Road Traffic Collision Data

Cambridgeshire Road Traffic Collision Data

Where does the data come from?

Road traffic collision records are provided to CCC by the police. The records are cleaned by CCC officers before being included in CCC’s road traffic collision database.  The dataset only includes collisions that meet the Department for Transport STATS19 definition of a road traffic collision:

“Involves personal injury occurring on the public highway (including footways) in which at least one road vehicle or a vehicle in collision with a pedestrian is involved and which becomes known to the police within 30 days of its occurrence. Damage-only accidents, with no human casualties or accidents on private roads or car parks are not included.”

For further information about collision reporting and data collection, please refer to the Department for Transport STATS 19 and STATS 20 guidance.

How up to date is the data?

The road traffic collision data is available in two versions:

      1. The provisional dataset which is updated on a monthly basis. This dataset includes the most recent records and gives a more up to date picture but data from January 2024 onwards is marked as provisional because it is subject to change. The provisional dataset is available to view and download on Cambridgeshire Insight and is the dataset described on this page.
      2. The finalised dataset is approved by DfT in summer or early autumn each year for the previous calendar year. This dataset is more stable but doesn’t provide the latest picture due to being updated on an annual basis. DfT have currently approved data up to Dec 2023 and we expect the 2024 data to be approved by the end of September 2025. The DfT-approved dataset is available to view on Maps Cambridgeshire.

How can I access the provisional dataset?

If you require up to date collision data, there is the option to self-serve (download) the provisional data from the Open Data Portal (free) or you can make a request for data to be provided by the Cambridgeshire County Council Policy & Insight team (chargeable), as detailed in the following sections.

Please note, the collision data for 2024 is currently provisional and is therefore subject to change.

Self-serve collision data (free-of-charge)

Road traffic collision data for Cambridgeshire is available for immediate, free-of-charge download on the Cambridgeshire Insight Open Data Portal. The data is available to download in Excel format.

Please note, the data that is publicly available to download on the Open Data Portal:

      • is currently provisional for 2024 and is therefore subject to change.
      • doesn’t include collision descriptions or contributory factors / road safety factors – we are only permitted to share this information with parties engaged in accident investigation, accident remedial works and/or safety engineering.

These collisions are also available to view on our Road Safety Dashboard, which also includes a map of these collisions.

If you are unable to use either of the self-serve options, please make a request to the CCC Policy & Insight team using the steps below.

Request collision data (chargeable)

If you are unable to self-serve collision data from the Open Data Portal, you can make a request for data to the CCC Policy & Insight team. The provision of collision data is a chargeable process, unless you are working on behalf of CCC.

Charges:

From 1st April 2024, a £370+VAT standing charge will apply to all collision data requests that are fulfilled by the CCC Policy and Insight team on behalf of external parties. The standing charge covers the data query and the supply of the data in Excel and/or Shapefile format. The following extra fees will also apply where appropriate:

      • Larger requests exceeding 1,000 collisions (£106+VAT per additional 500 collisions).
      • Alternative data export formats (£425+VAT).
      • A labelled PDF map of collisions:
          • labelled PDF map of collisions: 
          • Up to 25 collisions: £370+VAT 
          • 26-50 collisions: £400+VAT 
          • 51-75 collisions: £425+VAT 
          • 76-100 collisions: £450+VAT 
          • 101-150 collisions: £475+VAT 
          • 151-200 collisions: £500+VAT 
          • 201-250 collisions: £530+VAT 
          • 251+ collisions: Not available.

Please note, we are only permitted to share collision descriptions or contributory factors with parties engaged in accident investigation, accident remedial works and/or safety engineering.

How to request collision data:
1. Check the collision data map

Please use the map available on our Road Safety Dashboard to view your area of interest and ascertain whether there are any collisions recorded. If there are no collisions on the map in your area of interest, we do not have a record of any personal injury collisions in this area since 2017.

2. Look at the charging structure

If there are collisions within your area of interest, you can request this data from the CCC Policy & Insight team for a fee. Please be sure to check if there are collisions in your area of interest before you send your request as all data queries performed by the Policy & Insight team will be chargeable.

3. Request the data

Send your data request to policyandinsight@cambridgeshire.gov.uk .

In your email, please include:

      • the date range you require data for (e.g. July 2019 to June 2021)
      • your area of interest – ideally defined by a polygon using a shapefile or DXF but an image or a detailed description is acceptable.
      • the format for your data – note that our standard format is Excel or Shapefile and an additional charge is payable for other formats.
      • the purpose of your request – this is to establish whether the nature of your work is considered to relate to accident investigation, accident remedial works and/or safety engineering. We are only permitted to provide collision descriptions and contributory factors to parties engaged with this nature of work.
4. Quote

The Policy & Insight team will respond to your request with a quote. If you would like to proceed with purchasing the data, we will arrange for payment to be taken by credit/debit card.

5. Data provision

Once payment has been taken, we will provide you with your collision data in the format requested within 15 working days unless specified otherwise.

Peterborough collision data

If you require collision data for Peterborough, please contact: Jenny.Wright@peterborough.gov.uk.

Cluster site analysis

Collision cluster site analysis is undertaken by CCC on an annual basis to identify locations on the public highway where a higher number of injury collisions are occurring. CCC define a collision cluster site as follows:

      • 6 or more injury collisions (any severity) within 100m or at a junction, in the most recent 3 calendar year period; or
      • 3 or more higher severity injury collisions (fatal or serious injuries) within 100m or at a junction, in the most recent 3 calendar year period.

The latest identified cluster sites can be viewed on Maps Cambridgeshire by selecting the “Transport and Streets” drop-down and ticking on the “Accident Clusters” layer.

We are aiming to update the cluster sites for the latest three-year period later in 2024.