Scottish council · Scotland

Road risk in North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire ranks 168 of 192 British highway authorities on our road risk score. Here is what the official record shows, and how it compares.

Below averageRisk score 30.6/100ONS code S12000050

Police recorded 208 injury collisions in North Lanarkshire in 2025, hurting 267 people, of whom 88 were killed or seriously injured and 3 were killed. Set against the traffic its roads actually carry, that is 45.9 killed or seriously injured per billion vehicle miles, 43% below the median ranked authority (80.5).

Collisions: 208 in 2025
People hurt: 267 casualties
Killed or seriously injured: 88
Killed: 3
KSI per billion vehicle miles: 45.9 (median 80.5)
KSI, three-year average: 88.7 a year
Severity-adjusted KSI, 2025: 91 (recorded: 88)
Severity-adjusted KSI, three-year average: 99.7 a year (recorded: 88.7)
KSI per 100,000 residents: 25.6 — rank 162
Population: 343,930
Risk score: 30.6/100 — rank 168 of 192

Compiled by Stephen Hall, Data lead, Swift Assist. Source: DfT STATS19 and DfT road traffic estimates (2025), OGL v3. Updated 2026-10-08.

Direction of travel

Five years of collisions in North Lanarkshire

Across 2021–2025, recorded collisions were up 4.0%, with 2023 the worst year of the period at 243 collisions.

Collisions per year in North Lanarkshire

2025: 208 (up 1% on the year before) · peak 243 in 2023 · +4% across the period

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

Who is being hurt

Pedestrians, cyclists and riders in North Lanarkshire

These are the road users with the least protection when something goes wrong, and they carry a disproportionate share of the serious injuries. Across 208 collisions in North Lanarkshire, the three groups appear 94 times between them — an involvement rate of 45.2%.

Road user	Collisions	Share of all collisions
Pedestrians	62	29.8%
Cyclists	8	3.8%
Motorcyclists	24	11.5%

A single collision can involve more than one of these groups and is then counted in each row, so the rows do not add up to a share of the total.

Darkness, weather and the time of year

When collisions happen in North Lanarkshire

DfT records the light level and road surface at every collision, but publishes neither below national level. These are North Lanarkshire’s own shares over 657 collisions, with the national figure beside each one for comparison.

Share of collisions	North Lanarkshire	National	How it reads
In darknessAny collision where the officer recorded darkness, lit or unlit.	28.6%	28.7%	close to the national figure
In darkness, no street lightingThe rural lighting picture rather than the urban speeding one.	5.9%	6.3%	close to the national figure
On a wet road surfaceWet, damp or standing water at the scene.	28.9%	24.5%	above the national figure
On snow or iceRare everywhere, and concentrated in a handful of authorities.	1.8%	1.4%	above the national figure

On the darkness share, North Lanarkshire ranks 77 of 192 authorities, counting from the highest.

The winter effect. Collisions in North Lanarkshire run 7.4% lower from November to January than from May to July — against 4.5% lower nationally. That is 151 collisions against 163.

What this does not tell you

A share is not a rate. A high darkness share means darkness accounts for more of North Lanarkshire’s collisions — not that its roads are more dangerous overall. Read it alongside the casualties-per-mile-driven figure above.
Condition is recorded, not tested. The officer records the surface and light level at the scene. It is an observation, not a measurement, and it is not a finding that the condition caused the collision.
Exposure is not controlled for. Fewer people travel at 3am than at 3pm, so a collision in darkness is drawn from a smaller pool of journeys. Without hourly traffic counts, these shares describe when collisions happen rather than how risky an hour is.

Every authority compared on the same measures: winter road risk across Britain.

Benchmark

North Lanarkshire against similar authorities

A national rank compares North Lanarkshire with places that may be nothing like it. This is the comparison a council actually uses: its statistical nearest neighbours — the authorities ONS identifies as most similar on population, economy and demography, restricted to the same tier, so counties are compared with counties. Within this group North Lanarkshire is 6 of 6 on casualties per mile driven, against a group median of 66.6.

Authority	KSI / bn miles	Score	National rank
Rotherham	93.7	56	72
Wigan	75	46	121
South Lanarkshire	71.9	45.8	122
Halton	61.2	30.9	167
West Lothian	53	28.2	174
North Lanarkshire (this page)	45.9	30.6	168

Peer group: ONS statistical nearest neighbours, Open Government Licence v3. ONS notes the grouping is a snapshot that is not comparable with earlier editions, and is not a judgement about any authority’s performance. The road figures against it are ours.

National position

North Lanarkshire against its closest comparators

North Lanarkshire sits 168 of 192 nationally, and 20 of 26 within Scotland. These are the authorities nearest to it in the table.

#	Authority	Score	KSI / bn miles
166	Newport	32.6	49.2
167	Halton	30.9	61.2
168	North Lanarkshire (this page)	30.6	45.9
169	Rochdale	29.8	62.6
170	Worcestershire	28.9	53

See all 192 authorities →

Common questions

Road risk in North Lanarkshire, answered

How dangerous are the roads in North Lanarkshire?

In the latest official DfT figures, 208 road collisions in North Lanarkshire injured or killed 267 people, 88 of them killed or seriously injured. Measured against the traffic its roads actually carry, that is 45.9 people killed or seriously injured per billion vehicle miles, against a median of 80.5 across the ranked authorities — placing North Lanarkshire 168 of 192 authorities on our combined score, where 1 is the highest risk. The score weighs that rate alongside who is being hurt, the five-year trend and how often a serious collision proves fatal, so the rank is not the rate alone.

Are road casualties in North Lanarkshire rising or falling?

Across 2021–2025, recorded collisions in North Lanarkshire were up 4.0%, with 2023 the worst year of the period at 243 collisions. Year-to-year movement in a single authority is noisy, so the five-year direction carries more than any single year's change.

Who is being hurt on North Lanarkshire's roads?

In North Lanarkshire there were 62 collisions involving pedestrians, 8 involving cyclists and 24 involving motorcyclists, out of 208 in total. Added together that is an involvement rate of 45.2%, though a collision involving two of those groups is counted in both figures, so it is a comparable index rather than a clean share.

Who is responsible for road safety in North Lanarkshire?

North Lanarkshire is a scottish council, and is the highway authority for its own roads. That means it sets local speed limits, designs junctions and crossings, and decides safety scheme spending. Motorways and most trunk roads are managed separately by National Highways in England, Transport Scotland, or the Welsh Government, so the worst road in an area is often not the council's to change. Enforcement sits with the local police force.

Where does this data come from?

DfT STATS19, the record police complete at the scene of every injury collision, published annually under the Open Government Licence, combined with DfT's own road traffic estimates for the mileage denominator. Collision, casualty and KSI counts on this page are for 2025; only the trend compares 2021–2025. STATS19 counts collisions police attended and recorded, so collisions never reported do not appear, and under-reporting is known to be worst for cyclists and for slight injuries.

What this means for you

What actually changes the odds in North Lanarkshire

Data is only useful if it changes what you do. These three are picked from North Lanarkshire’s own figures above, each with the number that prompted it. Every guide explains how the thing works before it suggests buying anything, and most cost less than a third of a typical insurance excess.

Alarmed disc lock

£20–£50

Motorcyclists are in 12% of North Lanarkshire's collisions, and bikes are also lifted rather than ridden away. An alarmed disc lock covers the theft half for about £30.

How it works →

Dashcam (parking mode)

£50–£150

30% of collisions here involve a pedestrian, and those are the cases most often argued over. Footage removes the argument.

How it works →

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