M1 crash J40–J39 southbound

Crash on the M1 southbound at J40–J39 on Thursday 5 November 2026, from 15:48. Still reported at 17:55 UK time. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs, TomTom and National Highways.

Status

Live since 15:48 (2 h 7 min)

Location

M1 southbound · J40–J39

Reported as

Collision

Delay

~6 min

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~49 min

Sources

Motorway signs ×3 · TomTom ×4 · National Highways ×4

Timeline

1. 15:48 Motorway signs: “INCIDENT [HCA2]”
2. 16:16 Motorway signs: “COLLISION”
3. 16:19 National Highways: 1 of 4 lanes closed
4. 16:29 TomTom: collision, “Stationary traffic, Accident”, delay ~9 min
5. 16:33 TomTom: delay now ~14 min (was ~9)
6. 16:38 TomTom: “Queuing traffic, Accident”
7. 16:39 Motorway signs no longer show “INCIDENT [HCA2]”
8. 16:43 National Highways: 1 of 4 lanes closed
9. 16:46 Motorway signs: “M1 J40-J39 COLLISION”
10. 16:52 TomTom: delay now ~25 min (was ~18), “Stationary traffic, Accident”
11. 17:06 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”
12. 17:28 National Highways: 2 of 4 lanes closed (was 1)
13. 17:36 National Highways: lane closure lifted
14. 17:38 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~21 min
15. 17:39 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION”
16. 17:39 Motorway signs no longer show “M1 J40-J39 COLLISION”
17. 17:42 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~13 min
18. 17:47 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
19. 17:51 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~6 min

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “INCIDENT [HCA2]” (2 signs; furthest along: M1 J39 northbound exit).
• Stationary traffic
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION” (2 signs; furthest along: M1 southbound between J40 and J39).
• M1 southbound between J40 and J39
• Overhead signs read “M1 J40-J39 COLLISION” (3 signs; e.g. M1 southbound between J41 and J40). Marker placed near M1 J40–J39 using the signs there, so it is approximate.
• Queuing traffic

Other recent incidents on the M1

• M1 crash J4–J516:07 · Live
• M1 crash J27–J28 northbound16:01 · Live
• M1 crash J15–J15A northbound10:18 · cleared after 1 h 20 min
• M1 stopped traffic J12 northbound09:37 · cleared after 4 h 31 min
• M1 crash J30 northbound06:26 · cleared after 1 h 41 min
• M1 crash J8–J9 northboundyesterday 17:05 · cleared after 3 h 26 min
• M1 reported crash J5 southboundyesterday 16:35 · cleared after 58 min
• M1 reported crash J23A northboundyesterday 16:27 · cleared after 36 min
• M1 closed J4–J2 southboundyesterday 07:20 · cleared after 2 h 16 min
• M1 delays J11–J10yesterday 06:10 · cleared after 2 h 58 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M1 J40 and M1 J39.

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