Road collisions in Canterbury
Police recorded 1,510 road collisions involving injury in Canterbury between 2021 and 2025, about 302 a year. 21 of them were fatal, and an estimated 339 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.
Check your own street
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When collisions happen
The busiest hour was 5pm to 6pm, and 31% of collisions happened between 3pm and 7pm (lower than the 32% across Great Britain). Thursday had the most collisions, and 24% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 307 in 2021 to 284 in 2025, a fall of 7%. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so Canterbury should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across Canterbury, 1,979 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 14% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 10% (12%) and motorcyclists 11% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 58%. 6 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 26% (21% nationally), and people over 65 were 11% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in Canterbury | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 280 | 14.1% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 190 | 9.6% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 225 | 11.4% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 1,143 | 57.8% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 38 | 1.9% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 77 | 3.9% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 26 | 1.3% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in Canterbury | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 18 | 0.9% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 44 | 2.3% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 84 | 4.4% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 275 | 14.5% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 237 | 12.5% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 332 | 17.4% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 266 | 14.0% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 249 | 13.1% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 183 | 9.6% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 113 | 5.9% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 102 | 5.4% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
17.4% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 12.5% a cyclist (15.0%) and 14.4% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 2.8% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 25.2% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). 17 collisions involved an e-scooter.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in Canterbury | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 2,006 | 73.5% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 165 | 6.0% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 44 | 1.6% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 238 | 8.7% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 194 | 7.1% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 33 | 1.2% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 50 | 1.8% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in Canterbury
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 | Rheims Way (A2050) | Roundabout | 12 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | Old Dover Road (A28) | Roundabout | 12 | 0 | View on map |
| 3 | St Dunstan's Street (A290) | Not at a junction | 12 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | Northgate (A28) | Roundabout | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 5 | Pin Hill (A28) | Roundabout | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | Wincheap (A28) | Not at a junction | 10 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | Island Road (A28) | Crossroads | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | St Dunstan's Street (A290) | Not at a junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | Thanet Way (A2990) | Roundabout | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | North Lane (A290) | Not at a junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | New Dover Road (A2050) | Not at a junction | 7 | 1 | View on map |
| 12 | Rheims Way (A290) | Roundabout | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 13 | Chartham Downs Road | Crossroads | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 14 | Bifrons Hill (A2) | T or staggered junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 15 | New Dover Road (A2050) | Not at a junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 16 | Tankerton Road (B2205) | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 17 | Old Dover Road | Crossroads | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 18 | Upper Bridge Street (A28) | Roundabout | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 19 | Monastery Street (A28) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 20 | Wincheap (A28) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 21 | St George's Street (A28) | Roundabout | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 22 | Lower Bridge Street (A28) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 23 | Sturry Hill (A28) | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 24 | Thanet Way (A291) | Roundabout | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 25 | Rhodaus Town (A28) | Roundabout | 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.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thanet Way | 113 | 6 | 38 |
| Sturry Road | 44 | 0 | 6 |
| Canterbury Road | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| Island Road | 39 | 1 | 16 |
| High Street | 34 | 0 | 1 |
| Ashford Road | 31 | 0 | 7 |
| Old Dover Road | 26 | 0 | 2 |
| Dover Road | 26 | 1 | 5 |
| Wincheap | 24 | 0 | 7 |
| New Dover Road | 23 | 1 | 6 |
| St Dunstan's Street | 22 | 0 | 3 |
| Sea Street | 21 | 0 | 5 |
| Whitstable Road | 19 | 0 | 7 |
| Herne Bay Road | 15 | 0 | 7 |
| Broad Oak Road | 14 | 0 | 4 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
64% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 20% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 41% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, lower than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A28 | 223 | 1 | 56 |
| B2205 | 117 | 1 | 28 |
| A290 | 83 | 0 | 19 |
| A2 | 74 | 3 | 15 |
| A2990 | 67 | 2 | 23 |
| A299 | 63 | 4 | 17 |
| A2050 | 47 | 3 | 11 |
| A257 | 36 | 1 | 7 |
| A291 | 35 | 0 | 8 |
| B2068 | 24 | 0 | 5 |
| B2248 | 24 | 1 | 3 |
| B2046 | 11 | 0 | 5 |
| A260 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
27% of collisions in Canterbury happened in darkness, close to the 28% across Great Britain. 61% happened on roads classed as urban, lower than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in Canterbury | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 0 | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| A road | 638 | 42.3% | 44.0% |
| B road | 176 | 11.7% | 12.5% |
| C road | 0 | 0.0% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 696 | 46.1% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in Canterbury | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 117 | 7.7% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 851 | 56.4% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 187 | 12.4% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 52 | 3.4% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 178 | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 125 | 8.3% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in Canterbury | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 886 | 59.2% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 356 | 23.8% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 58 | 3.9% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 17 | 1.1% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 14 | 0.9% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 59 | 3.9% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 106 | 7.1% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in Canterbury | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 1,104 | 73.1% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 275 | 18.2% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 8 | 0.5% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 93 | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 30 | 2.0% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in Canterbury | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 923 | 61.1% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 587 | 38.9% | 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.