M40 stopped traffic J3–J4 northbound

Stopped traffic on the M40 northbound at J3–J4 on Monday 26 October 2026, from 17:20. Cleared at 19:23 after 2 h 3 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs and TomTom.

Status

Cleared 19:23 on 26 Oct 2026, after 2 h 3 min

Location

M40 northbound · J3–J4

Reported as

Obstruction or hazard

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~50 min

Sources

Motorway signs ×2 · TomTom

Timeline

1. Mon 17:20 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF PEDESTRIANS”
2. Mon 18:01 Motorway signs: “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN”
3. Mon 18:03 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF PEDESTRIANS”
4. Mon 18:03 All clear: no source reports it any more
5. Mon 18:04 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~9 min
6. Mon 18:09 TomTom: delay now ~22 min (was ~9)
7. Mon 18:18 TomTom: delay now ~34 min (was ~26)
8. Mon 19:04 Motorway signs no longer show “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN”
9. Mon 19:17 TomTom: delay now ~19 min (was ~33)
10. Mon 19:23 TomTom no longer reports it
11. Mon 19:23 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF PEDESTRIANS” (3 signs; furthest along: M40 northbound between J3 and J4).
• Stationary traffic
• Overhead signs read “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M40 southbound between J5 and J4).

Other recent incidents on the M40

• M40 reported crash J11–J10 southboundSun 18:49 · cleared after 1 h 27 min
• M40 reported crash J11 northboundSun 18:10 · cleared after 1 h 5 min
• M40 crash J5–J4 southboundSun 16:07 · cleared after 3 h 9 min
• M40 reported crash J11–J10 southboundSat 13:31 · cleared after 38 min
• M40 reported crash J11 northboundFri 18:07 · cleared after 56 min
• M40 crash J5–J4 southboundFri 15:40 · cleared after 3 h 6 min
• M40 crash J11 northboundFri 14:20 · cleared after 2 h 55 min
• M40 reported crash J11 northbound27 Oct 2026 08:42 · cleared after 11 h 39 min
• M40 crash J5–J427 Oct 2026 07:44 · cleared after 1 h 19 min
• M40 reported crash J1A–J2 northbound26 Oct 2026 08:19 · cleared after 42 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M40 J3 and M40 J4.

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