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Road collisions in West Berkshire
Police recorded 1,013 road collisions involving injury in West Berkshire between 2021 and 2025, about 203 a year. 19 of them were fatal, and an estimated 243 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 4pm to 5pm, and 33% of collisions happened between 3pm and 7pm (close to the 32% across Great Britain). Friday had the most collisions, and 24% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 193 in 2021 to 220 in 2025, a rise of 14%. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so West Berkshire should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across West Berkshire, 1,310 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 8% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 10% (12%) and motorcyclists 13% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 61%. 4 of the pedestrians were killed.
Children aged 0 to 15 were 6% of casualties, lower than the 9% national share. People aged 16 to 25 were 19% (21% nationally), and people over 65 were 13% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in West Berkshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 107 | 8.2% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 132 | 10.1% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 169 | 12.9% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 800 | 61.1% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 11 | 0.8% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 82 | 6.3% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 9 | 0.7% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in West Berkshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 17 | 1.3% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 24 | 1.9% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 37 | 2.9% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 136 | 10.6% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 116 | 9.1% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 253 | 19.8% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 213 | 16.7% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 168 | 13.1% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 146 | 11.4% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 94 | 7.3% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 75 | 5.9% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
10.3% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 13.0% a cyclist (15.0%) and 16.3% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 7.5% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 20.9% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). 5 collisions involved an e-scooter.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in West Berkshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 1,285 | 68.9% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 158 | 8.5% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 82 | 4.4% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 174 | 9.3% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 135 | 7.2% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 12 | 0.6% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 18 | 1.0% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in West Berkshire
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 | A340 | T or staggered junction | 9 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | Bath Road (A4) | Not at a junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 3 | London Road (A339) | Roundabout | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | Benham Hill (A4) | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 5 | Bath Road (A4) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | London Road (A339) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | Bath Road (A4) | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | Newtown Road (A339) | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | M4 | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | Bath Road (A4) | Crossroads | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | Chapel Street (A4) | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 12 | M4 | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 13 | Bath Road (A4) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 14 | Greenham Road (A339) | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 15 | The Broadway | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 16 | Ermin Street (B4000) | Crossroads | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 17 | Deans Copse Road | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 18 | High Street (B4000) | Crossroads | 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.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bath Road | 97 | 1 | 26 |
| London Road | 36 | 1 | 3 |
| Reading Road | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| Ermin Street | 15 | 1 | 6 |
| Benham Hill | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Newtown Road | 12 | 0 | 3 |
| Purley Rise | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| High Street | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Deans Copse Road | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Andover Road | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Long Lane | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Western Avenue | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Chapel Street | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Goring Lane | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Station Road | 6 | 0 | 1 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
39% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 40% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 43% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, lower than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | 163 | 2 | 40 |
| M4 | 134 | 4 | 25 |
| A34 | 68 | 2 | 19 |
| A339 | 50 | 2 | 12 |
| A340 | 29 | 1 | 8 |
| B4494 | 27 | 0 | 10 |
| A329 | 25 | 0 | 7 |
| B4000 | 24 | 1 | 7 |
| A338 | 20 | 0 | 6 |
| B4009 | 20 | 0 | 5 |
| A343 | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| B3421 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| B4001 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| B3051 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| A43 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
25% of collisions in West Berkshire happened in darkness, lower than the 28% across Great Britain. 30% happened on roads classed as urban, lower than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in West Berkshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 134 | 13.2% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| A road | 375 | 37.0% | 44.0% |
| B road | 86 | 8.5% | 12.5% |
| C road | 0 | 0.0% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 418 | 41.3% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in West Berkshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 11 | 1.1% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 385 | 38.0% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 111 | 11.0% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 100 | 9.9% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 222 | 21.9% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 184 | 18.2% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in West Berkshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 576 | 56.9% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 261 | 25.8% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 55 | 5.4% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 1 | 0.1% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 41 | 4.0% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 8 | 0.8% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 71 | 7.0% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in West Berkshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 762 | 75.2% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 112 | 11.1% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 4 | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 127 | 12.5% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 8 | 0.8% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in West Berkshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 303 | 29.9% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 710 | 70.1% | 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.