M42 crash J4–J5 southbound

Crash on the M42 southbound at J4–J5 on Friday 25 September 2026, from 13:17. Cleared at 18:10 after 4 h 53 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs and TomTom.

Status

Cleared 18:10 on 25 Sept 2026, after 4 h 53 min

Location

M42 southbound · J4–J5

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Delay ~7 min

Sources

Motorway signs · TomTom ×2

Timeline

1. Fri 13:17 Motorway signs: “DEBRIS IN ROAD - SLOW”
2. Fri 13:53 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min
3. Fri 14:11 Motorway signs no longer show “DEBRIS IN ROAD - SLOW”
4. Fri 14:20 TomTom no longer reports it
5. Fri 14:20 All clear: no source reports it any more
6. Fri 14:23 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~7 min
7. Fri 14:23 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~5 min (reported again)
8. Fri 14:28 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
9. Fri 14:32 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
10. Fri 14:41 TomTom: now says collision, “Slow traffic, Accident”
11. Fri 15:02 TomTom: “Heavy traffic, Accident”
12. Fri 16:13 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
13. Fri 16:17 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
14. Fri 17:05 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
15. Fri 17:09 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
16. Fri 17:22 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
17. Fri 17:27 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
18. Fri 17:44 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
19. Fri 17:48 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
20. Fri 18:10 TomTom no longer reports it
21. Fri 18:10 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “DEBRIS IN ROAD - SLOW” (2 signs; furthest along: M42 southbound between J3A and J3).
• Slow traffic
• Heavy traffic, Accident

Other recent incidents on the M42

• M42 crash J4–J504:39 · cleared after 19 min
• M42 crash J5–J6 northboundMon 15:20 · cleared after 2 h 45 min
• M42 stopped traffic J10–J9 southboundMon 06:33 · cleared after 3 h 8 min
• M42 reported crash J3A–J3 southboundFri 17:58 · cleared after 47 min
• M42 stopped traffic J10–J9 southboundThu 15:56 · cleared after 1 h 5 min
• M42 reported crash J10 northbound4 Nov 2026 17:07 · cleared after 56 min
• M42 reported crash J10–J11 northbound4 Nov 2026 15:08 · cleared after 55 min
• M42 crash J3A northbound3 Nov 2026 16:21 · cleared after 3 h 6 min
• M42 crash J2–J3 northbound3 Nov 2026 07:17 · cleared after 2 h 8 min
• M42 reported crash J7A–J7 southbound3 Nov 2026 06:42 · cleared after 42 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M42 J4 and M42 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.