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CrashStats

M6 accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 36,370 collisions on the M6 from 1979 to 2025, with 61,671 casualties. Of those crashes, 1,017 were fatal and 5,258 serious, and 1,237 people were killed.

In 2025 there were 402 collisions on the M6, up 7% from 377 in 2024, with 603 casualties.

Live M6 closures, incidents and roadworks are checked every 5 minutes.

Collisions since 1979
36,370
11th highest of 4,923 roads
Casualties
61,671
1.70 per collision
Fatal collisions
1,017
1,237 people killed
Serious collisions
5,258
7,357 seriously injured
Collisions in 2025
402
Up 7% on 2024
Casualties in 2025
603
Up 5% on 2024

Crash severity on the M6

On the M6, 2.8% of collisions were fatal and 14% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by severity, 1979 to 2025

  • Fatal1,0172.8%
  • Serious5,25814%
  • Slight30,09583%

Where the M6 ranks among 4,923 roads

Most collisions
11th
Most casualties
7th
Most fatal collisions
4th
Most serious collisions
15th

M6 accidents by year

Collisions on the M6 peaked at 1,270 in 1997 and were down to 402 in 2025.

Collisions and casualties on the M6, 1979 to 2025

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 402
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
2025402603
2024377574
2023331542
2022366573
2021347554
2020263408
2019393629
2018515814
2017524881
2016640993
20156851,116
20147151,182
20136961,171
20126381,072
20116701,173
20107931,314
20097281,234
20088611,465
20079161,489
20069611,627
20051,0171,654
20041,1221,869
20039931,646
20021,0581,672
20011,0741,799
20001,2522,208
19991,1791,973
19981,2472,126
19971,2702,275
19961,0501,854
19959401,659
19949871,796
19939661,572
19929371,623
19918721,485
19909321,654
19899291,539
19887531,252
19877671,422
19866881,278
19856311,196
19846951,201
19835921,067
19826281,059
19816231,024
19806691,220
19796781,134

When crashes happen on the M6

Friday has the most collisions on the M6 (6,814), and 3pm to 6pm is the busiest time of day (7,553).

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday5,315 (15%)
  • Tuesday4,575 (13%)
  • Wednesday4,757 (13%)
  • Thursday5,008 (14%)
  • Friday6,814 (19%)
  • Saturday5,002 (14%)
  • Sunday4,899 (13%)

Collisions by time of day

  • Midnight to 3am1,939 (5.3%)
  • 3am to 6am1,915 (5.3%)
  • 6am to 9am4,915 (14%)
  • 9am to noon6,182 (17%)
  • Noon to 3pm6,875 (19%)
  • 3pm to 6pm7,553 (21%)
  • 6pm to 9pm4,654 (13%)
  • 9pm to midnight2,337 (6.4%)

Collisions by month

  • January2,604 (7.2%)
  • February2,590 (7.1%)
  • March2,716 (7.5%)
  • April2,772 (7.6%)
  • May2,815 (7.7%)
  • June2,897 (8%)
  • July3,242 (8.9%)
  • August3,661 (10%)
  • September3,177 (8.7%)
  • October3,580 (9.8%)
  • November3,175 (8.7%)
  • December3,141 (8.6%)

Light conditions at the time

  • Daylight25,746 (71%)
  • Dark, no street lighting6,048 (17%)
  • Dark, street lights lit4,110 (11%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit257 (0.7%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown209 (0.6%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Road and weather conditions in M6 crashes

On the M6, 96% of collisions happened where the speed limit was 70 mph and 64% on a dry road surface.

Speed limit at the scene

  • 10 mph1 (under 0.1%)
  • 15 mph2 (under 0.1%)
  • 20 mph2 (under 0.1%)
  • 30 mph232 (0.6%)
  • 40 mph208 (0.6%)
  • 50 mph667 (1.8%)
  • 60 mph286 (0.8%)
  • 70 mph34,972 (96%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds27,120 (75%)
  • Raining, no high winds5,426 (15%)
  • Raining with high winds979 (2.7%)
  • Fine with high winds813 (2.2%)
  • Other1,636 (4.5%)
  • Not recorded396 (1.1%)

Road surface

  • Dry23,260 (64%)
  • Wet or damp12,102 (33%)
  • Frost or ice449 (1.2%)
  • Snow393 (1.1%)
  • Other110 (0.3%)
  • Not recorded56 (0.2%)

Type of road

  • Dual carriageway33,953 (93%)
  • One way street or slip road1,556 (4.3%)
  • Single carriageway420 (1.2%)
  • Roundabout333 (0.9%)
  • Not recorded108 (0.3%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

People hurt and vehicles involved in M6 crashes

Car occupants make up 79% of the people killed or injured on the M6, followed by occupants of goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes (6.9%).

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant48,781 (79%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)4,267 (6.9%)
  • Van occupant3,897 (6.3%)
  • Motorcyclist1,542 (2.5%)
  • Bus or coach occupant1,103 (1.8%)
  • Minibus occupant1,066 (1.7%)
  • Other1,014 (1.6%)
  • Not recorded1 (under 0.1%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car59,557 (71%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes15,245 (18%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes5,952 (7.1%)
  • Motorcycle1,385 (1.6%)
  • Other vehicle553 (0.7%)
  • Bus or coach501 (0.6%)
  • Other814 (1%)
  • Not recorded82 (0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 51,324 (2.1%)
  • 6 to 101,460 (2.4%)
  • 11 to 151,728 (2.8%)
  • 16 to 205,614 (9.1%)
  • 21 to 259,103 (15%)
  • 26 to 3514,562 (24%)
  • 36 to 4510,555 (17%)
  • 46 to 558,257 (13%)
  • 56 to 655,139 (8.3%)
  • 66 to 752,338 (3.8%)
  • Over 75949 (1.5%)
  • Not recorded642 (1%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider35,133 (57%)
  • Passenger26,034 (42%)
  • Pedestrian504 (0.8%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes on the M6

Map of the 25 most recent crashes on the M6

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

  • 25 crashes
  • Fatal
  • Serious
  • Slight

M6 crashes by council area

Collisions on the M6 were recorded in 27 council areas. Cheshire East has the most, with 5,079, followed by Stafford (3,043) and South Staffordshire (2,751).

Collisions on the M6 in each area, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stCheshire East5,0799,028102627
2ndStafford3,0435,19385302
3rdSouth Staffordshire2,7514,69360259
4thWestmorland and Furness2,5914,294125574
5thWarrington2,4094,05751265
6thWalsall2,2143,57043245
7thBirmingham2,1793,44929313
8thNorth Warwickshire1,6922,65245356
9thLancaster1,6572,91463336
10thNewcastle-under-Lyme1,5762,67650169
11thPreston1,4902,72033255
12thRugby1,2502,13957292
13thWigan1,1901,99542123
14thSouth Ribble1,1672,03831170
15thSandwell7991,23312105
16thCheshire West and Chester7331,2751594
17thWyre7221,29234153
18thChorley7101,33028131
19thCumberland59588331124
20thSolihull5589351481
21stSt. Helens4897691046
22ndNuneaton and Bedworth4357211576
23rdHarborough3175592539
24thCannock Chase216405328
25thWest Lancashire210384332
26thCoventry143218740
27thLichfield114185315

M6 crashes by town

Collisions on the M6 were recorded in 28 towns and built-up areas, led by Birmingham (1,456) and Preston, Preston (285).

Recent crashes on the M6

These are the 25 most recent collisions on the M6, from 10 December to 30 December 2025.

Severity