M1 crash J20 northbound

Crash on the M1 northbound at J20 on Wednesday 23 September 2026, from 13:23. Cleared at 16:26 after 3 h 3 min. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Cleared 16:26 on 23 Sept 2026, after 3 h 3 min

Location

M1 northbound · J20

Reported as

Collision

Lanes

Road closed

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~64 min

Sources

TomTom ×9 · Motorway signs

Timeline

1. Wed 13:23 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Vehicle fire”
2. Wed 13:23 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Closed, Vehicle fire”, road closed
3. Wed 13:34 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~3 min
4. Wed 13:48 TomTom: collision, “Incident”
5. Wed 13:49 TomTom: road closed
6. Wed 13:54 TomTom: delay now ~36 min (was ~3), “Stationary traffic, Incident”
7. Wed 14:08 TomTom: delay now ~64 min (was ~36), “Stationary traffic”
8. Wed 14:41 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~3 min
9. Wed 14:41 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~3 min
10. Wed 14:46 Motorway signs: “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
11. Wed 15:31 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~9 min (reported again)
12. Wed 15:45 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
13. Wed 15:46 TomTom: collision, “Accident, Lane closed”
14. Wed 15:48 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~4 min
15. Wed 15:59 TomTom: delay now ~15 min (was ~10)
16. Wed 16:26 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
17. Wed 16:26 TomTom no longer reports it
18. Wed 16:26 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Vehicle fire
• Closed, Vehicle fire
• Stationary traffic
• Incident
• Closed
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M1 northbound between J20 and J21).
• Queuing traffic
• Accident, Lane closed

Other recent incidents on the M1

• M1 closed J25–J24A southboundyesterday 23:06 · cleared after 5 h 24 min
• M1 closed J25–J24A southboundyesterday 21:34 · cleared after 1 h
• M1 crash J45 northboundyesterday 19:23 · cleared after 57 min
• M1 stopped traffic J10–J11 northboundyesterday 16:25 · cleared after 2 h 3 min
• M1 crash J34–J33 southboundyesterday 16:20 · cleared after 2 h 51 min
• M1 crash J34–J33 southboundyesterday 13:49 · cleared after 11 min
• M1 crash J32 northboundyesterday 13:48 · cleared after 12 min
• M1 crash J22 northboundyesterday 11:42 · cleared after 57 min
• M1 crash J12–J11A southboundyesterday 10:04 · cleared after 2 h 40 min
• M1 crash J23A–J24 northboundyesterday 06:42 · cleared after 1 h 25 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M1 J20.

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