M4 crash J18 eastbound

Crash on the M4 eastbound at J18 on Monday 9 November 2026, from 12:42. Still reported at 17:50 UK time. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs and TomTom.

Status

Live since 12:42 (5 h 8 min)

Location

M4 eastbound · J18

Reported as

Collision

Delay

~37 min

At its worst

Road closed · stationary traffic · delay ~104 min

Sources

Motorway signs ×3 · TomTom ×10

Timeline

1. 12:42 Motorway signs: “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
2. 13:03 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire”, delay ~22 min
3. 13:03 TomTom: road closed
4. 13:08 TomTom: delay now ~29 min (was ~22)
5. 13:35 TomTom: delay now ~35 min (was ~63)
6. 13:45 TomTom: delay now ~41 min (was ~30)
7. 13:49 TomTom: delay now ~57 min (was ~41)
8. 13:49 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~6 min
9. 14:17 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~9 min
10. 14:21 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~5 min
11. 14:21 TomTom: delay now ~41 min (was ~9)
12. 14:26 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
13. 14:31 TomTom: now says collision, delay now ~18 min (was ~9), “Stationary traffic, Incident”
14. 14:35 TomTom: delay now ~22 min (was ~34)
15. 14:44 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~14 min (reported again)
16. 14:49 TomTom: delay now ~22 min (was ~14)
17. 15:07 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic, Narrow lanes”, delay ~89 min
18. 15:12 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire”, delay ~104 min
19. 15:21 TomTom: delay now ~15 min (was ~24)
20. 15:25 TomTom: delay now ~22 min (was ~15)
21. 15:30 TomTom: delay now ~33 min (was ~22)
22. 15:30 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire”, delay ~21 min (reported again)
23. 15:44 TomTom: delay now ~30 min (was ~23)
24. 15:46 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF COLLISION”
25. 16:11 TomTom: delay now ~54 min (was ~38)
26. 16:11 TomTom: delay now ~36 min (was ~27)
27. 16:20 TomTom: delay now ~45 min (was ~28)
28. 16:33 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF COLLISION”
29. 16:43 TomTom: delay now ~44 min (was ~32)
30. 16:52 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~34 min
31. 16:57 TomTom: delay now ~14 min (was ~34)
32. 17:06 TomTom: delay now ~6 min (was ~14), “Slow traffic”
33. 17:09 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
34. 17:20 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
35. 17:20 TomTom: broken-down vehicle, “Broken down vehicle”
36. 17:29 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire”, delay ~12 min
37. 17:33 TomTom: delay now ~20 min (was ~12)
38. 17:43 TomTom: broken-down vehicle, “Queuing traffic, Broken down vehicle, Narrow lanes”, delay ~8 min (reported again)

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M4 eastbound between J18 and J17).
• Stationary traffic, Vehicle fire
• Closed
• Stationary traffic
• Stationary traffic, Narrow lanes
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF COLLISION” (4 signs; furthest along: M4 eastbound within J18).
• Queuing traffic, Broken down vehicle, Narrow lanes
• Broken down vehicle
• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW” (2 signs; furthest along: M4 eastbound between J18 and J17).

Other recent incidents on the M4

• M4 crash J25 westbound08:30 · cleared after 42 min
• M4 crash Eastbound05:51 · cleared after 16 min
• M4 crash Eastbound05:37 · cleared after 20 min
• M4 crash J4 westboundyesterday 22:30 · cleared after 4 h 38 min
• M4 crash J32 eastboundyesterday 20:37 · cleared after 4 h 15 min
• M4 reported crash J3–J2 eastboundyesterday 16:34 · cleared after 1 h 24 min
• M4 crash J3–J2 eastboundSat 02:33 · cleared after 45 min
• M4 closed J18–J17Fri 22:43 · cleared after 3 h 3 min
• M4 stopped traffic J18–J17Fri 21:39 · cleared after 23 min
• M4 crash J6–J5 eastboundFri 16:50 · cleared after 25 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M4 J18.

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