England · Local authority E06000038

Driving around Reading.

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

24,279

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

Households without a car or van

28.4%

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

Annual traffic

357

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

250

Police-reported personal-injury collisions during 2025.

4 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 357 293
2024 359 295
2023 353 289
2022 348 283
2021 313 250
2020 292 232
2019 372 307
2018 371 306
2017 373 308
2016 374 309
2015 372 307
2014 364 301
2013 360 300
2012 358 298
2011 360 299

Road setting

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Single carriageway 178
Roundabout 28
One way street 26
Dual carriageway 17
Slip road 1

Light conditions

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Daylight 173
Darkness - lights lit 70
Darkness - lighting unknown 5
Darkness - lights unlit 1
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 Reading. These figures can help you plan the support and practical questions to discuss with an instructor.

Residents reporting a disability

13.8%

Census definition; not driving fitness.

Employed residents commuting as car/van drivers

31.4%

Census 2021, during coronavirus restrictions.

Explore language, disability and commuting figures for Reading

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.