M40 crash J5–J4 southbound

Crash on the M40 southbound at J5–J4 on Sunday 18 October 2026, from 15:32. Cleared at 18:00 after 2 h 27 min. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Cleared 18:00 on 18 Oct 2026, after 2 h 27 min

Location

M40 southbound · J5–J4

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Delay ~18 min

Sources

TomTom · Motorway signs

Timeline

1. 15:32 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min
2. 15:42 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
3. 16:18 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
4. 16:32 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
5. 16:35 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF COLLISION”
6. 16:37 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
7. 17:31 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
8. 17:36 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF COLLISION”
9. 17:45 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
10. 17:50 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
11. 18:00 TomTom no longer reports it
12. 18:00 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Queuing traffic
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF COLLISION” (1 sign; furthest along: M40 southbound between J5 and J4).

Other recent incidents on the M40

• M40 reported crash J3–J4 northboundFri 10:04 · cleared after 47 min
• M40 reported crash J3A northboundFri 08:11 · cleared after 39 min
• M40 crash J16–J15Thu 18:58 · cleared after 18 min
• M40 crash J10–J9 southboundThu 06:03 · cleared after 2 h 47 min
• M40 reported crash J3A northboundWed 07:27 · cleared after 37 min
• M40 crash J2–J1A southbound12 Oct 2026 07:09 · cleared after 1 h 17 min
• M40 crash J9–J10 northbound11 Oct 2026 15:26 · cleared after 1 h 59 min
• M40 crash J5–J4 southbound8 Oct 2026 05:49 · cleared after 1 h 35 min
• M40 crash J3–J4 northbound8 Oct 2026 05:49 · cleared after 1 h 35 min
• M40 crash J5–J4 southbound5 Oct 2026 15:44 · cleared after 40 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.