Road collisions in Bedford
Police recorded 1,505 road collisions involving injury in Bedford between 2021 and 2025, about 301 a year. 17 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 4pm to 5pm, and 32% of collisions happened between 3pm and 7pm (close to the 32% across Great Britain). Tuesday had the most collisions, and 22% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 263 in 2021 to 294 in 2025, a rise of 12%. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so Bedford should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across Bedford, 1,970 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 14% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 12% (12%) and motorcyclists 9% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 59%. 4 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 21% (21% nationally), and people over 65 were 9% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in Bedford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 276 | 14.0% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 231 | 11.7% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 173 | 8.8% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 1,171 | 59.4% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 9 | 0.5% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 62 | 3.1% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 48 | 2.4% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in Bedford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 22 | 1.1% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 36 | 1.9% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 71 | 3.7% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 215 | 11.2% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 197 | 10.2% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 411 | 21.4% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 349 | 18.1% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 283 | 14.7% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 162 | 8.4% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 94 | 4.9% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 84 | 4.4% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
17.3% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 15.1% a cyclist (15.0%) and 11.3% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 4.5% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 21.7% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). 36 collisions involved an e-scooter.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in Bedford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 1,998 | 72.4% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 151 | 5.5% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 71 | 2.6% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 192 | 7.0% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 243 | 8.8% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 17 | 0.6% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 88 | 3.2% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in Bedford
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 | A421 | Roundabout | 25 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | A6 | Not at a junction | 20 | 0 | View on map |
| 3 | Prebend Street (A5141) | Not at a junction | 19 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | Rope Walk (A5140) | Roundabout | 14 | 0 | View on map |
| 5 | Ampthill Road (A5141) | Crossroads | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | Great North Road (A1) | T or staggered junction | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | Woburn Road (A6) | Roundabout | 9 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | Midland Road (A5141) | Not at a junction | 9 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | London Road (A600) | Roundabout | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | Dame Alice Street (A4280) | T or staggered junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | Ampthill Road (A5141) | T or staggered junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 12 | A6 | Roundabout | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 13 | Ampthill Road (A5141) | T or staggered junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 14 | Great North Road (A1) | Roundabout | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 15 | Clapham Road (A600) | Roundabout | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 16 | London Road (A600) | Crossroads | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 17 | London Road (A600) | T or staggered junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 18 | A421 | Not at a junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 19 | Rope Walk (A5140) | Not at a junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 20 | High Street (A600) | Other junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 21 | Ashburnham Road (A5141) | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 22 | Clapham Road (A6) | Roundabout | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 23 | Union Street (A600) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 24 | St Paul's Square (A600) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 25 | A6 | T or staggered junction | 6 | 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.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ampthill Road | 56 | 0 | 9 |
| Great North Road | 46 | 0 | 8 |
| Bedford Road | 43 | 1 | 10 |
| Goldington Road | 37 | 0 | 7 |
| London Road | 34 | 0 | 9 |
| Clapham Road | 34 | 0 | 4 |
| Woburn Road | 33 | 0 | 7 |
| High Street | 32 | 0 | 7 |
| Bromham Road | 28 | 0 | 5 |
| Kimbolton Road | 27 | 1 | 8 |
| Elstow Road | 24 | 0 | 2 |
| Cardington Road | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| Prebend Street | 20 | 0 | 4 |
| Rope Walk | 18 | 0 | 3 |
| Midland Road | 16 | 0 | 5 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
67% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 21% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 49% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, lower than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A600 | 136 | 4 | 33 |
| A6 | 119 | 2 | 18 |
| A5141 | 117 | 0 | 20 |
| A421 | 106 | 1 | 22 |
| A4280 | 85 | 0 | 14 |
| A1 | 45 | 1 | 8 |
| B531 | 43 | 0 | 11 |
| A5140 | 36 | 0 | 4 |
| A603 | 32 | 1 | 7 |
| A428 | 29 | 1 | 8 |
| B660 | 25 | 1 | 8 |
| B560 | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| B530 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| A422 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| A5134 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
26% of collisions in Bedford happened in darkness, close to the 28% across Great Britain. 54% happened on roads classed as urban, lower than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in Bedford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 0 | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| A road | 724 | 48.1% | 44.0% |
| B road | 106 | 7.0% | 12.5% |
| C road | 0 | 0.0% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 675 | 44.9% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in Bedford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 126 | 8.4% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 886 | 58.9% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 142 | 9.4% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 30 | 2.0% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 224 | 14.9% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 97 | 6.4% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in Bedford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 754 | 50.8% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 409 | 27.5% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 61 | 4.1% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 13 | 0.9% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 7 | 0.5% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 64 | 4.3% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 177 | 11.9% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in Bedford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 1,107 | 73.6% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 286 | 19.0% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 12 | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 65 | 4.3% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 35 | 2.3% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in Bedford | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 810 | 53.8% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 695 | 46.2% | 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.