M1 crash J43–J42 southbound

Crash on the M1 southbound at J43–J42 on Thursday 15 October 2026, from 15:55. Still reported at 17:40 UK time. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Live since 15:55 (1 h 45 min)

Location

M1 southbound · J43–J42

Reported as

Collision

Delay

~7 min

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~54 min

Sources

TomTom ×2 · Motorway signs ×2

Timeline

1. 15:55 Motorway signs: “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
2. 15:58 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~8 min
3. 16:07 TomTom: delay now ~24 min (was ~8)
4. 16:12 TomTom: delay now ~54 min (was ~24)
5. 16:16 TomTom: delay now ~37 min (was ~54)
6. 16:20 Motorway signs: “M1 J43 & 42 COLLISION”
7. 16:21 TomTom: now says collision, delay now ~20 min (was ~37), “Stationary traffic, Accident”
8. 16:30 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”
9. 16:34 TomTom: now says collision, “Stationary traffic, Accident”
10. 16:44 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”
11. 16:48 TomTom: now says collision, “Stationary traffic, Accident”
12. 16:53 TomTom: delay now ~24 min (was ~18)
13. 17:07 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”
14. 17:16 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
15. 17:16 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
16. 17:16 Motorway signs no longer show “M1 J43 & 42 COLLISION”
17. 17:25 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~9 min

Source reports

• Queuing traffic
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION SLOW DOWN” (2 signs; furthest along: M1 southbound between J43 and J42).
• Signs on the M621 eastbound read “M1 J43 & 42 COLLISION” (1 sign; e.g. M621 eastbound between J6 and J7). The marker shows where the signs are, not the M1 itself.
• Slow traffic

Other recent incidents on the M1

• M1 crash J35–J35A northbound15:45 · Live
• M1 crash J20–J21 northbound15:00 · cleared after 1 h 49 min
• 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.