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CrashStats

Lerwick road accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 179 road traffic collisions in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, from 1996 to 2025, and 217 people were killed or injured in them. Of those collisions, 1 was fatal and 31 were serious.

In 2025 police recorded 4 collisions, up from 3 in 2024.

Collisions since 1996
179
2,065th of 2,851 towns, highest first
Casualties
217
1.21 per collision
Fatal collisions
1
1 person killed
Serious collisions
31
32 seriously injured
Collisions in 2025
4
3 in 2024
Casualties in 2025
6
4 in 2024

Road collision statistics for Lerwick

Collisions by severity, 1996 to 2025

  • Fatal10.6%
  • Serious3117%
  • Slight14782%

What the data shows

  • Lerwick had 23 collisions from 2016 to 2025, 70% fewer than the 77 from 2006 to 2015.
  • 18% of collisions in Lerwick were fatal or serious, against 20% across Great Britain.
  • The busiest three hours of the day in Lerwick are between noon and 3pm, with 26% of collisions.
  • 26 children under 16 were killed or injured in Lerwick, 12% of the casualties whose age was recorded.

Where Lerwick ranks among 2,851 towns

Most collisions
2,065th
Most casualties
2,167th
Most fatal collisions
2,420th
Most serious collisions
2,285th

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday29 (16%)
  • Tuesday31 (17%)
  • Wednesday20 (11%)
  • Thursday28 (16%)
  • Friday34 (19%)
  • Saturday21 (12%)
  • Sunday16 (8.9%)

Light conditions

  • Daylight118 (66%)
  • Dark, street lights lit50 (28%)
  • Dark, no street lighting5 (2.8%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit5 (2.8%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown1 (0.6%)

Type of road

  • Single carriageway149 (83%)
  • One way street or slip road11 (6.1%)
  • Dual carriageway7 (3.9%)
  • Roundabout6 (3.4%)
  • Not recorded6 (3.4%)

Speed limit at the scene

  • 20 mph3 (1.7%)
  • 30 mph154 (86%)
  • 40 mph17 (9.5%)
  • 60 mph5 (2.8%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds124 (69%)
  • Raining, no high winds26 (15%)
  • Raining with high winds10 (5.6%)
  • Fine with high winds6 (3.4%)
  • Snowing with high winds5 (2.8%)
  • Snowing, no high winds1 (0.6%)
  • Other6 (3.4%)
  • Not recorded1 (0.6%)

Who was hurt

  • Car occupant102 (47%)
  • Pedestrian72 (33%)
  • Cyclist18 (8.3%)
  • Motorcyclist15 (6.9%)
  • Van occupant5 (2.3%)
  • Bus or coach occupant2 (0.9%)
  • Minibus occupant1 (0.5%)
  • Other vehicle occupant1 (0.5%)
  • Taxi or private hire car occupant1 (0.5%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Lerwick road accidents by year

Collisions and casualties in Lerwick, 1996 to 2025

Collisions in Lerwick peaked at 11 in 2011; 2025 had 4.

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
202546
202434
202334
202200
202111
202022
201956
201811
201711
201633
201567
201489
2013913
201277
20111113
201079
20091116
200833
20071012
200657
200599
200456
2003912
20021012
200144
200067
199978
19981117
19971010
199688

Map of recent crashes in Lerwick

Map of the 24 most recent crashes in Lerwick

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

  • 24 crashes
  • Serious
  • Slight

Recent road crashes in Lerwick

The 24 most recent collisions in Lerwick happened between 24 November 2015 and 3 December 2025.

Severity

Crashes by road in Lerwick

The A970 has the most collisions in Lerwick, 58 of 179 (32%), followed by the A969 (38).

Collisions in Lerwick on each road, 1996 to 2025
RankRoadCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stA9705876110
2ndA969384603

Council area for Lerwick

Lerwick is in the Shetland Islands, where police recorded 866 collisions from 1979 to 2025. Lerwick accounts for 21% of them.

Postcode district for Lerwick

All 179 collisions in Lerwick were in the ZE1 postcode district.