Road collisions in Braintree
Police recorded 1,139 road collisions involving injury in Braintree between 2021 and 2025, about 228 a year. 25 of them were fatal, and an estimated 310 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). Friday had the most collisions, and 24% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 224 in 2021 to 229 in 2025, a very small change. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so Braintree should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across Braintree, 1,480 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 13% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 6% (12%) and motorcyclists 13% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 62%. 2 of the pedestrians were killed.
Children aged 0 to 15 were 8% of casualties, close to the 9% national share. People aged 16 to 25 were 20% (21% nationally), and people over 65 were 13% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in Braintree | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 185 | 12.5% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 94 | 6.4% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 188 | 12.7% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 915 | 61.8% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 3 | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 73 | 4.9% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 22 | 1.5% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in Braintree | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 19 | 1.3% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 37 | 2.5% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 66 | 4.5% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 149 | 10.2% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 152 | 10.4% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 300 | 20.5% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 209 | 14.3% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 187 | 12.8% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 152 | 10.4% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 101 | 6.9% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 90 | 6.2% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
15.5% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 8.2% a cyclist (15.0%) and 15.9% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 4.7% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 23.2% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). 15 collisions involved an e-scooter.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in Braintree | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 1,502 | 71.0% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 196 | 9.3% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 60 | 2.8% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 198 | 9.4% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 100 | 4.7% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 17 | 0.8% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 43 | 2.0% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in Braintree
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 | A120 | Roundabout | 24 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | Colne Road (A120) | T or staggered junction | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 3 | Coggeshall Road (A120) | T or staggered junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | Coggeshall Road (A120) | Roundabout | 6 | 1 | View on map |
| 5 | Coggeshall Road (A120) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | A120 | Roundabout | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | Braintree Road (B1018) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | Rayne Road (B1256) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | Main Road (B1137) | Other junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | Kings Road (A131) | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | London Road (B1256) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 12 | Dunmow Road (B1256) | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 13 | London Road (A12) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 14 | A12 | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 15 | High Street (A131) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 16 | Queens Road | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 17 | Main Road (B1137) | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 18 | Panfield Lane | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 19 | Swan Street (A1017) | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 20 | Broad Road (A131) | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 21 | Bridge Street (B1389) | Crossroads | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 22 | Blyth's Meadow (B1256) | Not at a 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.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coggeshall Road | 78 | 4 | 14 |
| London Road | 51 | 1 | 13 |
| Braintree Road | 25 | 1 | 5 |
| Witham Road | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| High Street | 21 | 0 | 6 |
| The Street | 21 | 0 | 8 |
| Cressing Road | 21 | 0 | 7 |
| Maldon Road | 21 | 1 | 4 |
| Colchester Road | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| Rayne Road | 15 | 0 | 4 |
| Hatfield Road | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| Halstead Road | 13 | 1 | 4 |
| Newland Street | 13 | 0 | 5 |
| Hedingham Road | 12 | 1 | 5 |
| Mount Hill | 11 | 0 | 1 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
50% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 38% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 40% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, lower than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A120 | 116 | 5 | 17 |
| A131 | 113 | 4 | 29 |
| A12 | 105 | 1 | 30 |
| B1018 | 71 | 3 | 20 |
| B1256 | 62 | 1 | 18 |
| A1017 | 43 | 1 | 15 |
| B1389 | 36 | 0 | 15 |
| B1024 | 30 | 1 | 6 |
| A1124 | 27 | 1 | 9 |
| B1137 | 19 | 0 | 7 |
| B1053 | 12 | 0 | 5 |
| B1057 | 11 | 0 | 5 |
| B1019 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| B1023 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| A1092 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
25% of collisions in Braintree happened in darkness, lower than the 28% across Great Britain. 37% happened on roads classed as urban, lower than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in Braintree | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 0 | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| A road | 406 | 35.6% | 44.0% |
| B road | 255 | 22.4% | 12.5% |
| C road | 1 | 0.1% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 477 | 41.9% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in Braintree | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 23 | 2.0% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 550 | 48.3% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 88 | 7.7% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 50 | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 298 | 26.2% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 130 | 11.4% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in Braintree | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 685 | 60.3% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 269 | 23.7% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 34 | 3.0% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 5 | 0.4% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 10 | 0.9% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 56 | 4.9% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 77 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in Braintree | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 859 | 75.4% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 147 | 12.9% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 12 | 1.1% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 115 | 10.1% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 6 | 0.5% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in Braintree | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 423 | 37.1% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 716 | 62.9% | 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.