,004
1987744978
1986766997
1985691912
1984687937
1983641887
1982642904
1981699921
1980712925
1979695923

When and where crashes happen in Colchester

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday3,461 (14%)
  • Tuesday3,565 (14%)
  • Wednesday3,753 (15%)
  • Thursday3,811 (15%)
  • Friday4,167 (17%)
  • Saturday3,573 (14%)
  • Sunday2,632 (11%)

Collisions by time of day

  • 00:00 to 02:59947 (3.8%)
  • 03:00 to 05:59405 (1.6%)
  • 06:00 to 08:593,352 (13%)
  • 09:00 to 11:593,480 (14%)
  • 12:00 to 14:594,501 (18%)
  • 15:00 to 17:596,102 (24%)
  • 18:00 to 20:593,825 (15%)
  • 21:00 to 23:592,350 (9.4%)

Collisions by month

  • January2,032 (8.1%)
  • February1,788 (7.2%)
  • March2,010 (8.1%)
  • April1,879 (7.5%)
  • May2,001 (8%)
  • June2,025 (8.1%)
  • July2,196 (8.8%)
  • August2,043 (8.2%)
  • September2,079 (8.3%)
  • October2,282 (9.1%)
  • November2,520 (10%)
  • December2,107 (8.4%)

Light conditions

  • Daylight17,762 (71%)
  • Dark, street lights lit4,719 (19%)
  • Dark, no street lighting2,191 (8.8%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown197 (0.8%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit93 (0.4%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds20,519 (82%)
  • Raining, no high winds2,917 (12%)
  • Fine with high winds318 (1.3%)
  • Raining with high winds219 (0.9%)
  • Fog or mist194 (0.8%)
  • Snowing, no high winds146 (0.6%)
  • Snowing with high winds24 (0.1%)
  • Other499 (2%)
  • Not recorded126 (0.5%)

Road surface

  • Dry16,602 (67%)
  • Wet or damp7,630 (31%)
  • Frost or ice531 (2.1%)
  • Snow121 (0.5%)
  • Flood over 3cm deep51 (0.2%)
  • Oil or diesel12 (under 0.1%)
  • Mud4 (under 0.1%)
  • Not recorded11 (under 0.1%)

Speed limit at the scene

  • 20 mph139 (0.6%)
  • 30 mph14,115 (57%)
  • 40 mph3,193 (13%)
  • 50 mph651 (2.6%)
  • 60 mph4,488 (18%)
  • 70 mph2,376 (9.5%)

Type of road

  • Single carriageway17,797 (71%)
  • Roundabout3,062 (12%)
  • Dual carriageway3,007 (12%)
  • One way street or slip road978 (3.9%)
  • Not recorded118 (0.5%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Who is hurt in road crashes in Colchester

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant18,545 (57%)
  • Motorcyclist4,868 (15%)
  • Pedestrian3,904 (12%)
  • Cyclist3,266 (10%)
  • Van occupant881 (2.7%)
  • Bus or coach occupant533 (1.6%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)274 (0.8%)
  • Taxi or private hire car occupant169 (0.5%)
  • Minibus occupant132 (0.4%)
  • Other vehicle occupant128 (0.4%)
  • Other26 (0.1%)
  • Not recorded29 (0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 5582 (1.8%)
  • 6 to 101,067 (3.3%)
  • 11 to 151,926 (5.9%)
  • 16 to 207,028 (21%)
  • 21 to 254,499 (14%)
  • 26 to 355,669 (17%)
  • 36 to 454,217 (13%)
  • 46 to 553,124 (9.5%)
  • 56 to 651,959 (6%)
  • 66 to 751,166 (3.6%)
  • Over 75897 (2.7%)
  • Not recorded621 (1.9%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider21,015 (64%)
  • Passenger7,836 (24%)
  • Pedestrian3,904 (12%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car31,988 (70%)
  • Motorcycle4,989 (11%)
  • Pedal cycle3,412 (7.4%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes2,380 (5.2%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes1,490 (3.2%)
  • Bus or coach726 (1.6%)
  • Other vehicle319 (0.7%)
  • Taxi or private hire car287 (0.6%)
  • Minibus149 (0.3%)
  • Personal powered transporter (e-scooter or similar)42 (0.1%)
  • Other83 (0.2%)
  • Not recorded11 (under 0.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes and hotspots in Colchester

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

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

  • 24 crashes
  • Serious
  • Slight

Accident hotspots (10)

How Colchester ranks among 351 areas

Of the 351 areas in England, Scotland and Wales, Colchester had the 124th most road collisions from 1979 to 2025.

Collisions
124th
highest of 351 areas
Casualties
131st
highest of 351 areas
Fatal collisions
160th
highest of 351 areas
Serious collisions
108th
highest of 351 areas
Areas ranked by collisions, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
121stKingston upon Thames25,51530,7412243,927
122ndReigate and Banstead25,20634,3633003,889
123rdSt. Helens25,13735,2433833,718
124thColchester (this area)24,96232,7553635,140
125thWealden24,92136,0386705,749
126thHerefordshire24,79434,5215985,754
127thWest Suffolk24,68234,9936095,561

Accident hotspots in Colchester

Castle, Colchester, CO1 1JQ area is the busiest accident hotspot in Colchester, with 1,141 collisions from 2001 to 2025, 3 of them fatal.

Roads in Colchester with the most crashes

The A134 had the most collisions in Colchester from 1979 to 2025: 2,730, including 27 fatal and 495 serious.

Roads ranked by collisions in Colchester, 1979 to 2025
RankRoadCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stA1342,7303,50627495
2ndA121,9903,06675410
3rdA1331,8062,35125271
4thB10251,3711,87726299
5thB10221,3331,90814295
6thA11241,3301,61714243
7thA12321,0311,2919166
8thA60470094311137
9thB102661882512162
10thA12058991218105
11thA1375816922125
12thB1508337463871
13thB1023298406663
14thB1408251314458
15thB1028211265659
16thB1027172246342
17thB10294480011
18thA1324400
19thB10244601
20thB1344800

Towns in Colchester

Colchester itself had the most collisions of any town in the area from 1979 to 2025: 14,170.

Postcode districts in Colchester

CO3 had the most collisions of any postcode district in Colchester from 1979 to 2025: 5,189.

Latest crashes in Colchester

Of the latest 24 crashes in Colchester, none were fatal and 6 were serious. The most recent was on 30 December 2025.

Severity