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CrashStats

A38 accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 48,488 collisions on the A38 from 1979 to 2025, with 67,056 casualties. Of those crashes, 1,164 were fatal and 8,613 serious, and 1,288 people were killed.

In 2025 there were 568 collisions on the A38, down 6% from 602 in 2024, with 729 casualties.

Live A38 closures, incidents and roadworks are checked every 5 minutes.

Collisions since 1979
48,488
5th highest of 4,923 roads
Casualties
67,056
1.38 per collision
Fatal collisions
1,164
1,288 people killed
Serious collisions
8,613
10,417 seriously injured
Collisions in 2025
568
Down 6% on 2024
Casualties in 2025
729
Down 12% on 2024

Crash severity on the A38

On the A38, 2.4% of collisions were fatal and 18% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by severity, 1979 to 2025

  • Fatal1,1642.4%
  • Serious8,61318%
  • Slight38,71180%

Where the A38 ranks among 4,923 roads

Most collisions
5th
Most casualties
4th
Most fatal collisions
3rd
Most serious collisions
4th

A38 accidents by year

Collisions on the A38 peaked at 1,381 in 1979 and were down to 568 in 2025.

Collisions and casualties on the A38, 1979 to 2025

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 568
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
2025568729
2024602826
2023583799
2022607816
2021587818
2020471628
2019672930
2018581813
2017656929
20167451,043
20157651,089
20148241,181
20138061,101
20128881,269
20118641,227
20108781,261
20099271,283
20089191,279
20071,0821,486
20061,1011,506
20051,1661,612
20041,2241,720
20031,1751,632
20021,2501,703
20011,2291,708
20001,1661,619
19991,2511,781
19981,1711,588
19971,2301,718
19961,2571,740
19951,1251,530
19941,1611,597
19931,1451,572
19921,0981,501
19911,1611,698
19901,3111,791
19891,3041,785
19881,2641,670
19871,2331,709
19861,2571,734
19851,2431,681
19841,3011,798
19831,2811,679
19821,3361,884
19811,3261,830
19801,3161,841
19791,3811,922

When crashes happen on the A38

Friday has the most collisions on the A38 (8,227), and 3pm to 6pm is the busiest time of day (11,353).

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday6,918 (14%)
  • Tuesday6,969 (14%)
  • Wednesday7,077 (15%)
  • Thursday7,298 (15%)
  • Friday8,227 (17%)
  • Saturday6,716 (14%)
  • Sunday5,283 (11%)

Collisions by time of day

  • Midnight to 3am1,859 (3.8%)
  • 3am to 6am1,022 (2.1%)
  • 6am to 9am6,807 (14%)
  • 9am to noon6,999 (14%)
  • Noon to 3pm8,709 (18%)
  • 3pm to 6pm11,353 (23%)
  • 6pm to 9pm7,160 (15%)
  • 9pm to midnight4,579 (9.4%)

Collisions by month

  • January4,058 (8.4%)
  • February3,514 (7.2%)
  • March3,792 (7.8%)
  • April3,641 (7.5%)
  • May3,881 (8%)
  • June3,842 (7.9%)
  • July4,129 (8.5%)
  • August4,066 (8.4%)
  • September4,126 (8.5%)
  • October4,576 (9.4%)
  • November4,656 (9.6%)
  • December4,207 (8.7%)

Light conditions at the time

  • Daylight34,343 (71%)
  • Dark, street lights lit9,666 (20%)
  • Dark, no street lighting3,747 (7.7%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown523 (1.1%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit189 (0.4%)
  • Not recorded20 (under 0.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Road and weather conditions in A38 crashes

On the A38, 36% of collisions happened where the speed limit was 30 mph and 66% on a dry road surface.

Speed limit at the scene

  • 10 mph2 (under 0.1%)
  • 20 mph776 (1.6%)
  • 30 mph17,222 (36%)
  • 40 mph9,344 (19%)
  • 50 mph1,796 (3.7%)
  • 60 mph8,342 (17%)
  • 70 mph10,981 (23%)
  • Not recorded25 (0.1%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds36,991 (76%)
  • Raining, no high winds6,784 (14%)
  • Raining with high winds922 (1.9%)
  • Fine with high winds795 (1.6%)
  • Other2,276 (4.7%)
  • Not recorded720 (1.5%)

Road surface

  • Dry31,809 (66%)
  • Wet or damp15,574 (32%)
  • Frost or ice679 (1.4%)
  • Snow221 (0.5%)
  • Other121 (0.2%)
  • Not recorded84 (0.2%)

Type of road

  • Single carriageway21,856 (45%)
  • Dual carriageway19,781 (41%)
  • Roundabout4,977 (10%)
  • One way street or slip road1,691 (3.5%)
  • Not recorded183 (0.4%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

People hurt and vehicles involved in A38 crashes

Car occupants make up 63% of the people killed or injured on the A38, followed by motorcyclists (12%).

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant42,502 (63%)
  • Motorcyclist8,049 (12%)
  • Pedestrian6,065 (9%)
  • Cyclist5,060 (7.5%)
  • Van occupant1,802 (2.7%)
  • Bus or coach occupant1,406 (2.1%)
  • Other2,121 (3.2%)
  • Not recorded51 (0.1%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car65,984 (71%)
  • Motorcycle8,216 (8.9%)
  • Pedal cycle5,197 (5.6%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes4,827 (5.2%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes4,199 (4.5%)
  • Bus or coach1,801 (2%)
  • Other2,056 (2.2%)
  • Not recorded55 (0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 5954 (1.4%)
  • 6 to 101,321 (2%)
  • 11 to 152,555 (3.8%)
  • 16 to 2011,110 (17%)
  • 21 to 259,817 (15%)
  • 26 to 3513,756 (21%)
  • 36 to 459,873 (15%)
  • 46 to 557,260 (11%)
  • 56 to 654,824 (7.2%)
  • 66 to 752,960 (4.4%)
  • Over 751,831 (2.7%)
  • Not recorded795 (1.2%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider42,691 (64%)
  • Passenger18,300 (27%)
  • Pedestrian6,065 (9%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes on the A38

Map of the 25 most recent crashes on the A38

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

  • 25 crashes
  • Serious
  • Slight

A38 crashes by council area

Collisions on the A38 were recorded in 29 council areas. Birmingham has the most, with 7,633, followed by Somerset (5,874) and Bristol (5,136).

Collisions on the A38 in each area, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stBirmingham7,63310,2601561,384
2ndSomerset5,8747,9641291,048
3rdBristol5,1366,01243764
4thCornwall3,0434,753100549
5thPlymouth2,4843,37246432
6thGloucester2,0212,59227358
7thSouth Gloucestershire1,9922,54151354
8thWorcester1,7942,19321279
9thLichfield1,7392,69662215
10thTeignbridge1,7222,66159343
11thAshfield1,4242,11637301
12thSouth Hams1,3371,99351238
13thBromsgrove1,3251,80031243
14thEast Staffordshire1,2941,92850185
15thNorth Somerset1,1911,91349288
16thWychavon1,1171,60741214
17thTewkesbury1,1081,57241320
18thDerby1,0841,50816162
19thAmber Valley9641,42633136
20thStroud9051,31841264
21stMansfield6789027128
22ndBolsover6751,0111467
23rdSouth Derbyshire6701,0313093
24thMalvern Hills46166511126
25thErewash425608356
26thMid Devon1982991034
27thExeter568013
28thNorth Warwickshire5688212
29thTamworth264712

A38 crashes by town

Collisions on the A38 were recorded in 43 towns and built-up areas, led by Birmingham (6,662) and Bristol (4,877).

Recent crashes on the A38

These are the 25 most recent collisions on the A38, from 10 December to 31 December 2025.

Severity