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M40
🔵 Motorway

M40 Traffic News

M40 Motorway · London (M25 J16) → Birmingham (M42)
Clear ⏱ Updated 20:05

M40 traffic at 20:05 on Sunday 18 October: no major incidents reported — live National Highways updates every 5 minutes, 24/7.

🚨 0 incidents 🚧 0 roadworks · 8 soon
87 miles long
Junctions J1–J16
Regions: London, South East, West Midlands
Home › Traffic › Roads › M40

🚨 Live M40 Incidents & Roadworks

Updates every 5 min
Share M40 status: 💬 📘 X
No live incidents on the M40 right now — checking National Highways every 5 minutes, 24/7. Closures are listed below.

🌙 M40 closures tonight and the next 3 days 8

From National Highways' closure report, in their words. Times can change - check before you set off.

  • Full closure
    Northbound M40 Northbound Jct 8a to Jct 9 carriageway closure
    Tomorrow night · 22:15–06:00
    Diversion: diversion route for maintenance works. Diversion via National Highways network and local authority roads.
  • Full closure
    Northbound M40 Northbound, Jct 11 to Jct 12 carriageway closure
    Tue 20 Oct · 22:15–06:00
    Diversion: diversion route for maintenance work Diversion via National Highways network and local authority road
  • Partial closure
    Northbound M40 northbound, Jct 3 exit slip road closure
    Tomorrow night · 22:15–06:00
    Diversion: diversion route for maintenance work Diversion via National Highways network and local authority road
  • Partial closure
    Northbound M40 northbound, Jct 6 entry slip road closure
    Tomorrow night · 22:15–06:00
    Diversion: diversion route for communication works. Diversion via National Highways network.
  • Partial closure
    Northbound M40 Northbound Jct 8a entry slip road closure
    Tomorrow night · 22:15–06:00
    Diversion: diversion route for maintenance works. Diversion via National Highways network and local authority roads.
  • Partial closure
    Northbound M40 Northbound Jct 9 exit slip road closure
    Tomorrow night · 22:15–06:00
    Diversion: diversion route for maintenance works. Diversion via National Highways network and local authority roads.
Show all 8 closures
  • Partial closure
    Northbound M40 Northbound, Jct 11 Entry slip road closure
    Tue 20 Oct · 22:15–06:00
    Diversion: diversion route for maintenance work Diversion via National Highways network and local authority road
  • Partial closure
    Northbound M40 Northbound, Jct 12 exit slip road closure
    Tue 20 Oct · 22:15–06:00
    Diversion: diversion route for maintenance work Diversion via National Highways network and local authority road
All M40 roadworks & diversions →
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🗺️ M40 Traffic Map — Where It's Happening

Tap a pin for full incident detail. Live positions from National Highways.

🔢 M40 Junction Status

Tap a junction for its page

🟢 Clear · 🟡 Delays nearby · 🔴 Severe/Crash · Status labels: 💥 CRASH · ❌ CLOSED · 🐌 SLOW · 🚧 WORKS · ⚠️ HAZARD

A red or orange junction border marks a STATS19 collision blackspot. Tap any junction for its own page — live incidents and full collision history. Tap the funnel to filter the list above.

📊 How busy is the M40?

The M40 carries up to 136,403 vehicles a day at its busiest stretch (J1A–J2), including 8,242 HGVs — the 14th busiest motorway in Britain. Official Department for Transport counts, 2025.

136,403
🚗 vehicles a day · J1A–J2
8,242
🚛 lorries a day
2025
📅 DfT count year
6% HGVs
share of traffic on the busiest stretch
Busiest stretch of each motorway — vehicles a day
M25 212,636
M6 187,521
M56 179,634
M1 162,446
M8 158,065
M4 156,491
M40 136,403
View as table
RoadBusiest stretchVehicles/dayHGVs/dayHGV share
M25 near J14 212,636 14,853 7%
M6 J20–J21 187,521 23,492 12.5%
M56 J3–J4 179,634 7,547 4.2%
M1 near J9 162,446 19,151 11.8%
M8 J16–J17 158,065 7,214 4.6%
M4 near J4 156,491 6,249 4%
M40 ◀ J1A–J2 136,403 8,242 6%
Source: Department for Transport road traffic statistics, average annual daily flows 2025. Official counts, updated yearly.

📈 M40 Journey Pulse — when incidents actually happen

Measured from 80 incidents recorded on the M40 since February 2026: the riskiest window is 12:00–15:00, when 25% of incidents start. Right now (20:00) you're outside the peak window.

View as table
HourIncidentsShare
00:00–01:00 5 6.3%
01:00–02:00 0 0%
02:00–03:00 1 1.3%
03:00–04:00 0 0%
04:00–05:00 0 0%
05:00–06:00 1 1.3%
06:00–07:00 4 5%
07:00–08:00 6 7.5%
08:00–09:00 5 6.3%
09:00–10:00 1 1.3%
10:00–11:00 6 7.5%
11:00–12:00 3 3.8%
12:00–13:00 ◀ peak 7 8.8%
13:00–14:00 ◀ peak 7 8.8%
14:00–15:00 ◀ peak 6 7.5%
15:00–16:00 3 3.8%
16:00–17:00 5 6.3%
17:00–18:00 2 2.5%
18:00–19:00 7 8.8%
19:00–20:00 1 1.3%
20:00–21:00 5 6.3%
21:00–22:00 3 3.8%
22:00–23:00 1 1.3%
23:00–00:00 1 1.3%
Measured from 80 incidents recorded by this site since February 2026 (planned roadworks excluded). Recomputed nightly from our incident archive.

🧭 Along the M40

🛍️J9
Bicester Village
Designer outlet — exit J9 onto the A41
🦅J5–J6
Stokenchurch Gap
47m chalk cutting famous for red kites
🎓J8
Oxford
Spur at J8 continues as the A40 into Oxford
🏰J15
Warwick Castle
Well signposted, under two miles from J15

📍 Heading to… off the M40

The places people drive to most, the M40 junction for each, and live M40 incidents nearby at 20:05.

Shopping

Bicester Village

Bicester, Oxfordshire
🛣️ M40 junction: J9
✅ No M40 incidents reported within 3 miles

Outlet village with about 150 boutiques, 3 miles from M40 J9

Heritage

Blenheim Palace

Woodstock, Oxfordshire
🛣️ M40 junction: J9
✅ No M40 incidents reported within 3 miles

Palace and park on the A44, eight miles north-west of Oxford

Attraction

British Motor Museum

Gaydon, Warwickshire
🛣️ M40 junction: J12
✅ No M40 incidents reported within 3 miles

Motor museum at Gaydon, five minutes from M40 junction 12 on the B4100

Events venue

NAEC Stoneleigh (Stoneleigh Park)

Stoneleigh, Warwickshire
🛣️ M40 junction: J15
✅ No M40 incidents reported within 3 miles

Event showground (Race Retro and more); signed via B4113 off the A46

Town centre

Oxford

Oxford, Oxfordshire
🛣️ Via the M40
✅ No M40 incidents reported within 3 miles

City centre with bus gates and traffic filters; large park and ride network

Motorsport

Silverstone Circuit

Silverstone, Northamptonshire
🛣️ Via the M40
✅ No M40 incidents reported within 3 miles

Capacity 175,000; A43 roadworks Towcester–Silverstone may add time

⚠️ Most Dangerous M40 Junctions

Based on DfT STATS19 police collision records. The M40 has 470 recorded collisions at 23 collision hotspots, involving 729 casualties (23 fatal). Take extra care here. Ranked by fatal, then serious collisions, then casualties - not by the number of collisions alone.

#1
J14
57 collisions · 85 casualties · 5 fatal · 13 serious
Severe Blackspot
#2
J1
31 collisions · 52 casualties · 3 fatal · 10 serious
Severe Blackspot
#3
J15
35 collisions · 58 casualties · 2 fatal · 5 serious
Severe Blackspot
#4
nr Warwick
20 collisions · 28 casualties · 2 fatal · 1 serious
Severe Blackspot
#5
nr Thame
12 collisions · 20 casualties · 2 fatal · 1 serious
Blackspot
#6
nr Bicester
42 collisions · 64 casualties · 1 fatal · 10 serious
Severe Blackspot
🔍 See the full M40 collision blackspot map →

🛒 Journey Essentials

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❓ M40 Traffic — Frequently Asked Questions

Is the M40 closed today?

Any M40 closure appears in the live feed above within minutes of National Highways reporting it, including tonight's overnight roadworks closures.

Is there traffic on the M40 today?

The live feed above shows every incident, delay, roadwork and overnight closure on the M40, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, from National Highways.

What is the worst time to use the M40?

The M40 is typically busiest during morning rush hour (07:00–09:30) and evening rush hour (16:30–19:30) on weekdays.

Are there roadworks on the M40 right now?

Roadworks and overnight closures on the M40 are listed above and at /traffic/m40/roadworks/, taken from the National Highways daily closure report.

What roads connect to the M40?

The M40 connects to: M25, A40, M42.

Is there an accident on the M40 northbound or southbound today?

Each side has its own live page: the M40 northbound (towards Birmingham) and the M40 southbound (towards High Wycombe) each list every accident, breakdown, closure and roadworks on that carriageway, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, from National Highways. The panel at the top of this page shows both sides at a glance.

How many vehicles use the M40 every day?

Official Department for Transport counts (2025) record 136,403 vehicles a day on the M40's busiest stretch (J1A–J2), 8,242 of them HGVs. The full breakdown and comparison chart are in the traffic statistics section above.

How busy is the M40 compared with other motorways?

The M40 has the 14th busiest motorway stretch in Britain at 136,403 vehicles a day (DfT 2025), behind the M25's 212,636 a day at the top.

What time of day is the M40 worst for incidents?

Measured from 80 incidents recorded on the M40 since February 2026, the riskiest window is 12:00–15:00, when 25% of incidents start. The quietest is 01:00–04:00. Incidents on the M40 typically clear in about 69 minutes.

📊 M40 Status Summary

0
Active incidents
0
Severe/serious
0
Roadworks
20:05
Last updated
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ℹ️ M40 Road Details

Length
87 miles
Junctions
J1–J16
From
London (M25 J16)
To
Birmingham (M42)
Type
Motorway
AM Rush
07:00–09:30
PM Rush
16:30–19:30

📍 Key M40 Locations

High Wycombe Oxford Banbury Warwick Coventry Birmingham

Junction

DfT STATS19 police collision records

0
Collisions
0
Fatal
0
Serious
0
Slight
🔍 Full blackspot map →
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🚛 Car recovery along the M40

Broken down on the M40? Pick the nearest town and call a local firm direct:

On a motorway? If you can, get onto the hard shoulder or into an emergency area, leave by the left-hand doors and wait behind the barrier. Stuck in a live lane: stay in the car with your seatbelt on and hazard lights on, and call 999.