M1 crash J5 southbound

Crash on the M1 southbound at J5 on Saturday 24 October 2026, from 16:42. Cleared at 18:29 after 1 h 47 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs and TomTom.

Status

Cleared 18:29 on 24 Oct 2026, after 1 h 47 min

Location

M1 southbound · J5

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~40 min

Sources

Motorway signs · TomTom

Timeline

1. Sat 16:42 Motorway signs: “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
2. Sat 17:22 TomTom: collision, “Stationary traffic, Accident”, delay ~40 min
3. Sat 17:26 TomTom: delay now ~22 min (was ~40)
4. Sat 17:35 TomTom no longer reports it
5. Sat 18:03 TomTom: collision, “Stationary traffic, Accident”, delay ~8 min (reported again)
6. Sat 18:07 TomTom: “Queuing traffic, Accident”
7. Sat 18:12 TomTom no longer reports it
8. Sat 18:17 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min (reported again)
9. Sat 18:21 TomTom no longer reports it
10. Sat 18:29 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
11. Sat 18:29 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “COLLISION SLOW DOWN” (2 signs; furthest along: M1 J5 southbound exit).
• Slow traffic

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 J5.

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