A1(M) Lorry and Freight Traffic
Where on the A1(M) are you most likely to be sharing the road with lorries? Not at the London end. This page ranks every junction-to-junction stretch by the share of its traffic that is heavy goods vehicles, using the Department for Transport’s 2025 figures.
| Stretch | Lorries a day | Share of all traffic |
|---|---|---|
| J45 to J46 | 18,005 | 20.9% |
| J46 to J47 | 16,500 | 20.1% |
| J42 to J43 | 9,917 | 18.2% |
| J34 to J35 | 9,965 | 17.9% |
| J37 to J38 | 14,129 | 17.8% |
| J40 to J41 | 12,000 | 17.7% |
| J50 to J51 | 9,572 | 17.5% |
| J35 to J36 | 15,173 | 17.4% |
| J36 to J37 | 15,740 | 17.3% |
| J48 to J49 | 14,257 | 17.3% |
| J47 to J48 | 14,660 | 17.1% |
| J41 to J42 | 10,802 | 16.6% |
| J49 to J50 | 9,717 | 16.4% |
| J57 to J58 | 6,744 | 15.2% |
| J52 to J53 | 9,179 | 14.9% |
| J44 to J45 | 15,806 | 14.5% |
| J51 to J52 | 9,673 | 14.2% |
| J14 to J16 | 10,307 | 13.6% |
| J43 to J44 | 18,044 | 12.6% |
| J16 to J17 | 10,355 | 12.3% |
| J56 to J57 | 7,833 | 11.7% |
| J59 to J60 | 6,339 | 11.7% |
| J58 to J59 | 6,486 | 11.4% |
| J53 to J56 | 7,578 | 10.9% |
| J60 to J61 | 6,351 | 9.8% |
| J61 to J62 | 7,084 | 9.5% |
| J62 to J63 | 6,381 | 9.2% |
| J63 to J64 | 6,497 | 7.1% |
| J9 to J10 | 3,399 | 6.9% |
| J64 to J65 | 6,332 | 6.8% |
| J2 to J3 | 3,564 | 6.0% |
| J7 to J8 | 4,043 | 5.7% |
| J1 to J2 | 3,836 | 5.3% |
| J3 to J4 | 4,661 | 5.2% |
| J6 to J7 | 4,285 | 5.1% |
| J8 to J9 | 4,818 | 5.1% |
| J4 to J5 | 4,130 | 4.9% |
| J5 to J6 | 3,591 | 4.9% |
Two different motorways
The southern and northern A1(M) behave like different roads. In Hertfordshire, Junctions 1 to 10, lorries are between 4.9% and 6.9% of traffic — roughly one vehicle in twenty. This is a commuter motorway through Hatfield, Welwyn and Stevenage, where cars and vans dominate.
From Peterborough north the picture changes. Between Junctions 14 and 17 the share is 12% to 14%. On the Doncaster Bypass, Junctions 34 to 38, it is above 17% on every stretch, with more than 15,000 lorries a day between Junctions 35 and 37, either side of the M18.
The freight corridor through Wetherby
The highest shares on the whole road are between Junctions 45 and 47, past Wetherby: 20.9% and 20.1%, one vehicle in five. Between Junctions 45 and 46 that is 18,005 lorries a day — almost exactly the number on the far busier stretch near Bramham, Junctions 43 to 44, where 18,044 lorries are 12.6% of a much larger flow. The lorry count holds up north of Bramham while total traffic falls, so freight becomes a much larger part of what is left on the road.
Tyneside: freight thins out
From Durham north the lorry share falls steadily, from 9.8% between Junctions 60 and 61 to 6.8% between Junctions 64 and 65 at Washington. The number of lorries stays close to 6,300 to 7,100 a day; it is the car traffic around Durham, Chester-le-Street and Washington that grows.
Vans
The figures also count light goods vehicles. The most vans are on the Bramham stretch, 25,841 a day between Junctions 43 and 44. In Hertfordshire the highest is 16,882, between Junctions 3 and 4 at Hatfield.
What is not in the table
Short counts through a junction, the approaches at each end of a section and slip roads are left out so that every row is a stretch between two numbered junctions. One of the excluded rows has a high lorry share: 19.4% on the short link from Junction 17 to the A1 at Orton Southgate, where the Peterborough section ends. For all the counts, see how busy the A1(M) is; for the headline figures, see A1(M) traffic statistics.
Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.