England · Local authority E08000003

Driving around Manchester.

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

110,169

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

Households without a car or van

39%

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

Annual traffic

1,755

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

711

Police-reported personal-injury collisions during 2025.

10 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 1,755 1,459
2024 1,739 1,442
2023 1,678 1,383
2022 1,619 1,320
2021 1,486 1,192
2020 1,358 1,088
2019 1,691 1,399
2018 1,667 1,376
2017 1,678 1,387
2016 1,649 1,357
2015 1,653 1,359
2014 1,636 1,349
2013 1,597 1,325
2012 1,600 1,329
2011 1,602 1,329

Road setting

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Single carriageway 556
Dual carriageway 109
Slip road 19
Roundabout 14
One way street 13

Light conditions

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Daylight 486
Darkness - lights lit 206
Darkness - lighting unknown 12
Darkness - no lighting 4
Darkness - lights unlit 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 Manchester. These figures can help you plan the support and practical questions to discuss with an instructor.

Residents reporting a disability

17.5%

Census definition; not driving fitness.

Employed residents commuting as car/van drivers

35.2%

Census 2021, during coronavirus restrictions.

Explore language, disability and commuting figures for Manchester

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.