M1 crash J21–J20 southbound

Crash on the M1 southbound at J21–J20 on Sunday 1 November 2026, from 17:36. Cleared at 20:16 after 2 h 39 min. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Cleared 20:16 on 1 Nov 2026, after 2 h 39 min

Location

M1 southbound · J21–J20

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~135 min

Sources

TomTom ×3 · Motorway signs ×4

Timeline

1. Sun 17:36 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF COLLISION”
2. Sun 17:38 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~10 min
3. Sun 17:38 Motorway signs: “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
4. Sun 17:42 TomTom: delay now ~22 min (was ~10)
5. Sun 17:47 TomTom: delay now ~38 min (was ~22)
6. Sun 17:51 Motorway signs: “M1 J21-J20 COLLISION”
7. Sun 17:56 TomTom: delay now ~66 min (was ~44)
8. Sun 18:05 TomTom: now says collision, “Stationary traffic, Accident”
9. Sun 18:15 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF COLLISION”
10. Sun 18:19 TomTom: delay now ~132 min (was ~99)
11. Sun 18:33 TomTom: delay now ~86 min (was ~131)
12. Sun 18:38 TomTom: delay now ~40 min (was ~86)
13. Sun 18:42 TomTom: delay now ~66 min (was ~40)
14. Sun 18:55 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
15. Sun 19:10 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”
16. Sun 19:16 Motorway signs no longer show “M1 J21-J20 COLLISION”
17. Sun 19:16 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
18. Sun 19:28 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~20 min
19. Sun 19:33 TomTom: broken-down vehicle, “Stationary traffic, Broken down vehicle”, delay ~21 min
20. Sun 20:00 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”
21. Sun 20:05 TomTom: delay now ~17 min (was ~26), “traffic, Hard shoulder closed”
22. Sun 20:09 TomTom no longer reports it
23. Sun 20:16 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
24. Sun 20:16 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Stationary traffic
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF COLLISION” (11 signs; furthest along: M1 southbound between J21 and J20).
• Overhead signs read “M1 J21-J20 COLLISION” (3 signs; e.g. M1 southbound between J21A and J21). Marker placed near M1 J21–J20 using the signs there, so it is approximate.
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION SLOW DOWN” (2 signs; furthest along: M1 southbound between J21 and J20).
• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW” (1 sign; furthest along: M1 southbound between J22 and J21A).
• Stationary traffic, Hard shoulder closed

Other recent incidents on the M1

• M1 crash J42–J43 northboundyesterday 22:32 · cleared after 1 h 21 min
• M1 crash J43–J42 southboundyesterday 20:39 · cleared after 1 h 44 min
• M1 crash J9–J10 northboundyesterday 19:33 · cleared after 49 min
• M1 crash J17–J16 southboundyesterday 15:34 · cleared after 47 min
• M1 crash J34 northboundyesterday 15:09 · cleared after 42 min
• M1 crash J22–J23 northboundyesterday 14:46 · cleared after 47 min
• M1 crash J20–J21 northboundyesterday 12:30 · cleared after 2 h 51 min
• M1 crash J37–J36 southboundyesterday 08:35 · cleared after 44 min
• M1 stopped traffic J32–J33 northboundyesterday 07:33 · cleared after 1 h 16 min
• M1 crash J8–J9 northboundyesterday 06:00 · cleared after 3 h 31 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M1 J21 and 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.