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M5 traffic at 12:59 on Tuesday 3 November: 2 live incidents (2 severe/serious) · 4 closures tonight.
From National Highways' closure report, in their words. Times can change - check before you set off.
Checked 12:59 on Tuesday 3 November 2026.
No. There is no full closure on the M5 at 12:59. 2 live incidents are on the board above.
Yes. 2 live incidents on the M5 at 12:59: congestion, northbound J3–J1 near Halesowen (reported 12:38); and crash, northbound J2 near Oldbury (reported 12:39). Every one is on the live board above.
Yes. The M5 has 4 full closures planned tonight (Tue 3 Nov, 18:00 to 06:00): northbound Jct 31 to Jct 30 carriageway closure, 20:30 to 06:00; southbound Jct 23 to 24 carriageway closure, 20:30 to 06:00; and southbound Jct 21 carriageway closure between the exit and entry slip (163/8 to 164/1), 21:00 to 06:00 and 1 more. Plus 3 lane or slip road closures. Diversion: Diversion via A30 to Alphington, A379, Jct 30.
Tonight: M5 closures and diversions ›Yes. The M5 has 2 full closures planned this weekend (Fri 6 Nov 18:00 to Mon 9 Nov 06:00): southbound Jct 3 to Jct 4a carriageway closure, Fri 21:00 to 06:00; and southbound Jct 21 carriageway closure between the exit and entry slip (163/8 to 164/1), Fri 22:00 to 06:00. Plus 6 lane or slip road closures. Diversion: Diversion via National Highways and local authority network.
This weekend: M5 closures and diversions ›Yes. National Highways report a collision on the M5 now: northbound J2 near Oldbury (reported 12:39).
M5 accidents today and yesterday ›Answers use official data only: the National Highways live incident feed and their planned closure report. Times can change, so check before you set off.
Tap a pin for full incident detail. Live positions from National Highways.
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One email a day covering major incidents on the roads you pick.
| Feature | Free summary | Early Warning |
|---|---|---|
| When you hear | Once a day | As it builds |
| Queues and congestion | Major incidents only | On your roads |
| Your own alert hours | No | Yes |
| Email and Telegram | Both | |
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🟢 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 358 incidents recorded on the M5 since February 2026: the riskiest window is 13:00–16:00, when 20% of incidents start. Right now (12:00) you're outside the peak window.
| Hour | Incidents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00–01:00 | 4 | 1.1% |
| 01:00–02:00 | 6 | 1.7% |
| 02:00–03:00 | 4 | 1.1% |
| 03:00–04:00 | 9 | 2.5% |
| 04:00–05:00 | 8 | 2.2% |
| 05:00–06:00 | 12 | 3.4% |
| 06:00–07:00 | 13 | 3.6% |
| 07:00–08:00 | 9 | 2.5% |
| 08:00–09:00 | 19 | 5.3% |
| 09:00–10:00 | 17 | 4.7% |
| 10:00–11:00 | 10 | 2.8% |
| 11:00–12:00 | 18 | 5% |
| 12:00–13:00 | 26 | 7.3% |
| 13:00–14:00 ◀ peak | 22 | 6.1% |
| 14:00–15:00 ◀ peak | 23 | 6.4% |
| 15:00–16:00 ◀ peak | 28 | 7.8% |
| 16:00–17:00 | 16 | 4.5% |
| 17:00–18:00 | 23 | 6.4% |
| 18:00–19:00 | 22 | 6.1% |
| 19:00–20:00 | 25 | 7% |
| 20:00–21:00 | 17 | 4.7% |
| 21:00–22:00 | 9 | 2.5% |
| 22:00–23:00 | 7 | 2% |
| 23:00–00:00 | 11 | 3.1% |
The places people drive to most, the M5 junction for each, and live M5 incidents nearby at 12:59.
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 1,826 recorded collisions at 40 collision hotspots, involving 2,912 casualties (53 fatal). Take extra care here. Ranked by fatal, then serious collisions, then casualties - not by the number of collisions alone.
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This is the M5 traffic news page from UK Traffic Updates: M5 traffic now, for the whole road from Birmingham (M6 J8) to Exeter. Every crash, breakdown, lane closure, delay and roadworks National Highways report for the M5 is listed at the top, checked every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, with the worst on the sign and where it is: the nearest towns and the county.
National Highways has closed its Traffic England website, so the live M5 information people used to check there is here in one place: today's M5 incidents, M5 closures tonight from their daily closure report, M5 roadworks, M5 accidents today, the junction-by-junction status and a live map. Our M5 traffic videos show what it looks like on the road, and drivers can report what they see as it happens.
Want M5 traffic updates sent to you? Pick the free daily road summary or Early Warning alerts for the roads you drive. For every other motorway and A-road, see live UK traffic now.
Any M5 closure appears in the live feed above within minutes of National Highways reporting it, including tonight's overnight roadworks closures.
There are currently 2 active incidents on the M5. The live feed above is updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, from National Highways.
Yes — 2 live incidents on the M5 at 12:59: congestion, crash. Every one is on the live board above, direct from National Highways.
The M5 is typically busiest during morning rush hour (07:00–09:00) and evening rush hour (16:30–19:00) on weekdays.
Roadworks and overnight closures on the M5 are listed above and at /traffic/m5/roadworks/, taken from the National Highways daily closure report.
The M5 connects to: M6, M42, M50, A38, M4, A303.
Right here. This M5 traffic news page shows M5 traffic now: every live incident, delay, closure and roadworks National Highways report, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, with tonight's planned closures, junction-by-junction status and a live map. For M5 traffic updates sent to you, sign up on this page for the free daily road summary or Early Warning alerts for the roads you drive.
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 358 incidents recorded on the M5 since February 2026, the riskiest window is 13:00–16:00, when 20% of incidents start. The quietest is 00:00–03:00. Incidents on the M5 typically clear in about 50 minutes.
Daily M5 incidents, posted across all four channels.
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