How busy is the M56, and how safe? These figures are our own analysis of two Department for Transport datasets: the annual traffic counts (average vehicles a day at each count point) and STATS19, the police record of every road collision in which someone was injured.

How busy is the M56?

In 2025 the busiest count point on the M56 carried 179,634 vehicles a day, and the average across its 30 count points was 97,818. Lorries made up 7.6% of that traffic and vans 16.8%.

Against 2019, the last year before the pandemic, the average count point in 2025 carried 97,818 vehicles a day compared with 97,025, a change of +0.8%.

M56 traffic by year (Department for Transport, average vehicles a day)

Year	Busiest point	Average point	Count points
2025	179,634	97,818	30
2024	177,273	93,568	30
2023	149,555	89,963	30
2022	141,330	84,962	30
2021	125,435	78,439	29
2020	109,898	67,134	29
2019	174,693	97,025	29
2018	163,045	92,590	30
2017	164,993	92,739	30
2016	164,998	90,652	30
2015	162,464	89,979	30
2014	160,881	89,589	30
2013	148,284	85,442	30
2012	147,278	84,934	30
2011	155,942	86,852	30
2010	140,549	84,518	30
2009	152,470	85,416	30
2008	153,201	87,051	30
2007	156,116	86,413	30
2006	162,467	87,376	30
2005	161,606	84,720	30
2004	163,937	87,412	30
2003	158,794	85,015	30
2002	148,607	81,645	30
2001	146,013	80,735	30
2000	143,160	79,374	30

Collisions on the M56, 2024 and 2025

The police recorded 109 injury collisions on the M56 across 2024 and 2025 (47 in 2024 and 62 in 2025), in which 166 people were hurt. 1 were fatal, 19 serious and 89 slight. On average 2.38 vehicles were involved in each.

The most collisions were recorded on a Saturday (20) and the fewest on a Tuesday (7). 9 happened in the morning rush (07:00 to 09:59), 29 in the evening rush (16:00 to 18:59) and 16 overnight (22:00 to 05:59). 32 were on a wet, icy or flooded surface and 34 in darkness.

Junctions with the most collisions nearby

• Junction 14 (Helsby, Stanlow, Chester Zoo): 16 collisions within about 2.5 km
• Junction 9 (Lymm interchange (M6 J20)): 14 collisions within about 2.5 km
• Junction 12 (Runcorn, Widnes, Frodsham): 14 collisions within about 2.5 km
• Junction 7 (Bowdon, Altrincham, Northwich): 10 collisions within about 2.5 km
• Junction 11 (Preston Brook, Daresbury, Runcorn (east)): 10 collisions within about 2.5 km

M56 injury collisions by day of the week, 2024 and 2025

Day	Collisions
Monday	15
Tuesday	7
Wednesday	18
Thursday	18
Friday	16
Saturday	20
Sunday	15

M56 injury collisions by hour, 2024 and 2025

Hour	Collisions
00:00–00:59	3
01:00–01:59	1
02:00–02:59	2
03:00–03:59	2
04:00–04:59	1
05:00–05:59	3
06:00–06:59	4
07:00–07:59	3
08:00–08:59	4
09:00–09:59	2
10:00–10:59	5
11:00–11:59	8
12:00–12:59	5
13:00–13:59	6
14:00–14:59	7
15:00–15:59	11
16:00–16:59	10
17:00–17:59	16
18:00–18:59	3
19:00–19:59	4
20:00–20:59	4
21:00–21:59	1
22:00–22:59	2
23:00–23:59	2

Collisions are counted where the police recorded the M56 as the first road. “Near a junction” means within about 2.5 km of where the junction meets the main carriageway, so a collision between two close junctions can count for both. Traffic counts and collision records contain public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.