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CrashStats

County Durham road accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 59,228 road traffic collisions in County Durham from 1979 to 2025, and 85,923 people were killed or injured in them. Of those collisions, 1,366 were fatal and 10,796 were serious.

In 2025 police recorded 438 collisions, down 3% on 2024 (452), and casualties fell from 584 to 561.

Collisions, 1979 to 2025
59,228
22nd highest of 351 areas
Casualties
85,923
1.45 per collision
Fatal collisions
1,366
2.3% of collisions
Collisions in 2025
438
Down 3% on 2024

Crash severity in County Durham

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

Collisions by worst injury

  • Fatal1,3662.3%
  • Serious10,79618%
  • Slight47,06679%

People hurt, by injury

  • Fatal1,4851.7%
  • Serious12,79815%
  • Slight71,64083%

County Durham road accidents by year

Collisions and casualties in County Durham, 1979 to 2025

Collisions peaked at 1,726 in 1990. In 2025 there were 438, down 3% on 2024.

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 438
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
2025438561
2024452584
2023464610
2022507685
2021509699
2020498674
2019684929
20187561,083
20178391,250
20168051,177
20158661,242
20141,0131,585
20139491,369
20121,0091,544
20111,1441,654
20101,1731,708
20091,3842,078
20081,2381,914
20071,2701,973
20061,3091,947
20051,4552,139
20041,4372,142
20031,5452,336
20021,5752,308
20011,5072,227
20001,5732,250
19991,4702,163
19981,6542,472
19971,6612,536
19961,6462,534
19951,6762,456
19941,4572,132
19931,5322,304
19921,6822,423
19911,6192,345
19901,7262,568
19891,6322,424
19881,4321,996
19871,4802,130
19861,5092,120
19851,4582,069
19841,4331,987
19831,4091,865
19821,5122,138
19811,5322,115
19801,6272,230
19791,6822,248

When and where crashes happen in County Durham

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday8,239 (14%)
  • Tuesday8,102 (14%)
  • Wednesday8,008 (14%)
  • Thursday8,880 (15%)
  • Friday10,217 (17%)
  • Saturday8,848 (15%)
  • Sunday6,934 (12%)

Collisions by time of day

  • 00:00 to 02:592,179 (3.7%)
  • 03:00 to 05:59925 (1.6%)
  • 06:00 to 08:596,620 (11%)
  • 09:00 to 11:598,367 (14%)
  • 12:00 to 14:5910,665 (18%)
  • 15:00 to 17:5915,154 (26%)
  • 18:00 to 20:599,547 (16%)
  • 21:00 to 23:595,771 (9.7%)

Collisions by month

  • January4,767 (8%)
  • February4,394 (7.4%)
  • March4,800 (8.1%)
  • April4,534 (7.7%)
  • May4,862 (8.2%)
  • June4,825 (8.1%)
  • July5,015 (8.5%)
  • August4,872 (8.2%)
  • September5,010 (8.5%)
  • October5,337 (9%)
  • November5,523 (9.3%)
  • December5,289 (8.9%)

Light conditions

  • Daylight42,306 (71%)
  • Dark, street lights lit11,967 (20%)
  • Dark, no street lighting4,078 (6.9%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown634 (1.1%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit243 (0.4%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds47,155 (80%)
  • Raining, no high winds7,171 (12%)
  • Fine with high winds1,542 (2.6%)
  • Fog or mist886 (1.5%)
  • Snowing, no high winds741 (1.3%)
  • Raining with high winds719 (1.2%)
  • Snowing with high winds327 (0.6%)
  • Other519 (0.9%)
  • Not recorded168 (0.3%)

Road surface

  • Dry35,235 (59%)
  • Wet or damp20,798 (35%)
  • Frost or ice2,008 (3.4%)
  • Snow989 (1.7%)
  • Flood over 3cm deep130 (0.2%)
  • Oil or diesel31 (0.1%)
  • Mud21 (under 0.1%)
  • Not recorded16 (under 0.1%)

Speed limit at the scene

  • 10 mph32 (0.1%)
  • 15 mph5 (under 0.1%)
  • 20 mph54 (0.1%)
  • 30 mph33,669 (57%)
  • 40 mph3,401 (5.7%)
  • 50 mph538 (0.9%)
  • 60 mph16,884 (29%)
  • 70 mph4,632 (7.8%)
  • Not recorded13 (under 0.1%)

Type of road

  • Single carriageway49,788 (84%)
  • Dual carriageway5,373 (9.1%)
  • Roundabout3,347 (5.7%)
  • One way street or slip road609 (1%)
  • Not recorded111 (0.2%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Who is hurt in road crashes in County Durham

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant53,698 (62%)
  • Pedestrian12,964 (15%)
  • Motorcyclist7,057 (8.2%)
  • Cyclist3,958 (4.6%)
  • Van occupant3,050 (3.5%)
  • Bus or coach occupant2,780 (3.2%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)908 (1.1%)
  • Taxi or private hire car occupant504 (0.6%)
  • Minibus occupant483 (0.6%)
  • Other vehicle occupant390 (0.5%)
  • Other124 (0.1%)
  • Not recorded7 (under 0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 52,676 (3.1%)
  • 6 to 104,519 (5.3%)
  • 11 to 155,698 (6.6%)
  • 16 to 2015,316 (18%)
  • 21 to 2511,296 (13%)
  • 26 to 3515,523 (18%)
  • 36 to 4511,186 (13%)
  • 46 to 558,393 (9.8%)
  • 56 to 655,527 (6.4%)
  • 66 to 753,475 (4%)
  • Over 752,274 (2.6%)
  • Not recorded40 (under 0.1%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider47,195 (55%)
  • Passenger25,764 (30%)
  • Pedestrian12,964 (15%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car76,817 (75%)
  • Motorcycle7,022 (6.8%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes6,307 (6.1%)
  • Pedal cycle3,979 (3.9%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes3,245 (3.2%)
  • Bus or coach3,172 (3.1%)
  • Taxi or private hire car768 (0.7%)
  • Other vehicle701 (0.7%)
  • Minibus385 (0.4%)
  • Agricultural vehicle142 (0.1%)
  • Other158 (0.2%)
  • Not recorded37 (under 0.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes and hotspots in County Durham

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

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 County Durham ranks among 351 areas

Of the 351 areas in England, Scotland and Wales, County Durham had the 22nd most road collisions from 1979 to 2025.

Collisions
22nd
highest of 351 areas
Casualties
15th
highest of 351 areas
Fatal collisions
9th
highest of 351 areas
Serious collisions
17th
highest of 351 areas
Areas ranked by collisions, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
19thEaling60,82373,7115568,499
20thCheshire East60,75184,3951,13710,789
21stBristol59,61371,8277028,684
22ndCounty Durham (this area)59,22885,9231,36610,796
23rdKirklees57,24878,87383110,189
24thCamden57,20964,3903578,341
25thWandsworth56,74464,9924258,950

Accident hotspots in County Durham

Elvet, Gilesgate & Shincliffe, County Durham, DH1 3RB area is the busiest accident hotspot in County Durham, with 615 collisions from 2001 to 2025, 3 of them fatal.

Roads in County Durham with the most crashes

The A167 had the most collisions in County Durham from 1979 to 2025: 2,669, including 77 fatal and 468 serious.

Roads ranked by collisions in County Durham, 1979 to 2025
RankRoadCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stA1672,6694,03377468
2ndA6902,3633,41945393
3rdA6892,2583,57687453
4thA6882,0023,11582334
5thA1(M)1,8183,15770248
6thA191,3122,19157223
7thA6911,2531,93331214
8thA6931,2271,88330233
9thA1771,0921,76147220
10thA10869851,40131185
11thA6929571,45728212
12thA689401,45035192
13thA1819361,51030161
14thB65329141,38721173
15thB12837901,10623183
16thB128566997615134
17thB62826599651388
18thB128062996818141
19thB13205717575100
20thA6756386322129

Towns in County Durham

Durham had the most collisions of any town in County Durham from 1979 to 2025: 4,352.

Postcode districts in County Durham

DH1 had the most collisions of any postcode district in County Durham from 1979 to 2025: 6,680.

Latest crashes in County Durham

Of the latest 24 crashes in County Durham, 1 was fatal and 8 were serious. The most recent was on 29 December 2025.

Severity