A road · official DfT records · 2021–2025

The A49: where people are seriously hurt

Over 2021–2025, 232 people were killed or seriously injured in 201 collisions on the A49, making it the 43th worst numbered road in Britain by that measure.

201

serious or fatal collisions

232

people killed or seriously injured

13

collisions that took a life

#43

of 150 numbered roads

What the record shows

The A49 carries 722 recorded injury collisions over the period, 201 of them serious or fatal. Serious injury concentrates in Herefordshire, County of, Shropshire, Warrington, with 3 further areas also recording collisions. Its fatal share, 6%, 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 2021 with 48 serious collisions, and the count is down 10% between 2021 and 2025.

The map

Every serious and fatal collision on the A49

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.

By area

Where along the route

  • Herefordshire, County of51 KSI
  • Shropshire49 KSI
  • Warrington34 KSI
  • Wigan25 KSI
  • Cheshire West and Chester16 KSI
  • Chorley15 KSI

Local authority areas with the most serious collisions on this road.

By year

The trend

Serious and fatal collisions on the A49

2025: 43 (up 10.3% on the year before) · peak 48 in 2021 · -10.4% across the period

482021312022402023392024432025

Axis clipped to the data range to show year-on-year movement.

Questions

About the A49

How many accidents happen on the A49?

Police recorded 722 injury collisions on the A49 over 2021–2025, of which 201 were fatal or serious. Those serious collisions left 232 people killed or seriously injured, including 13 fatal collisions.

Is the A49 a dangerous road?

By volume of serious injury it ranks 43 of the 150 numbered roads we analyse, and 38 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 A49 do collisions happen?

They concentrate in Herefordshire, County of, Shropshire, Warrington. 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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