England · Local authority E06000033

Driving around Southend-on-Sea.

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

13,824

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

Households without a car or van

24.6%

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

Annual traffic

391

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

273

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 391 324
2024 401 331
2023 398 328
2022 388 319
2021 349 283
2020 312 251
2019 395 327
2018 401 331
2017 421 347
2016 406 335
2015 406 335
2014 406 335
2013 397 330
2012 392 326
2011 390 323

Road setting

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Single carriageway 212
Dual carriageway 32
Roundabout 21
One way street 5
Slip road 2
Unknown 1

Light conditions

Reported collisions by recorded setting, 2025
Setting Collisions
Daylight 210
Darkness - lights lit 57
Darkness - lighting unknown 4
Darkness - no lighting 2
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 Southend-on-Sea. These figures can help you plan the support and practical questions to discuss with an instructor.

Residents reporting a disability

18.3%

Census definition; not driving fitness.

Employed residents commuting as car/van drivers

39.8%

Census 2021, during coronavirus restrictions.

Explore language, disability and commuting figures for Southend-on-Sea

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.