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CrashStats

A138 accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 1,121 collisions on the A138 from 1979 to 2025, with 1,468 casualties. Of those crashes, 8 were fatal and 159 serious, and 8 people were killed.

In 2025 there were 7 collisions on the A138, level with 2024, with 8 casualties.

Collisions since 1979
1,121
970th highest of 4,923 roads
Casualties
1,468
1.31 per collision
Fatal collisions
8
8 people killed
Serious collisions
159
174 seriously injured
Collisions in 2025
7
Level with 2024
Casualties in 2025
8
Down 50% on 2024

Crash severity on the A138

On the A138, 0.7% of collisions were fatal and 14% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by severity, 1979 to 2025

  • Fatal80.7%
  • Serious15914%
  • Slight95485%

Where the A138 ranks among 4,923 roads

Most collisions
970th
Most casualties
1,011th
Most fatal collisions
1,937th
Most serious collisions
1,305th

A138 accidents by year

Collisions on the A138 peaked at 66 in 1998 and were down to 7 in 2025.

Collisions and casualties on the A138, 1979 to 2025

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 7
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
202578
2024716
202344
202255
202144
202022
201979
201855
20171215
201647
20151116
20141419
201356
20121214
20111927
20101622
20092331
20082125
20072530
20063237
20053860
20043746
20034149
20021819
20015257
20005467
19996485
19986679
19976681
19965685
19955875
19946071
19935277
19926286
19914665
19905167
19891723
19882645
19872027
198611
198500
198400
198300
198200
198100
198000
197911

When crashes happen on the A138

Thursday has the most collisions on the A138 (208), and 3pm to 6pm is the busiest time of day (264).

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday152 (14%)
  • Tuesday172 (15%)
  • Wednesday160 (14%)
  • Thursday208 (19%)
  • Friday178 (16%)
  • Saturday148 (13%)
  • Sunday103 (9.2%)

Collisions by time of day

  • Midnight to 3am36 (3.2%)
  • 3am to 6am19 (1.7%)
  • 6am to 9am146 (13%)
  • 9am to noon184 (16%)
  • Noon to 3pm208 (19%)
  • 3pm to 6pm264 (24%)
  • 6pm to 9pm170 (15%)
  • 9pm to midnight94 (8.4%)

Collisions by month

  • January91 (8.1%)
  • February86 (7.7%)
  • March114 (10%)
  • April67 (6%)
  • May78 (7%)
  • June80 (7.1%)
  • July105 (9.4%)
  • August82 (7.3%)
  • September100 (8.9%)
  • October117 (10%)
  • November110 (9.8%)
  • December91 (8.1%)

Light conditions at the time

  • Daylight802 (72%)
  • Dark, street lights lit269 (24%)
  • Dark, no street lighting41 (3.7%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown5 (0.4%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit4 (0.4%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Road and weather conditions in A138 crashes

On the A138, 48% of collisions happened where the speed limit was 40 mph and 73% on a dry road surface.

Speed limit at the scene

  • 30 mph244 (22%)
  • 40 mph542 (48%)
  • 50 mph130 (12%)
  • 60 mph131 (12%)
  • 70 mph74 (6.6%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds926 (83%)
  • Raining, no high winds119 (11%)
  • Fine with high winds14 (1.2%)
  • Raining with high winds13 (1.2%)
  • Other40 (3.6%)
  • Not recorded9 (0.8%)

Road surface

  • Dry819 (73%)
  • Wet or damp285 (25%)
  • Frost or ice15 (1.3%)
  • Oil or diesel2 (0.2%)

Type of road

  • Roundabout430 (38%)
  • Dual carriageway365 (33%)
  • Single carriageway284 (25%)
  • One way street or slip road41 (3.7%)
  • Not recorded1 (0.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

People hurt and vehicles involved in A138 crashes

Car occupants make up 67% of the people killed or injured on the A138, followed by motorcyclists (12%).

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant987 (67%)
  • Motorcyclist177 (12%)
  • Pedestrian114 (7.8%)
  • Cyclist94 (6.4%)
  • Bus or coach occupant43 (2.9%)
  • Van occupant34 (2.3%)
  • Other18 (1.2%)
  • Not recorded1 (0.1%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car1,641 (78%)
  • Motorcycle178 (8.4%)
  • Pedal cycle98 (4.6%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes88 (4.2%)
  • Bus or coach41 (1.9%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes36 (1.7%)
  • Taxi or private hire car15 (0.7%)
  • Other20 (0.9%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 522 (1.5%)
  • 6 to 1026 (1.8%)
  • 11 to 1559 (4%)
  • 16 to 20259 (18%)
  • 21 to 25225 (15%)
  • 26 to 35304 (21%)
  • 36 to 45191 (13%)
  • 46 to 55156 (11%)
  • 56 to 6597 (6.6%)
  • 66 to 7540 (2.7%)
  • Over 7528 (1.9%)
  • Not recorded61 (4.2%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider921 (63%)
  • Passenger433 (29%)
  • Pedestrian114 (7.8%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes on the A138

Map of the 25 most recent crashes on the A138

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

  • 25 crashes
  • Serious
  • Slight

A138 crashes by council area

Of the 1,121 collisions on the A138, 1,113 were in Chelmsford.

Collisions on the A138 in each area, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stChelmsford1,1131,4598157

A138 crashes by town

Of the 1,121 collisions on the A138, 713 were in the built-up area of Chelmsford.

Recent crashes on the A138

These are the 25 most recent collisions on the A138, from 18 November 2021 to 31 December 2025.

Severity