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CrashStats

Kirkwall road accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 155 road traffic collisions in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, from 1997 to 2025, and 181 people were killed or injured in them. Of those collisions, 3 were fatal and 32 were serious.

In 2025 police recorded 1 collision, down from 3 in 2024.

Collisions since 1997
155
2,228th of 2,851 towns, highest first
Casualties
181
1.17 per collision
Fatal collisions
3
3 people killed
Serious collisions
32
36 seriously injured
Collisions in 2025
1
3 in 2024
Casualties in 2025
1
3 in 2024

Road collision statistics for Kirkwall

Collisions by severity, 1997 to 2025

  • Fatal31.9%
  • Serious3221%
  • Slight12077%

What the data shows

  • Kirkwall had 31 collisions from 2016 to 2025, 43% fewer than the 54 from 2006 to 2015.
  • 23% of collisions in Kirkwall were fatal or serious, against 20% across Great Britain.
  • 29 children under 16 were killed or injured in Kirkwall, 16% of the casualties whose age was recorded.
  • The road surface was wet, icy, snowy or flooded in 32% of collisions in Kirkwall.

Where Kirkwall ranks among 2,851 towns

Most collisions
2,228th
Most casualties
2,409th
Most fatal collisions
1,791st
Most serious collisions
2,244th

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday20 (13%)
  • Tuesday20 (13%)
  • Wednesday24 (15%)
  • Thursday34 (22%)
  • Friday24 (15%)
  • Saturday23 (15%)
  • Sunday10 (6.5%)

Light conditions

  • Daylight105 (68%)
  • Dark, street lights lit43 (28%)
  • Dark, no street lighting5 (3.2%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown1 (0.6%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit1 (0.6%)

Type of road

  • Single carriageway120 (77%)
  • One way street or slip road18 (12%)
  • Dual carriageway7 (4.5%)
  • Roundabout5 (3.2%)
  • Not recorded5 (3.2%)

Speed limit at the scene

  • 10 mph5 (3.2%)
  • 20 mph6 (3.9%)
  • 30 mph134 (86%)
  • 40 mph1 (0.6%)
  • 60 mph9 (5.8%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds111 (72%)
  • Raining, no high winds20 (13%)
  • Fine with high winds10 (6.5%)
  • Raining with high winds4 (2.6%)
  • Snowing with high winds2 (1.3%)
  • Snowing, no high winds2 (1.3%)
  • Other5 (3.2%)
  • Not recorded1 (0.6%)

Who was hurt

  • Pedestrian70 (39%)
  • Car occupant65 (36%)
  • Cyclist21 (12%)
  • Motorcyclist18 (9.9%)
  • Van occupant3 (1.7%)
  • Bus or coach occupant2 (1.1%)
  • Minibus occupant1 (0.6%)
  • Mobility scooter rider1 (0.6%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Kirkwall road accidents by year

Collisions and casualties in Kirkwall, 1997 to 2025

Collisions in Kirkwall peaked at 13 in 2005; 2025 had 1.

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 1
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
202511
202433
202300
202211
202166
202044
201933
201844
201733
201666
201511
201477
201366
201233
201134
201056
200955
200868
2007811
20061010
20051314
2004914
20031114
20021114
200156
200033
19991217
199800
199767

Map of recent crashes in Kirkwall

Map of the 24 most recent crashes in Kirkwall

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

  • 24 crashes
  • Fatal
  • Serious
  • Slight

Recent road crashes in Kirkwall

The 24 most recent collisions in Kirkwall happened between 3 April 2017 and 19 March 2025.

Severity

Crashes by road in Kirkwall

The A963 has the most collisions in Kirkwall, 32 of 155 (21%), followed by the A960 (27).

Collisions in Kirkwall on each road, 1997 to 2025
RankRoadCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stA963324218
2ndA960272803
3rdA9657701
4thA9644401
5thA9613501

Council area for Kirkwall

Kirkwall is in the Orkney Islands, where police recorded 1,401 collisions from 1979 to 2025. Kirkwall accounts for 11% of them.

Postcode district for Kirkwall

All 155 collisions in Kirkwall were in the KW15 postcode district.