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CrashStats

M1 accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 40,463 collisions on the M1 from 1979 to 2025, with 68,227 casualties. Of those crashes, 939 were fatal and 5,898 serious, and 1,133 people were killed.

In 2025 there were 360 collisions on the M1, down 1% from 364 in 2024, with 574 casualties.

Live M1 closures, incidents and roadworks are checked every 5 minutes.

Collisions since 1979
40,463
9th highest of 4,923 roads
Casualties
68,227
1.69 per collision
Fatal collisions
939
1,133 people killed
Serious collisions
5,898
8,232 seriously injured
Collisions in 2025
360
Down 1% on 2024
Casualties in 2025
574
Level with 2024

Crash severity on the M1

On the M1, 2.3% of collisions were fatal and 15% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by severity, 1979 to 2025

  • Fatal9392.3%
  • Serious5,89815%
  • Slight33,62683%

Where the M1 ranks among 4,923 roads

Most collisions
9th
Most casualties
3rd
Most fatal collisions
7th
Most serious collisions
10th

M1 accidents by year

Collisions on the M1 peaked at 1,484 in 2000 and were down to 360 in 2025.

Collisions and casualties on the M1, 1979 to 2025

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 360
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
2025360574
2024364575
2023393622
2022399614
2021413668
2020289449
2019432729
2018461743
2017528892
2016597990
20156421,069
20146581,129
20136651,097
20127061,178
20116591,091
20108551,355
20098411,381
20089171,509
20071,0771,850
20061,1461,884
20051,3332,356
20041,3512,336
20031,4032,405
20021,4302,371
20011,3562,307
20001,4842,533
19991,3312,304
19981,2121,971
19971,1742,013
19961,0871,822
19959761,653
19949411,552
19939501,613
19928651,469
19918841,552
19901,0211,674
19899681,646
19889551,510
19879141,613
19868631,473
19858261,457
19847991,350
19837341,274
19828101,364
19818011,370
19807931,375
19798001,465

When crashes happen on the M1

Friday has the most collisions on the M1 (7,469), and 3pm to 6pm is the busiest time of day (8,441).

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday5,623 (14%)
  • Tuesday5,186 (13%)
  • Wednesday5,353 (13%)
  • Thursday5,584 (14%)
  • Friday7,469 (18%)
  • Saturday5,488 (14%)
  • Sunday5,760 (14%)

Collisions by time of day

  • Midnight to 3am2,097 (5.2%)
  • 3am to 6am2,213 (5.5%)
  • 6am to 9am5,413 (13%)
  • 9am to noon6,586 (16%)
  • Noon to 3pm7,108 (18%)
  • 3pm to 6pm8,441 (21%)
  • 6pm to 9pm5,749 (14%)
  • 9pm to midnight2,856 (7.1%)

Collisions by month

  • January3,032 (7.5%)
  • February2,876 (7.1%)
  • March3,099 (7.7%)
  • April2,938 (7.3%)
  • May3,080 (7.6%)
  • June3,217 (8%)
  • July3,701 (9.1%)
  • August3,645 (9%)
  • September3,462 (8.6%)
  • October3,778 (9.3%)
  • November3,864 (9.5%)
  • December3,771 (9.3%)

Light conditions at the time

  • Daylight27,868 (69%)
  • Dark, street lights lit7,601 (19%)
  • Dark, no street lighting4,410 (11%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown414 (1%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit168 (0.4%)
  • Not recorded2 (under 0.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Road and weather conditions in M1 crashes

On the M1, 95% of collisions happened where the speed limit was 70 mph and 67% on a dry road surface.

Speed limit at the scene

  • 10 mph5 (under 0.1%)
  • 15 mph1 (under 0.1%)
  • 20 mph7 (under 0.1%)
  • 30 mph301 (0.7%)
  • 40 mph224 (0.6%)
  • 50 mph784 (1.9%)
  • 60 mph564 (1.4%)
  • 70 mph38,577 (95%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds31,426 (78%)
  • Raining, no high winds5,501 (14%)
  • Fine with high winds798 (2%)
  • Raining with high winds736 (1.8%)
  • Other1,560 (3.9%)
  • Not recorded442 (1.1%)

Road surface

  • Dry26,989 (67%)
  • Wet or damp12,668 (31%)
  • Frost or ice317 (0.8%)
  • Snow273 (0.7%)
  • Other121 (0.3%)
  • Not recorded95 (0.2%)

Type of road

  • Dual carriageway36,725 (91%)
  • One way street or slip road1,773 (4.4%)
  • Roundabout1,400 (3.5%)
  • Single carriageway494 (1.2%)
  • Not recorded71 (0.2%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

People hurt and vehicles involved in M1 crashes

Car occupants make up 81% of the people killed or injured on the M1, followed by van occupants (6.1%).

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant55,282 (81%)
  • Van occupant4,172 (6.1%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)3,778 (5.5%)
  • Motorcyclist2,043 (3%)
  • Minibus occupant1,095 (1.6%)
  • Bus or coach occupant907 (1.3%)
  • Other948 (1.4%)
  • Not recorded2 (under 0.1%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car70,152 (74%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes14,456 (15%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes6,462 (6.8%)
  • Motorcycle1,909 (2%)
  • Bus or coach612 (0.6%)
  • Other vehicle571 (0.6%)
  • Other1,030 (1.1%)
  • Not recorded33 (under 0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 51,383 (2%)
  • 6 to 101,568 (2.3%)
  • 11 to 151,635 (2.4%)
  • 16 to 206,421 (9.4%)
  • 21 to 2510,503 (15%)
  • 26 to 3517,553 (26%)
  • 36 to 4512,013 (18%)
  • 46 to 558,613 (13%)
  • 56 to 654,885 (7.2%)
  • 66 to 752,050 (3%)
  • Over 75771 (1.1%)
  • Not recorded832 (1.2%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider40,234 (59%)
  • Passenger27,496 (40%)
  • Pedestrian497 (0.7%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes on the M1

Map of the 25 most recent crashes on the M1

Use the arrow keys to move the map and the plus and minus keys to zoom.

  • 25 crashes
  • Fatal
  • Serious
  • Slight

M1 crashes by council area

Collisions on the M1 were recorded in 27 council areas. St Albans has the most, with 5,088, followed by West Northamptonshire (4,738) and Central Bedfordshire (4,309).

Collisions on the M1 in each area, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stSt Albans5,0888,97757723
2ndWest Northamptonshire4,7388,1541641,275
3rdCentral Bedfordshire4,3097,39995582
4thBolsover2,6954,77949290
5thMilton Keynes2,1833,85773278
6thRotherham2,0823,41744240
7thBarnet1,7192,49226223
8thDacorum1,5542,96422209
9thLeeds1,5402,45431214
10thNorth West Leicestershire1,4322,32543158
11thBroxtowe1,2812,03020213
12thBarnsley1,2702,10735155
13thBlaby1,2271,87628129
14thHarborough1,0231,71348146
15thWakefield1,0131,63232131
16thHertsmere1,0061,64929147
17thSheffield9771,67620106
18thNorth East Derbyshire8931,4731792
19thErewash7861,2312295
20thHinckley and Bosworth7581,30020104
21stLuton7101,1181068
22ndAshfield6731,0169102
23rdCharnwood4948731758
24thChesterfield351615635
25thThree Rivers3215121155
26thWatford218399944
27thNottingham213506

M1 crashes by town

Collisions on the M1 were recorded in 26 towns and built-up areas, led by Barnet (747) and Luton (621).

Recent crashes on the M1

These are the 25 most recent collisions on the M1, from 1 December to 31 December 2025.

Severity