M1 crash J20–J21 northbound

Crash on the M1 northbound at J20–J21 on Thursday 15 October 2026, from 15:00. Cleared at 16:27 after 1 h 27 min. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Cleared 16:27 on 15 Oct 2026, after 1 h 27 min

Location

M1 northbound · J20–J21

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~36 min

Sources

TomTom · Motorway signs

Timeline

1. 15:00 Motorway signs: “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
2. 15:08 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~12 min
3. 15:27 TomTom: delay now ~18 min (was ~13)
4. 15:54 TomTom: now says collision, “Stationary traffic, Accident”
5. 16:08 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, delay now ~22 min (was ~32), “Stationary traffic”
6. 16:12 TomTom: delay now ~15 min (was ~22)
7. 16:16 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
8. 16:22 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
9. 16:26 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
10. 16:27 TomTom no longer reports it
11. 16:27 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Slow traffic
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M1 northbound between J20 and J21).

Other recent incidents on the M1

• M1 crash J43–J42 southbound15:55 · Live
• M1 crash J35–J34 northbound15:45 · Live
• M1 crash J1113:08 · cleared after 1 h 38 min
• M1 crash J17–J18 northbound11:57 · cleared after 1 h 53 min
• M1 stopped traffic J39–J40 northbound06:40 · cleared after 2 h 33 min
• M1 delays J10 southbound06:14 · cleared after 3 h 22 min
• M1 stopped traffic J10–J9 southboundyesterday 20:48 · cleared after 2 h 24 min
• M1 crash J11–J10 northboundyesterday 19:26 · cleared after 1 h 6 min
• M1 crash J41 southboundyesterday 18:30 · cleared after 1 h 15 min
• M1 crash J20–J21 northboundyesterday 14:49 · cleared after 1 h 13 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.