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AAWT – Annual Average Weekday Traffic

 

AAWT means Annual Average Weekday Traffic. It is a way of expressing the average daily traffic for weekdays, normally Monday to Friday, across a year.

That makes it useful where the important question is typical working-week traffic rather than the average across all seven days. A business park, school route or commuter corridor may have a very different weekday pattern from its weekend traffic.

AAWT Annual Average Weekday Traffic measured during normal weekday travel

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How is AAWT different from AADT or AADF?

 

An AAWT figure normally excludes weekends when calculating the annual weekday average. By contrast, AADT or AADF is used for average daily traffic across the year and is not limited to weekdays.

The Department for Transport’s national road traffic statistics use AADF – Annual Average Daily Flow. Individual transport assessments and infrastructure projects may use AAWT as an additional measure where weekday traffic is particularly relevant.

 

How might AAWT be used in planning?

 

Traffic data can help a transport consultant understand the existing use of a road and assess the likely effect of development. Depending on the project, weekday traffic information can be relevant to:

  • transport assessments and transport statements
  • junction-capacity analysis
  • development access and highway design
  • commuter and school-traffic patterns
  • noise and air-quality assessments
  • construction traffic planning

The right traffic measure depends on the question being assessed, so AAWT should not automatically be substituted for AADF, peak-hour flows or a site-specific traffic survey.

 

AAWT Page Updated: 27th August 2026