M1 crash J12–J13 northbound

Crash on the M1 northbound at J12–J13 on Wednesday 21 October 2026, from 15:42. Cleared at 17:23 after 1 h 41 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs and TomTom.

Status

Cleared 17:23 on 21 Oct 2026, after 1 h 41 min

Location

M1 northbound · J12–J13

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Delay ~17 min

Sources

Motorway signs ×2 · TomTom ×3

Timeline

1. 15:42 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
2. 15:56 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~5 min
3. 16:09 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
4. 16:14 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
5. 16:19 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
6. 16:28 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
7. 16:39 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF COLLISION”
8. 16:46 TomTom: delay now ~7 min (was ~17), “Queuing traffic”
9. 16:46 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~11 min
10. 16:51 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
11. 16:51 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~9 min
12. 16:53 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
13. 16:55 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
14. 17:00 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
15. 17:04 TomTom: delay now ~5 min (was ~10)
16. 17:14 TomTom no longer reports it
17. 17:23 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF COLLISION”
18. 17:23 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW” (1 sign; furthest along: M1 northbound between J12 and J13).
• Slow traffic
• Stationary traffic
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF COLLISION” (14 signs; furthest along: M1 northbound between J12 and J13).

Other recent incidents on the M1

• M1 stopped traffic J11–J1016:55 · Live
• M1 stopped traffic J26–J2515:55 · cleared after 1 h 59 min
• M1 crash J37–J36 southbound14:59 · cleared after 2 h 54 min
• M1 reported crash J14 southbound11:00 · cleared after 52 min
• M1 crash J39 northbound07:34 · cleared after 1 h 59 min
• M1 delays J9–J10 northbound06:14 · cleared after 3 h 38 min
• M1 crash J44–J45 northboundyesterday 20:02 · cleared after 47 min
• M1 crash J23–J23A northboundyesterday 17:02 · cleared after 1 h 12 min
• M1 stopped traffic J21A–J21 southboundyesterday 16:38 · cleared after 5 h 25 min
• M1 crash J8–J9 northboundyesterday 14:48 · cleared after 4 h 54 min

The sources don't report causes or injuries, so neither does this page. Times are UK time. For alerts, follow @motorways.me on Bluesky.