The A26: where people are seriously hurt
Over 2021–2025, 160 people were killed or seriously injured in 141 collisions on the A26, making it the 72th worst numbered road in Britain by that measure.
141
serious or fatal collisions
160
people killed or seriously injured
13
collisions that took a life
#72
of 150 numbered roads
What the record shows
The A26 carries 463 recorded injury collisions over the period, 141 of them serious or fatal. Serious injury concentrates in Tonbridge and Malling, Lewes, Wealden, with 2 further areas also recording collisions. Its fatal share, 9%, sits close to the 7% average for the numbered network. Most collisions were recorded on 30 mph sections. The worst year of the period was 2023 with 32 serious collisions, and the count is up 4% between 2021 and 2025.
Every serious and fatal collision on the A26
Blue markers are serious collisions, red crosses fatal. Click any marker for the year. Zoom in to see the specific junctions and stretches where they cluster.
Where along the route
- Tonbridge and Malling32 KSI
- Lewes32 KSI
- Wealden30 KSI
- Tunbridge Wells27 KSI
- Maidstone20 KSI
Local authority areas with the most serious collisions on this road.
The trend
Serious and fatal collisions on the A26
2025: 29 (down 0% on the year before) · peak 32 in 2023 · +3.6% across the period
Axis clipped to the data range to show year-on-year movement.
About the A26
How many accidents happen on the A26?
Police recorded 463 injury collisions on the A26 over 2021–2025, of which 141 were fatal or serious. Those serious collisions left 160 people killed or seriously injured, including 13 fatal collisions.
Is the A26 a dangerous road?
By volume of serious injury it ranks 72 of the 150 numbered roads we analyse, and 66 among a roads. That is a count rather than a rate: longer and busier roads accumulate more collisions, so a high ranking reflects exposure as well as risk.
Where on the A26 do collisions happen?
They concentrate in Tonbridge and Malling, Lewes, Wealden. The map on this page plots every serious and fatal collision recorded on the route, so you can see the specific stretches rather than the total.
Counts include every collision the police recorded on this road number across all authority areas. They are not adjusted for traffic volume or road length, so treat them as a measure of where injury concentrates rather than a per-mile risk rating. Method. Free to reuse with attribution to this page.
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