England · Local authority E09000024

Driving around Merton.

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

17,832

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

Households without a car or van

33%

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

Annual traffic

407

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

425

Police-reported personal-injury collisions during 2025.

1 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 407 313
2024 404 311
2023 400 309
2022 395 304
2021 384 296
2020 338 258
2019 420 328
2018 412 320
2017 406 316
2016 412 320
2015 404 323
2014 407 326
2013 407 329
2012 410 331
2011 413 335

Road setting

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Single carriageway 276
Dual carriageway 43
One way street 39
Roundabout 31
Unknown 31
Slip road 5

Light conditions

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Daylight 310
Darkness - lights lit 107
Darkness - lighting unknown 7
Darkness - no lighting 1
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 Merton. These figures can help you plan the support and practical questions to discuss with an instructor.

Residents reporting a disability

12%

Census definition; not driving fitness.

Employed residents commuting as car/van drivers

20.2%

Census 2021, during coronavirus restrictions.

Explore language, disability and commuting figures for Merton

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.