Kent’s A2 where a crash happens almost every day

For one Kent family, the statistics became a painful reality earlier this year when a crash left a 20-year-old with serious injuries.

Charlie McPherson was riding his motorbike on a stretch between Gravesend and Bean on April 1 when he was involved in a collision.

He was left with two metal plates and 17 screws in his arm.

His father Andy McPherson believes the sheer volume of traffic, congestion and distractions facing drivers are among the reasons so many crashes happen on the route.

The 50-year-old told KentOnline: “Rather than it just being because it's a dangerous road, there's a lot of things that lead into it.

“I think it's just the sheer volume of vehicles on the road.

“The big digital screens right across the dashboard. I just think there’s just too many distractions for people now.”

Mr McPherson also believes congestion can contribute to crashes, particularly at notorious pinch points.

He said: “There's dead spots on that road where the traffic just slows down, like Pepper Hill coming up to Bloomville.

“It comes to a standstill in the morning for absolutely no reason.”

He added: “The standard of driving is terrible. No one really understands where they should be on the road at any given time.

“Now, you’ve got these electric cars which are like supercars.

“Cars are too quick, there's too many distractions and there's too many people on the road.”

The latest fatal crash on the A2 happened near Teynham on Friday, when 39-year-old biker Louis Lenger was killed after colliding with a BMW near the Lewson Street turnoff.

Louis, who was travelling home to Selling after dropping off a phone charger for his daughter, was a popular member of the Kent biker community. His partner Nikki Culwick said the family had gone from celebrating their daughter’s wedding a week earlier to planning Louis’s funeral.

The figures show the A2's collision total has remained consistently high, with the number rising last year.

There were 336 crashes on the road in 2023, followed by 316 in 2024 and 350 in 2025.

A further 128 collisions were recorded between January and April this year.

That means the A2 recorded 1,002 collisions across the three full years from 2023 to 2025.

It also recorded a rising number of crashes classed as non-injury, from 72 in 2023 to 93 in 2024 and 114 last year.

The A2 had nine collisions recorded with a fatal severity marker between January 2023 and April 2026.

The A20 had the second-highest number among the roads listed, with eight fatal-marked collisions over the same period.

When looking at figures for overall crashes, the A28 was second on the list with 165 crashes in 2025, while the A20 was third with 143.

The A229 followed with 133, while the A228 recorded 113.

The A26 had 97 crashes, followed by the A226 with 91, the A249 with 90, the A259 with 69 and the A21 with 62.

The A249 stands out for another reason, with a collision carrying a fatal severity marker recorded in every period covered by the FOI – one in each year from 2023 to 2025 and another between January and April this year.

National Highways manages the A2 and said safety is its “number one priority”.

A spokesperson said: “We’re always exploring ways to make our roads safer.

“Our ambition remains that no-one should be harmed while travelling or working on the network and we continue to invest in safety improvements across the region.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility, and we continue to work with partners, organisations and road users to help us collectively achieve this ambition.”