The A39: where people are seriously hurt
Over 2021–2025, 236 people were killed or seriously injured in 185 collisions on the A39, making it the 48th worst numbered road in Britain by that measure.
185
serious or fatal collisions
236
people killed or seriously injured
20
collisions that took a life
#48
of 150 numbered roads
What the record shows
The A39 carries 841 recorded injury collisions over the period, 185 of them serious or fatal. Serious injury concentrates in Cornwall, Somerset, North Devon, with 3 further areas also recording collisions. Collisions here are more likely than average to be fatal: 11% against 7% across the numbered network, which usually points to higher speeds. Most collisions were recorded on 60 mph sections. The worst year of the period was 2022 with 43 serious collisions, and the count is up 6% between 2021 and 2025.
Every serious and fatal collision on the A39
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
- Cornwall72 KSI
- Somerset49 KSI
- North Devon20 KSI
- Torridge15 KSI
- Sedgemoor11 KSI
- Bath and North East Somerset6 KSI
Local authority areas with the most serious collisions on this road.
The trend
Serious and fatal collisions on the A39
2025: 36 (up 2.9% on the year before) · peak 43 in 2022 · +5.9% across the period
Axis clipped to the data range to show year-on-year movement.
About the A39
How many accidents happen on the A39?
Police recorded 841 injury collisions on the A39 over 2021–2025, of which 185 were fatal or serious. Those serious collisions left 236 people killed or seriously injured, including 20 fatal collisions.
Is the A39 a dangerous road?
By volume of serious injury it ranks 48 of the 150 numbered roads we analyse, and 42 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 A39 do collisions happen?
They concentrate in Cornwall, Somerset, North Devon. 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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