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CrashStats

M53 accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 2,201 collisions on the M53 from 1979 to 2025, with 3,289 casualties. Of those crashes, 39 were fatal and 249 serious, and 44 people were killed.

In 2025 there were 26 collisions on the M53, up 37% from 19 in 2024, with 36 casualties.

Live M53 closures, incidents and roadworks are checked every 5 minutes.

Collisions since 1979
2,201
531st highest of 4,923 roads
Casualties
3,289
1.49 per collision
Fatal collisions
39
44 people killed
Serious collisions
249
273 seriously injured
Collisions in 2025
26
Up 37% on 2024
Casualties in 2025
36
Up 64% on 2024

Crash severity on the M53

On the M53, 1.8% of collisions were fatal and 11% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by severity, 1979 to 2025

  • Fatal391.8%
  • Serious24911%
  • Slight1,91387%

Where the M53 ranks among 4,923 roads

Most collisions
531st
Most casualties
489th
Most fatal collisions
540th
Most serious collisions
857th

M53 accidents by year

Collisions on the M53 peaked at 92 in 2002 and were down to 26 in 2025.

Collisions and casualties on the M53, 1979 to 2025

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 26
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
20252636
20241922
20232228
20222236
20211217
20201113
20192639
20184362
20174374
20163143
20153957
20143871
20134360
20123958
20113969
20104284
20095488
20085176
20075787
200668114
200562105
200489124
20036896
200292136
200173103
200088130
199978126
199884141
199780112
199687116
199576120
199469102
19936793
19924458
19913552
19904362
19894152
19884569
19874563
19862940
19854557
19843253
19832737
19821622
19812032
19801825
19792329

When crashes happen on the M53

Wednesday has the most collisions on the M53 (364), and 3pm to 6pm is the busiest time of day (510).

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday320 (15%)
  • Tuesday313 (14%)
  • Wednesday364 (17%)
  • Thursday332 (15%)
  • Friday345 (16%)
  • Saturday294 (13%)
  • Sunday233 (11%)

Collisions by time of day

  • Midnight to 3am75 (3.4%)
  • 3am to 6am47 (2.1%)
  • 6am to 9am423 (19%)
  • 9am to noon340 (15%)
  • Noon to 3pm376 (17%)
  • 3pm to 6pm510 (23%)
  • 6pm to 9pm288 (13%)
  • 9pm to midnight142 (6.5%)

Collisions by month

  • January177 (8%)
  • February154 (7%)
  • March213 (9.7%)
  • April160 (7.3%)
  • May175 (8%)
  • June157 (7.1%)
  • July186 (8.5%)
  • August165 (7.5%)
  • September191 (8.7%)
  • October205 (9.3%)
  • November208 (9.5%)
  • December210 (9.5%)

Light conditions at the time

  • Daylight1,682 (76%)
  • Dark, street lights lit296 (13%)
  • Dark, no street lighting156 (7.1%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit50 (2.3%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown17 (0.8%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Road and weather conditions in M53 crashes

On the M53, 84% of collisions happened where the speed limit was 70 mph and 62% on a dry road surface.

Speed limit at the scene

  • 15 mph1 (under 0.1%)
  • 20 mph1 (under 0.1%)
  • 30 mph131 (6%)
  • 40 mph112 (5.1%)
  • 50 mph67 (3%)
  • 60 mph35 (1.6%)
  • 70 mph1,854 (84%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds1,679 (76%)
  • Raining, no high winds326 (15%)
  • Fine with high winds41 (1.9%)
  • Raining with high winds41 (1.9%)
  • Other70 (3.2%)
  • Not recorded44 (2%)

Road surface

  • Dry1,362 (62%)
  • Wet or damp726 (33%)
  • Frost or ice50 (2.3%)
  • Flood over 3cm deep26 (1.2%)
  • Other32 (1.5%)
  • Not recorded5 (0.2%)

Type of road

  • Dual carriageway1,553 (71%)
  • Roundabout329 (15%)
  • One way street or slip road259 (12%)
  • Single carriageway47 (2.1%)
  • Not recorded13 (0.6%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

People hurt and vehicles involved in M53 crashes

Car occupants make up 86% of the people killed or injured on the M53, followed by van occupants (4.7%).

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant2,821 (86%)
  • Van occupant153 (4.7%)
  • Motorcyclist146 (4.4%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)68 (2.1%)
  • Pedestrian40 (1.2%)
  • Minibus occupant20 (0.6%)
  • Taxi or private hire car occupant17 (0.5%)
  • Other24 (0.7%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car3,512 (83%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes254 (6%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes244 (5.8%)
  • Motorcycle140 (3.3%)
  • Taxi or private hire car20 (0.5%)
  • Other vehicle15 (0.4%)
  • Other29 (0.7%)
  • Not recorded2 (under 0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 546 (1.4%)
  • 6 to 1062 (1.9%)
  • 11 to 1559 (1.8%)
  • 16 to 20355 (11%)
  • 21 to 25513 (16%)
  • 26 to 35849 (26%)
  • 36 to 45562 (17%)
  • 46 to 55420 (13%)
  • 56 to 65231 (7%)
  • 66 to 75136 (4.1%)
  • Over 7547 (1.4%)
  • Not recorded9 (0.3%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider2,262 (69%)
  • Passenger987 (30%)
  • Pedestrian40 (1.2%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes on the M53

Map of the 25 most recent crashes on the M53

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

  • 25 crashes
  • Fatal
  • Serious
  • Slight

M53 crashes by council area

Collisions on the M53 were recorded in 3 council areas. Wirral has the most, with 1,468, followed by Cheshire West and Chester (724) and Cheshire East (5).

Collisions on the M53 in each area, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stWirral1,4682,18830164
2ndCheshire West and Chester7241,089985
3rdCheshire East5700

M53 crashes by town

Collisions on the M53 were recorded in 4 towns and built-up areas, led by Ellesmere Port (183) and Birkenhead (103).

Recent crashes on the M53

These are the 25 most recent collisions on the M53, from 24 January to 17 December 2025.

Severity