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M5 traffic at 17:49 on Sunday 18 October: road closed southbound until 06:00 Mon 19 Oct · 3 live incidents (2 severe/serious).
From National Highways' closure report, in their words. Times can change - check before you set off.
Tap a pin for full incident detail. Live positions from National Highways.
🟢 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.
The M5 carries up to 150,612 vehicles a day at its busiest stretch (J5–J6), including 15,176 HGVs — the 8th busiest motorway in Britain. Official Department for Transport counts, 2025.
| Road | Busiest stretch | Vehicles/day | HGVs/day | HGV 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% |
| M5 ◀ | J5–J6 | 150,612 | 15,176 | 10.1% |
Measured from 275 incidents recorded on the M5 since February 2026: the riskiest window is 12:00–15:00, when 22% of incidents start. Right now (17:00) you're outside the peak window.
| Hour | Incidents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00–01:00 | 3 | 1.1% |
| 01:00–02:00 | 5 | 1.8% |
| 02:00–03:00 | 3 | 1.1% |
| 03:00–04:00 | 6 | 2.2% |
| 04:00–05:00 | 6 | 2.2% |
| 05:00–06:00 | 10 | 3.6% |
| 06:00–07:00 | 12 | 4.4% |
| 07:00–08:00 | 8 | 2.9% |
| 08:00–09:00 | 14 | 5.1% |
| 09:00–10:00 | 15 | 5.5% |
| 10:00–11:00 | 7 | 2.5% |
| 11:00–12:00 | 12 | 4.4% |
| 12:00–13:00 ◀ peak | 20 | 7.3% |
| 13:00–14:00 ◀ peak | 19 | 6.9% |
| 14:00–15:00 ◀ peak | 21 | 7.6% |
| 15:00–16:00 | 17 | 6.2% |
| 16:00–17:00 | 10 | 3.6% |
| 17:00–18:00 | 18 | 6.5% |
| 18:00–19:00 | 14 | 5.1% |
| 19:00–20:00 | 21 | 7.6% |
| 20:00–21:00 | 14 | 5.1% |
| 21:00–22:00 | 9 | 3.3% |
| 22:00–23:00 | 5 | 1.8% |
| 23:00–00:00 | 6 | 2.2% |
The places people drive to most, the M5 junction for each, and live M5 incidents nearby at 17:49.
NT parkland off M5 J7; brown signs from the B4084 or A38
Home of the Cheltenham Festival; capacity 67,500
Regional shopping area beside M5 J17, north of Bristol
Home of Bristol City and Bristol Bears; sat nav postcode BS3 2LQ
10.8 million passengers in 2025; on the A38, signed from the M5
Seafront pier on Marine Parade; follow seafront signs from M5 J21
Exeter Chiefs rugby ground, capacity 15,600, next to M5 J30
Devon's airport, off the A30 and about 1.5 miles from the M5
Based on DfT STATS19 police collision records. The M5 has 909 recorded collisions at 37 collision hotspots, involving 1,370 casualties (30 fatal). Take extra care here. Ranked by fatal, then serious collisions, then casualties - not by the number of collisions alone.
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Yes — the M5 is closed right now: M5 southbound Jct 11 to 12 - carriageway closed for weekend, until 06:00 Mon 19 Oct.
The M5 is closed right now: M5 southbound Jct 11 to 12 - carriageway closed for weekend, until 06:00 Mon 19 Oct. Check the live feed above for every closure on the route.
The M5 is typically busiest during morning rush hour (07:00–09:00) and evening rush hour (16:30–19:00) on weekdays.
There are currently 4 active roadwork schemes on the M5. Check the live feed above for exact locations and durations.
The M5 connects to: M6, M42, M50, A38, M4, A303.
Each side has its own live page: the M5 northbound (towards Birmingham) and the M5 southbound (towards Exeter) 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.
Official Department for Transport counts (2025) record 150,612 vehicles a day on the M5's busiest stretch (J5–J6), 15,176 of them HGVs. The full breakdown and comparison chart are in the traffic statistics section above.
The M5 has the 8th busiest motorway stretch in Britain at 150,612 vehicles a day (DfT 2025), behind the M25's 212,636 a day at the top.
Measured from 275 incidents recorded on the M5 since February 2026, the riskiest window is 12:00–15:00, when 22% of incidents start. The quietest is 00:00–03:00. Incidents on the M5 typically clear in about 51 minutes.
Daily M5 incidents, posted across all four channels.
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Broken down on the M5? 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.