England · Local authority E06000005

Driving around Darlington.

Understand the wider traffic picture, discuss local driving skills and find useful next steps.

Population and household transport

Explore the full local-area picture

Residents aged 17–24

8,695

Mid-2025 estimate. This is an age-group count, not the number of learners.

Households without a car or van

25%

Census 2021. Household vehicle availability does not establish access to a practice car.

Annual traffic

546

Million motor-vehicle miles during 2025.

A measure of travel across this authority area, not the number of vehicles, a road’s daily flow or current congestion. DfT asks that these figures be rounded to the nearest million miles.

Reported injury collisions

137

Police-reported personal-injury collisions during 2025.

0 fatal collisions. This counts collisions, not people killed. Damage-only incidents and unreported collisions are outside this dataset.

Traffic over time

Annual million vehicle miles, rounded. Authority boundaries can change.
YearAll motor vehiclesCars and taxis
2025 546 424
2024 540 419
2023 526 409
2022 514 397
2021 473 356
2020 424 318
2019 526 414
2018 512 400
2017 499 387
2016 497 389
2015 503 395
2014 494 390
2013 481 381
2012 482 383
2011 478 380

Road setting

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Single carriageway 112
Roundabout 13
Dual carriageway 8
Slip road 4

Light conditions

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Daylight 100
Darkness - lights lit 30
Darkness - no lighting 4
Darkness - lighting unknown 3
More collisions does not automatically mean greater risk.

Traffic exposure, area size, road mix and reporting vary. These are counts, not comparable collision rates. Ask your instructor to choose practice environments suited to your current ability and current conditions.

Plan useful practice

Work with a qualified supervisor and agree goals with your instructor.

Check today’s conditions

Official roadworks, travel and weather services.

Teach and reflect

Planning, CPD and tools for instructor development.

Community and travel context

Census 2021 gives a historical picture of Darlington. These figures can help you plan the support and practical questions to discuss with an instructor.

Residents reporting a disability

19.6%

Census definition; not driving fitness.

Employed residents commuting as car/van drivers

51.7%

Census 2021, during coronavirus restrictions.

Explore language, disability and commuting figures for Darlington

Sources and matching

Traffic: DfT road traffic downloads. Collisions: DfT STATS19 2025. We match the traffic authority code to the collision’s current highway-authority code; this does not assign an instructor or test centre to that area. Local traffic estimates are less robust than regional totals. Download the source metadata and full history.