M6 crash J3–J3A northbound

Crash on the M6 northbound at J3–J3A on Thursday 15 October 2026, from 06:50. Still reported at 11:38 UK time. Timeline of reports from TomTom, the motorway signs and National Highways.

Status

Live since 06:50 (4 h 47 min)

Location

M6 northbound · J3–J3A

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Delay ~13 min

Sources

TomTom ×9 · Motorway signs ×3 · National Highways ×4

Timeline

1. 06:50 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~9 min
2. 07:18 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~6 min
3. 07:18 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min
4. 07:27 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~3 min (reported again)
5. 07:36 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~5 min (reported again)
6. 07:36 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~6 min
7. 07:50 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~9 min
8. 07:54 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min
9. 07:59 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~3 min
10. 08:03 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
11. 08:08 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min
12. 08:13 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~5 min (reported again)
13. 08:17 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
14. 08:17 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
15. 08:26 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
16. 08:36 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
17. 08:40 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
18. 08:49 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
19. 08:54 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
20. 09:03 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
21. 09:16 Motorway signs: “COLLISION”
22. 09:28 National Highways: 1 of 4 lanes closed
23. 09:52 National Highways: 1 of 4 lanes closed
24. 10:07 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
25. 10:12 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE”
26. 10:13 Motorway signs no longer show “COLLISION”
27. 10:15 National Highways: 2 of 4 lanes closed
28. 10:30 TomTom: now says broken-down vehicle, “traffic, Broken down vehicle”
29. 10:44 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”
30. 10:48 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
31. 10:53 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
32. 11:02 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~8 min
33. 11:07 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION”
34. 11:13 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE”
35. 11:22 National Highways: lane closure lifted
36. 11:31 TomTom no longer reports it

Source reports

• Slow traffic
• Queuing traffic
• Overhead signs read “COLLISION” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J3 and J3A).
• M6 northbound between J3 and J3A
• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE” (2 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J3 and J3A).
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION” (1 sign; furthest along: M6 northbound between J3 and J3A).

Other recent incidents on the M6

• M6 reported crash J14–J15 northbound09:53 · cleared after 51 min
• M6 crash J41–J40 southbound09:04 · cleared after 39 min
• M6 crash J32 southbound06:26 · Live
• M6 reported crash J21 southboundyesterday 18:56 · cleared after 44 min
• M6 crash J19–J18 southboundyesterday 13:55 · cleared after 1 h 2 min
• M6 stopped traffic J6–J7yesterday 13:21 · cleared after 6 h 1 min
• M6 reported crash J32 southboundyesterday 12:48 · cleared after 47 min
• M6 reported crash J19–J20 northboundyesterday 09:50 · cleared after 43 min
• M6 stopped traffic J8–J9 northboundyesterday 05:31 · cleared after 5 h 2 min
• M6 closed J21A northboundTue 21:55 · cleared after 7 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.