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CrashStats

Dorset road accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 51,591 road traffic collisions in Dorset from 1979 to 2025, and 74,686 people were killed or injured in them. Of those collisions, 1,147 were fatal and 10,729 were serious.

In 2025 police recorded 675 collisions, down 2% on 2024 (686), and casualties rose from 883 to 893.

Collisions, 1979 to 2025
51,591
33rd highest of 351 areas
Casualties
74,686
1.45 per collision
Fatal collisions
1,147
2.2% of collisions
Collisions in 2025
675
Down 2% on 2024

Crash severity in Dorset

2.2% of collisions in Dorset from 1979 to 2025 were fatal and 21% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by worst injury

  • Fatal1,1472.2%
  • Serious10,72921%
  • Slight39,71577%

People hurt, by injury

  • Fatal1,2621.7%
  • Serious13,21618%
  • Slight60,20881%

Dorset road accidents by year

Collisions and casualties in Dorset, 1979 to 2025

Collisions peaked at 1,479 in 1997. In 2025 there were 675, down 2% on 2024.

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 675
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
2025675893
2024686883
2023662870
2022712962
2021621812
2020563777
2019635912
2018638898
20177401,055
20167751,209
20158611,211
20148151,161
20137991,145
20128431,201
20118521,208
20109161,286
20091,0151,446
20081,1001,616
20071,1171,612
20061,1861,713
20051,2181,760
20041,2821,878
20031,3081,905
20021,4212,082
20011,4622,163
20001,4202,126
19991,3741,990
19981,4562,152
19971,4792,170
19961,3842,108
19951,2171,979
19941,2661,937
19931,2311,828
19921,2721,942
19911,1711,752
19901,2851,941
19891,2801,862
19881,3361,948
19871,2861,815
19861,3141,880
19851,2881,823
19841,3141,898
19831,1461,574
19821,2461,759
19811,2211,780
19801,2851,744
19791,4182,020

When and where crashes happen in Dorset

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday7,196 (14%)
  • Tuesday7,158 (14%)
  • Wednesday7,444 (14%)
  • Thursday7,511 (15%)
  • Friday8,437 (16%)
  • Saturday7,515 (15%)
  • Sunday6,330 (12%)

Collisions by time of day

  • 00:00 to 02:591,645 (3.2%)
  • 03:00 to 05:59701 (1.4%)
  • 06:00 to 08:596,691 (13%)
  • 09:00 to 11:598,402 (16%)
  • 12:00 to 14:599,769 (19%)
  • 15:00 to 17:5912,560 (24%)
  • 18:00 to 20:597,332 (14%)
  • 21:00 to 23:594,489 (8.7%)

Collisions by month

  • January3,929 (7.6%)
  • February3,426 (6.6%)
  • March3,795 (7.4%)
  • April3,967 (7.7%)
  • May4,421 (8.6%)
  • June4,426 (8.6%)
  • July4,910 (9.5%)
  • August5,107 (9.9%)
  • September4,530 (8.8%)
  • October4,530 (8.8%)
  • November4,284 (8.3%)
  • December4,264 (8.3%)
  • Not recorded2 (under 0.1%)

Light conditions

  • Daylight39,079 (76%)
  • Dark, street lights lit5,254 (10%)
  • Dark, no street lighting4,898 (9.5%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit2,123 (4.1%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown236 (0.5%)
  • Not recorded1 (under 0.1%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds41,326 (80%)
  • Raining, no high winds6,980 (14%)
  • Fog or mist827 (1.6%)
  • Raining with high winds575 (1.1%)
  • Fine with high winds540 (1%)
  • Snowing, no high winds175 (0.3%)
  • Snowing with high winds26 (0.1%)
  • Other972 (1.9%)
  • Not recorded170 (0.3%)

Road surface

  • Dry33,734 (65%)
  • Wet or damp16,261 (32%)
  • Frost or ice1,289 (2.5%)
  • Flood over 3cm deep158 (0.3%)
  • Snow142 (0.3%)
  • Not recorded7 (under 0.1%)

Speed limit at the scene

  • 10 mph7 (under 0.1%)
  • 20 mph224 (0.4%)
  • 30 mph20,714 (40%)
  • 40 mph4,369 (8.5%)
  • 50 mph1,560 (3%)
  • 60 mph22,865 (44%)
  • 70 mph1,848 (3.6%)
  • Not recorded4 (under 0.1%)

Type of road

  • Single carriageway45,902 (89%)
  • Roundabout2,406 (4.7%)
  • Dual carriageway2,134 (4.1%)
  • One way street or slip road1,021 (2%)
  • Not recorded128 (0.2%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Who is hurt in road crashes in Dorset

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant48,487 (65%)
  • Motorcyclist10,097 (14%)
  • Pedestrian6,306 (8.4%)
  • Cyclist4,351 (5.8%)
  • Van occupant2,471 (3.3%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)951 (1.3%)
  • Bus or coach occupant781 (1%)
  • Minibus occupant452 (0.6%)
  • Other vehicle occupant427 (0.6%)
  • Taxi or private hire car occupant258 (0.3%)
  • Other97 (0.1%)
  • Not recorded8 (under 0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 51,384 (1.9%)
  • 6 to 102,385 (3.2%)
  • 11 to 153,791 (5.1%)
  • 16 to 2014,478 (19%)
  • 21 to 259,005 (12%)
  • 26 to 3512,447 (17%)
  • 36 to 459,669 (13%)
  • 46 to 557,683 (10%)
  • 56 to 655,933 (7.9%)
  • 66 to 754,411 (5.9%)
  • Over 753,421 (4.6%)
  • Not recorded79 (0.1%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider47,635 (64%)
  • Passenger20,745 (28%)
  • Pedestrian6,306 (8.4%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car68,524 (71%)
  • Motorcycle10,196 (11%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes5,628 (5.9%)
  • Pedal cycle4,511 (4.7%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes3,694 (3.8%)
  • Other vehicle1,143 (1.2%)
  • Bus or coach1,049 (1.1%)
  • Minibus502 (0.5%)
  • Taxi or private hire car480 (0.5%)
  • Agricultural vehicle197 (0.2%)
  • Other104 (0.1%)
  • Not recorded7 (under 0.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes and hotspots in Dorset

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

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 Dorset ranks among 351 areas

Of the 351 areas in England, Scotland and Wales, Dorset had the 33rd most road collisions from 1979 to 2025.

Collisions
33rd
highest of 351 areas
Casualties
21st
highest of 351 areas
Fatal collisions
14th
highest of 351 areas
Serious collisions
20th
highest of 351 areas
Areas ranked by collisions, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
30thWest Northamptonshire53,35574,1241,35013,212
31stCheshire West and Chester52,65672,6389748,118
32ndLewisham52,29962,5643767,786
33rdDorset (this area)51,59174,6861,14710,729
34thHounslow51,23063,2605287,258
35thTower Hamlets49,58257,6363757,115
36thLeicester48,97061,1474876,396

Accident hotspots in Dorset

Westham, Dorset, DT4 0UB area is the busiest accident hotspot in Dorset, with 720 collisions from 2001 to 2025, 3 of them fatal.

Roads in Dorset with the most crashes

The A354 had the most collisions in Dorset from 1979 to 2025: 4,542, including 101 fatal and 841 serious.

Roads ranked by collisions in Dorset, 1979 to 2025
RankRoadCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stA3544,5426,486101841
2ndA354,5287,643156951
3rdA312,7594,34083570
4thB31571,6492,35243356
5thA3521,5612,43542363
6thA3501,5462,37531332
7thB30811,4502,10933307
8thA3511,3731,99428290
9thA301,1741,75442269
10thB30738981,22710191
11thA3538901,28615160
12thB30728561,15720192
13thA377701,36036181
14thB30827511,10631149
15thA3486689067137
16thA306664497915160
17thA3476438688131
18thB307860691915141
19thA35759892023133
20thB309244861310104

Towns in Dorset

Weymouth had the most collisions of any town in Dorset from 1979 to 2025: 5,651.

Postcode districts in Dorset

DT2 had the most collisions of any postcode district in Dorset from 1979 to 2025: 6,241.

Former districts in Dorset

Dorset now covers 5 former district councils, abolished in April 2019. Of these, West Dorset had the most collisions from 1979 to 2025: 15,774.

Latest crashes in Dorset

Of the latest 24 crashes in Dorset, 1 was fatal and 7 were serious. The most recent was on 31 December 2025.

Severity