Road collisions in Watford
Police recorded 659 road collisions involving injury in Watford between 2021 and 2025, about 132 a year. 2 of them were fatal, and an estimated 124 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 5pm to 6pm, and 33% of collisions happened between 3pm and 7pm (close to the 32% across Great Britain). Friday had the most collisions, and 25% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 117 in 2021 to 150 in 2025, a rise of 28%. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so Watford should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across Watford, 805 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 18% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 12% (12%) and motorcyclists 18% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 49%. 1 of the pedestrians was 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 5% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in Watford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 142 | 17.6% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 93 | 11.6% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 145 | 18.0% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 394 | 48.9% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 1 | 0.1% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 14 | 1.7% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 16 | 2.0% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in Watford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 11 | 1.4% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 19 | 2.4% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 30 | 3.8% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 81 | 10.4% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 107 | 13.7% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 185 | 23.7% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 132 | 16.9% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 112 | 14.3% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 62 | 7.9% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 23 | 2.9% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 19 | 2.4% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
21.2% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 14.0% a cyclist (15.0%) and 21.7% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 2.4% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 19.9% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). 8 collisions involved an e-scooter.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in Watford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 826 | 68.7% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 68 | 5.7% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 16 | 1.3% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 153 | 12.7% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 97 | 8.1% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 13 | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 30 | 2.5% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in Watford
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 | St Albans Road (A412) | Not at a junction | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | St Albans Road (A412) | T or staggered junction | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 3 | Wiggenhall Road (A4178) | Crossroads | 10 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | North Western Avenue Colne Way (A41) | Crossroads | 10 | 0 | View on map |
| 5 | St Albans Road (A412) | Roundabout | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | St Albans Road (A412) | Not at a junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | Exchange Road (A411) | Crossroads | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | Exchange Road (A411) | T or staggered junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | St Albans Road (A412) | Crossroads | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | Rickmansworth Road (A412) | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | Rickmansworth Road (A411) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 12 | Whippendell Road | Crossroads | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 13 | North Western Avenue (A41) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 14 | Woodford Road | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 15 | Wiggenhall Road (A4178) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 16 | King Street | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 17 | High Road (A405) | Roundabout | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 18 | Radlett Road | Roundabout | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 19 | St Albans Road (A412) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 20 | Clarendon Road | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 21 | Eastbury Road (A4125) | Roundabout | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 22 | Beechen Grove (A411) | Crossroads | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 23 | Stephenson Way (A4008) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 24 | Whippendell Road | Crossroads | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 25 | Beechen Grove (A411) | Not at a junction | 5 | 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.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Albans Road | 85 | 0 | 18 |
| Exchange Road | 24 | 0 | 5 |
| Rickmansworth Road | 23 | 0 | 6 |
| North Western Avenue | 23 | 0 | 3 |
| Beechen Grove | 20 | 0 | 3 |
| Wiggenhall Road | 18 | 0 | 3 |
| Whippendell Road | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| North Western Avenue Colne Way | 18 | 0 | 2 |
| Eastbury Road | 18 | 0 | 2 |
| Hempstead Road | 17 | 1 | 5 |
| Kingsway North Orbital Road | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| Vicarage Road | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| Radlett Road | 13 | 0 | 4 |
| Clarendon Road | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Lower High Street | 9 | 0 | 2 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
83% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 2% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 60% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, higher than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A412 | 100 | 0 | 23 |
| A411 | 98 | 1 | 20 |
| A41 | 46 | 0 | 6 |
| A4178 | 31 | 0 | 5 |
| A4145 | 25 | 0 | 3 |
| A405 | 22 | 0 | 4 |
| A4125 | 18 | 0 | 2 |
| A4008 | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| M1 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| B462 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
28% of collisions in Watford happened in darkness, close to the 28% across Great Britain. 95% happened on roads classed as urban, higher than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in Watford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 7 | 1.1% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| A road | 356 | 54.0% | 44.0% |
| B road | 1 | 0.2% | 12.5% |
| C road | 0 | 0.0% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 295 | 44.8% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in Watford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 81 | 12.3% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 468 | 71.0% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 70 | 10.6% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 28 | 4.2% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 2 | 0.3% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 10 | 1.5% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in Watford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 263 | 40.2% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 213 | 32.6% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 85 | 13.0% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 5 | 0.8% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 5 | 0.8% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 34 | 5.2% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 49 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in Watford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 474 | 71.9% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 165 | 25.0% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 5 | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 4 | 0.6% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 11 | 1.7% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in Watford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 625 | 94.8% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 34 | 5.2% | 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.