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CrashStats

M61 accidents: crash map and statistics

Police recorded 3,209 collisions on the M61 from 1979 to 2025, with 5,442 casualties. Of those crashes, 88 were fatal and 434 serious, and 107 people were killed.

In 2025 there were 41 collisions on the M61, down 23% from 53 in 2024, with 66 casualties.

Live M61 closures, incidents and roadworks are checked every 5 minutes.

Collisions since 1979
3,209
357th highest of 4,923 roads
Casualties
5,442
1.70 per collision
Fatal collisions
88
107 people killed
Serious collisions
434
564 seriously injured
Collisions in 2025
41
Down 23% on 2024
Casualties in 2025
66
Down 38% on 2024

Crash severity on the M61

On the M61, 2.7% of collisions were fatal and 14% serious, against 1.6% and 18% across Great Britain.

Collisions by severity, 1979 to 2025

  • Fatal882.7%
  • Serious43414%
  • Slight2,68784%

Where the M61 ranks among 4,923 roads

Most collisions
357th
Most casualties
273rd
Most fatal collisions
245th
Most serious collisions
492nd

M61 accidents by year

Collisions on the M61 peaked at 126 in 2001 and were down to 41 in 2025.

Collisions and casualties on the M61, 1979 to 2025

  • Collisions
  • Collisions in 2025: 41
  • Casualties

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

View as a table
YearCollisionsCasualties
20254166
202453106
20234886
20223861
20214685
20203258
201948101
20185887
20174684
20165182
20154783
20145393
20134170
20125488
201152108
201068121
200995140
200877130
200795145
2006122199
2005120199
2004125203
2003106175
2002107176
2001126209
200089149
1999114212
199895147
199798165
199673120
199572116
199488175
199369111
199283132
19915287
199073104
198965115
19883552
19874687
19864977
19854377
19844886
19834772
19826092
19814670
19805689
197959152

When crashes happen on the M61

Friday has the most collisions on the M61 (545), and 3pm to 6pm is the busiest time of day (596).

Collisions by day of the week

  • Monday504 (16%)
  • Tuesday458 (14%)
  • Wednesday415 (13%)
  • Thursday415 (13%)
  • Friday545 (17%)
  • Saturday497 (15%)
  • Sunday375 (12%)

Collisions by time of day

  • Midnight to 3am140 (4.4%)
  • 3am to 6am108 (3.4%)
  • 6am to 9am527 (16%)
  • 9am to noon572 (18%)
  • Noon to 3pm562 (18%)
  • 3pm to 6pm596 (19%)
  • 6pm to 9pm441 (14%)
  • 9pm to midnight263 (8.2%)

Collisions by month

  • January249 (7.8%)
  • February241 (7.5%)
  • March241 (7.5%)
  • April255 (7.9%)
  • May257 (8%)
  • June252 (7.9%)
  • July274 (8.5%)
  • August256 (8%)
  • September277 (8.6%)
  • October348 (11%)
  • November266 (8.3%)
  • December293 (9.1%)

Light conditions at the time

  • Daylight2,295 (72%)
  • Dark, no street lighting466 (15%)
  • Dark, street lights lit402 (13%)
  • Dark, street lights unlit32 (1%)
  • Dark, lighting unknown14 (0.4%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Road and weather conditions in M61 crashes

On the M61, 97% of collisions happened where the speed limit was 70 mph and 56% on a dry road surface.

Speed limit at the scene

  • 20 mph1 (under 0.1%)
  • 30 mph44 (1.4%)
  • 40 mph10 (0.3%)
  • 50 mph40 (1.2%)
  • 60 mph13 (0.4%)
  • 70 mph3,101 (97%)

Weather at the time

  • Fine, no high winds2,288 (71%)
  • Raining, no high winds556 (17%)
  • Raining with high winds106 (3.3%)
  • Fine with high winds64 (2%)
  • Other165 (5.1%)
  • Not recorded30 (0.9%)

Road surface

  • Dry1,799 (56%)
  • Wet or damp1,235 (38%)
  • Frost or ice91 (2.8%)
  • Snow53 (1.7%)
  • Other26 (0.8%)
  • Not recorded5 (0.2%)

Type of road

  • Dual carriageway2,791 (87%)
  • One way street or slip road195 (6.1%)
  • Roundabout104 (3.2%)
  • Single carriageway88 (2.7%)
  • Not recorded31 (1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

People hurt and vehicles involved in M61 crashes

Car occupants make up 83% of the people killed or injured on the M61, followed by van occupants (6.4%).

Casualties by road user

  • Car occupant4,521 (83%)
  • Van occupant348 (6.4%)
  • Motorcyclist171 (3.1%)
  • Goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes)163 (3%)
  • Bus or coach occupant99 (1.8%)
  • Pedestrian62 (1.1%)
  • Minibus occupant42 (0.8%)
  • Other36 (0.7%)

Vehicles involved

  • Car5,267 (78%)
  • Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes683 (10%)
  • Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes542 (8%)
  • Motorcycle154 (2.3%)
  • Bus or coach38 (0.6%)
  • Minibus34 (0.5%)
  • Other61 (0.9%)
  • Not recorded3 (under 0.1%)

Casualties by age

  • 0 to 5109 (2%)
  • 6 to 10152 (2.8%)
  • 11 to 15145 (2.7%)
  • 16 to 20573 (11%)
  • 21 to 25844 (16%)
  • 26 to 351,345 (25%)
  • 36 to 45937 (17%)
  • 46 to 55685 (13%)
  • 56 to 65379 (7%)
  • 66 to 75187 (3.4%)
  • Over 7582 (1.5%)
  • Not recorded4 (0.1%)

Drivers, passengers and pedestrians

  • Driver or rider3,288 (60%)
  • Passenger2,092 (38%)
  • Pedestrian62 (1.1%)

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data

Map of recent crashes on the M61

Map of the 25 most recent crashes on the M61

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

  • 25 crashes
  • Serious
  • Slight

M61 crashes by council area

Collisions on the M61 were recorded in 5 council areas. Bolton has the most, with 1,220, followed by Chorley (842) and Salford (671).

Collisions on the M61 in each area, 1979 to 2025
RankAreaCollisionsCasualtiesFatalSerious
1stBolton1,2201,96730122
2ndChorley8421,47924157
3rdSalford6711,1032281
4thSouth Ribble3817351264
5thWest Lancashire8714809

M61 crashes by town

Collisions on the M61 were recorded in 10 towns and built-up areas, led by Bamber Bridge (73) and Chorley (66).

Recent crashes on the M61

These are the 25 most recent collisions on the M61, from 15 May to 10 December 2025.

Severity