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Road collisions in South Lakeland
Police recorded 993 road collisions involving injury in South Lakeland between 2021 and 2025, about 199 a year. 31 of them were fatal, and an estimated 309 involved serious injury once DfT's severity adjustment is applied. These are reported injury collisions only: damage-only incidents and unreported injuries are not included.
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When collisions happen
The busiest hour was 3pm to 4pm, and 31% of collisions happened between 3pm and 7pm (lower than the 32% across Great Britain). Monday had the most collisions, and 27% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 169 in 2021 to 184 in 2025, a rise of 9%. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so South Lakeland should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across South Lakeland, 1,287 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 12% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 7% (12%) and motorcyclists 12% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 60%. 2 of the pedestrians were killed.
Children aged 0 to 15 were 7% of casualties, lower than the 9% national share. People aged 16 to 25 were 23% (21% nationally), and people over 65 were 17% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in South Lakeland | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 160 | 12.4% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 90 | 7.0% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 157 | 12.2% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 778 | 60.5% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 22 | 1.7% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 74 | 5.7% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 6 | 0.5% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in South Lakeland | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 13 | 1.0% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 18 | 1.4% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 57 | 4.5% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 177 | 13.9% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 114 | 9.0% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 180 | 14.2% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 146 | 11.5% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 167 | 13.1% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 178 | 14.0% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 109 | 8.6% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 113 | 8.9% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
15.2% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 8.9% a cyclist (15.0%) and 15.1% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 4.8% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 22.8% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). No collisions involving an e-scooter were recorded.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in South Lakeland | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 1,120 | 69.3% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 147 | 9.1% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 50 | 3.1% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 160 | 9.9% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 94 | 5.8% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 12 | 0.7% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 32 | 2.0% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in South Lakeland
These are the 100 metre squares with the most reported collisions in 2021 to 2025. Location is the average position of the collisions in each square, so treat it as approximate.
| # | Where | Junction type | Collisions | Fatal | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A590 | Not at a junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | M6 | Crossroads | 7 | 2 | View on map |
| 3 | A590 | T or staggered junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | Windermere Road (A591) | Other junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 5 | M6 | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | Queen Street (B5281) | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | Maude Street (A5284) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | Rydal Road (A591) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | Well Lane (A5087) | Crossroads | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | Lound Road (A65) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | A590 | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
Roads and streets with the most collisions
Each collision is matched to the nearest named road. Long roads and busy town centres collect the most, so this list shows where collisions are recorded, not which streets are riskiest.
| Road or street | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windermere Road | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| Coast Road | 17 | 0 | 7 |
| Burton Road | 10 | 1 | 4 |
| County Road | 10 | 0 | 5 |
| Rydal Road | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Ulverston Road | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Lake Road | 8 | 0 | 3 |
| Main Street | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Kirkstone Pass | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| North Lonsdale Road | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Blackhall Road | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Lound Road | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Stricklandgate | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Sandylands Road | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Glebe Road | 5 | 0 | 1 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
35% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 55% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 33% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, lower than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A590 | 151 | 7 | 56 |
| A591 | 85 | 1 | 28 |
| M6 | 68 | 3 | 12 |
| A65 | 51 | 2 | 17 |
| A684 | 40 | 2 | 16 |
| A6 | 37 | 1 | 11 |
| A592 | 34 | 2 | 7 |
| A5087 | 30 | 0 | 11 |
| A5074 | 24 | 0 | 12 |
| A593 | 21 | 1 | 7 |
| B5277 | 20 | 0 | 10 |
| A683 | 17 | 4 | 1 |
| A595 | 13 | 1 | 5 |
| A685 | 13 | 1 | 2 |
| A5092 | 11 | 0 | 5 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
24% of collisions in South Lakeland happened in darkness, lower than the 28% across Great Britain. 17% happened on roads classed as urban, lower than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in South Lakeland | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 68 | 6.8% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| A road | 559 | 56.3% | 44.0% |
| B road | 79 | 8.0% | 12.5% |
| C road | 0 | 0.0% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 287 | 28.9% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in South Lakeland | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 24 | 2.4% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 324 | 32.6% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 65 | 6.5% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 38 | 3.8% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 415 | 41.8% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 127 | 12.8% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in South Lakeland | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 664 | 67.1% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 165 | 16.7% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 44 | 4.4% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 8 | 0.8% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 15 | 1.5% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 85 | 8.6% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 8 | 0.8% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in South Lakeland | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 758 | 76.3% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 55 | 5.5% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 2 | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 167 | 16.8% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 11 | 1.1% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in South Lakeland | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 164 | 16.5% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 829 | 83.5% | 32.8% |
About these figures
Only collisions involving injury that were reported to the police are counted. The figures are not adjusted for traffic volume or population, so they should not be used to rank areas against each other. Serious and slight splits use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment. Full explanation.