M6 crash J1–J2 northbound

Crash on the M6 northbound at J1–J2 on Friday 16 October 2026, from 15:34. Still reported at 17:51 UK time. Timeline of reports from TomTom, the motorway signs and National Highways.

Status

Live since 15:34 (2 h 17 min)

Location

M6 northbound · J1–J2

Reported as

Collision

Delay

~5 min

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~26 min

Sources

TomTom ×3 · Motorway signs ×2 · National Highways ×2

Timeline

1. 15:34 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~5 min
2. 15:39 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
3. 15:43 TomTom: delay now ~13 min (was ~8)
4. 15:57 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~5 min
5. 16:02 TomTom: delay now ~21 min (was ~13)
6. 16:08 Motorway signs: “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
7. 16:11 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
8. 16:15 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
9. 16:15 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~13 min
10. 16:16 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE”
11. 16:17 National Highways: 1 of 4 lanes closed
12. 16:29 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
13. 16:38 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~7 min (reported again)
14. 16:43 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
15. 16:53 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION SLOW DOWN”
16. 17:20 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
17. 17:23 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE”
18. 17:30 National Highways: lane closure lifted
19. 17:43 TomTom: “Slow traffic”

Source reports

• Slow traffic
• Queuing traffic
• Stationary traffic
• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE” (3 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J2 and J3).
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION SLOW DOWN” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J1 and J2).
• M6 northbound between J2 and J3

Other recent incidents on the M6

• M6 crash J12–J13 northbound13:44 · cleared after 2 h 9 min
• M6 crash J19–J18 southbound13:28 · cleared after 1 h 45 min
• M6 crash J25–J26 northbound13:20 · cleared after 1 h 2 min
• M6 crash J17–J16 southbound12:34 · Live
• M6 stopped traffic J20A southbound10:14 · Live
• M6 reported crash J30–J31 northbound09:45 · cleared after 36 min
• M6 crash J806:53 · cleared after 2 h 17 min
• M6 crash J23 northboundyesterday 20:37 · cleared after 1 h 13 min
• M6 stopped traffic J20Ayesterday 13:49 · cleared after 4 h 54 min
• M6 crash J5–J4A southboundyesterday 13:03 · cleared after 1 h 51 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.