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Road collisions in North Hertfordshire
Police recorded 846 road collisions involving injury in North Hertfordshire between 2021 and 2025, about 169 a year. 14 of them were fatal, and an estimated 199 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 30% of collisions happened between 3pm and 7pm (lower than the 32% across Great Britain). Thursday had the most collisions, and 23% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 153 in 2021 to 158 in 2025, a rise of 3%. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so North Hertfordshire should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across North Hertfordshire, 1,174 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 10% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 10% (12%) and motorcyclists 9% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 65%. 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 18% (21% nationally), and people over 65 were 10% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in North Hertfordshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 113 | 9.6% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 113 | 9.6% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 108 | 9.2% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 763 | 65.0% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 5 | 0.4% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 54 | 4.6% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 18 | 1.5% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in North Hertfordshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 21 | 1.8% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 22 | 1.9% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 42 | 3.7% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 116 | 10.1% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 101 | 8.8% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 247 | 21.6% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 179 | 15.6% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 155 | 13.5% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 140 | 12.2% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 63 | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 58 | 5.1% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
12.9% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 13.2% a cyclist (15.0%) and 12.2% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 4.5% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 21.4% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). 9 collisions involved an e-scooter.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in North Hertfordshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 1,200 | 74.0% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 124 | 7.6% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 38 | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 108 | 6.7% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 114 | 7.0% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 7 | 0.4% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 31 | 1.9% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in North Hertfordshire
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 | Park Way (A602) | T or staggered junction | 13 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | A10 | Roundabout | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 3 | Old North Road (A505) | Roundabout | 10 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | Station Road (A505) | T or staggered junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 5 | Letchworth Gate (A(M)1) | Not at a junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | Baldock Road (A505) | Roundabout | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | Moormead Hill (A505) | T or staggered junction | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | A505 | Roundabout | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | High Street (B197) | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | Offley Bypass (A505) | Other junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | Stevenage Road (A602) | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 12 | Baldock Road | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 13 | Baldock Road (B656) | Roundabout | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 14 | London Road (B656) | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 15 | Great North Road (A507) | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 16 | Broadway | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 17 | London Road (B656) | Crossroads | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 18 | A505 | Not at a junction | 4 | 1 | View on map |
| 19 | Norton Way North | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 20 | Green Lane | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 21 | Cambridge Road (A505) | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 22 | Melbourn Street (A10) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 23 | Hermitage Road | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 24 | A505 | Crossroads | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 25 | Kingswood Avenue | 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.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Road | 41 | 1 | 12 |
| Baldock Road | 33 | 0 | 6 |
| Bedford Road | 30 | 0 | 10 |
| Stevenage Road | 28 | 0 | 7 |
| High Street | 20 | 0 | 5 |
| Offley Bypass | 20 | 1 | 9 |
| Cambridge Road | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| Icknield Way | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| Park Way | 15 | 1 | 3 |
| Hexton Road | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Wymondley Bypass | 11 | 1 | 3 |
| Station Road | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Broadway | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Old North Road | 10 | 0 | 5 |
| Nightingale Road | 9 | 0 | 3 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
55% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 33% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 50% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, lower than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A505 | 160 | 5 | 48 |
| B656 | 58 | 1 | 23 |
| A602 | 49 | 2 | 11 |
| A(M)1 | 45 | 1 | 11 |
| B197 | 27 | 0 | 6 |
| A507 | 24 | 0 | 7 |
| A10 | 23 | 1 | 5 |
| A600 | 20 | 0 | 7 |
| B655 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| B1368 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| B1039 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| B651 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| A1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
25% of collisions in North Hertfordshire happened in darkness, lower than the 28% across Great Britain. 48% happened on roads classed as urban, lower than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in North Hertfordshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 0 | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 45 | 5.3% | 0.2% |
| A road | 278 | 32.9% | 44.0% |
| B road | 104 | 12.3% | 12.5% |
| C road | 0 | 0.0% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 419 | 49.5% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in North Hertfordshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 29 | 3.4% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 437 | 51.7% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 78 | 9.2% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 24 | 2.8% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 158 | 18.7% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 120 | 14.2% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in North Hertfordshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 426 | 50.4% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 229 | 27.1% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 50 | 5.9% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 0 | 0.0% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 1 | 0.1% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 50 | 5.9% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 89 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in North Hertfordshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 634 | 74.9% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 127 | 15.0% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 5 | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 61 | 7.2% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 19 | 2.2% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in North Hertfordshire | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 407 | 48.1% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 439 | 51.9% | 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.