M6 crash J18–J17 southbound

Crash on the M6 southbound at J18–J17 on Friday 23 October 2026, from 16:54. Cleared at 19:35 after 2 h 41 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs, TomTom and National Highways.

Status

Cleared 19:35 on 23 Oct 2026, after 2 h 41 min

Location

M6 southbound · J18–J17

Reported as

Collision

Lanes

1 of 3 lanes closed

Sources

Motorway signs ×3 · TomTom ×2 · National Highways ×4

Timeline

1. 16:54 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE”
2. 16:54 National Highways: 1 of 3 lanes closed
3. 17:09 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~5 min
4. 17:18 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
5. 17:50 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF COLLISION”
6. 17:57 National Highways: lane closure lifted
7. 18:03 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~9 min
8. 18:04 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE”
9. 18:08 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
10. 18:14 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE”
11. 18:16 National Highways: 1 of 3 lanes closed
12. 18:17 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
13. 18:34 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF COLLISION”
14. 18:44 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
15. 18:52 National Highways: 1 of 3 lanes closed
16. 18:58 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
17. 19:04 TomTom no longer reports it
18. 19:29 National Highways: lane closure lifted
19. 19:35 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE”
20. 19:35 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 southbound between J18 and J17).
• Queuing traffic
• M6 southbound between J18 and J17
• Slow traffic
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF COLLISION” (8 signs; furthest along: M6 southbound between J18 and J17).
• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 southbound between J19 and J18).
• M6 southbound between J19 and J18

Other recent incidents on the M6

• M6 crash J1–J2 northbound16:14 · cleared after 1 h 33 min
• M6 stopped traffic J27 southbound15:04 · cleared after 4 h 1 min
• M6 stopped traffic J18–J19 northbound13:46 · cleared after 5 h 48 min
• M6 reported crash J11A–J12 northbound13:16 · cleared after 2 h 18 min
• M6 crash J13–J14 northbound12:37 · cleared after 1 h 44 min
• M6 crash J15–J16 southbound11:57 · cleared after 4 h 42 min
• M6 crash J20 northbound11:20 · cleared after 6 h 24 min
• M6 crash J7 northbound09:49 · Live
• M6 stopped traffic J11–J10A southbound06:44 · cleared after 3 h
• M6 stopped traffic J5–J605:28 · cleared after 2 h 17 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.