The M8: where people are seriously hurt
Over 2021–2025, 153 people were killed or seriously injured in 132 collisions on the M8, making it the 83th worst numbered road in Britain by that measure.
132
serious or fatal collisions
153
people killed or seriously injured
12
collisions that took a life
#83
of 150 numbered roads
What the record shows
The M8 carries 405 recorded injury collisions over the period, 132 of them serious or fatal. Serious injury concentrates in Glasgow City, West Lothian, Renfrewshire, 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 70 mph sections. The worst year of the period was 2021 with 31 serious collisions, and the count is down 23% between 2021 and 2025.
Every serious and fatal collision on the M8
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
- Glasgow City52 KSI
- West Lothian27 KSI
- Renfrewshire25 KSI
- North Lanarkshire18 KSI
- City of Edinburgh10 KSI
Local authority areas with the most serious collisions on this road.
The trend
Serious and fatal collisions on the M8
2025: 24 (down 0% on the year before) · peak 31 in 2021 · -22.6% across the period
Axis clipped to the data range to show year-on-year movement.
About the M8
How many accidents happen on the M8?
Police recorded 405 injury collisions on the M8 over 2021–2025, of which 132 were fatal or serious. Those serious collisions left 153 people killed or seriously injured, including 12 fatal collisions.
Is the M8 a dangerous road?
By volume of serious injury it ranks 83 of the 150 numbered roads we analyse, and 7 among motorways. 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 M8 do collisions happen?
They concentrate in Glasgow City, West Lothian, Renfrewshire. 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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