M4 Accidents & Incidents
This page brings together the latest M4 accidents and incidents — collisions, breakdowns, spillages and other unplanned events that can cause sudden delays or closures on the M4 motorway.
Latest M4 accidents and incidents
1 matching items - showing 1-1 of 1 total available news items
M4 eastbound between junctions J4 and J3: broken down vehicle
09:18 (9:18am)31 Oct 2026reported 4 min ago
- Location
- M4 eastbound between junctions J4 and J3
- Direction
- Eastbound
- Lanes closed
- There is one of three lanes closed. The hard shoulder and lane one are closed
- Reason
- Broken down vehicle
- Schedule
- 09:02 (9:02am) Sat 31 Oct 2026 → 09:45 (9:45am) Sat 31 Oct 2026
This page shows accidents or incidents only. For everything on the M4 see all the latest M4 traffic news, the overhead signs and the speed limits in force now.
Updated 09:22 (9:22am) Sat 31 Oct 2026
Powered by National Highways’ Transport Data Feeds.
M4 accidents and incidents over the last 7 days
Every accident, breakdown and obstruction on the M4 that reached us through National Highways’ traffic information service, counted once each, day by day.
10
15
National Highways’ control rooms: 25 — 0% of those were also reported by drivers.
Reported by drivers only, through a navigation app: 0 (0% of all 25).
about 38 minutes (the middle value of 24 that have cleared)
M4 westbound between junctions J22 and J23: 2
M4 incidents per day
The latest 8
- Sat 31 Oct, 09:02 (9:02am) Broken Down Vehicle ✓Reported by National Highways
M4 eastbound between junctions J4 and J3
Not yet reported cleared - Sat 31 Oct, 01:15 (1:15am) Brakes ✓Reported by National Highways
M4 westbound between junctions J22 and J23
✓ Cleared after about 2 minutes - Fri 30 Oct, 06:53 (6:53am) Broken Down Vehicle ✓Reported by National Highways
M4 eastbound entry slip at junction J4
✓ Cleared after about 14 minutes - Thu 29 Oct, 21:10 (9:10pm) Vehicle Fire ✓Reported by National Highways
M4 eastbound exit slip at junction J4B
✓ Cleared after about 138 minutes (2.3 hours) - Thu 29 Oct, 15:38 (3:38pm) Collision ✓Reported by National Highways
M4 eastbound exit slip at junction J22
✓ Cleared after about 6 minutes - Thu 29 Oct, 07:14 (7:14am) Collision ✓Reported by National Highways
M4 westbound between junctions J5 and J6
✓ Cleared after about 35 minutes - Thu 29 Oct, 06:31 (6:31am) Broken Down Vehicle ✓Reported by National Highways
M4 eastbound between junctions J10 and J8
✓ Cleared after about 20 minutes - Wed 28 Oct, 20:29 (8:29pm) Abandoned Vehicle ✓Reported by National Highways
M4 westbound entry slip at junction J8
✓ Cleared after about 47 minutes
© 2026 Corporate Ace Limited. The analysis, wording, charts and conclusions on this page are our own, produced from the live information we collect, including National Highways’ data. You may not copy, republish or reproduce them on any website, app, broadcast or publication without our prior written permission, which must set out how and where they will be used. To ask, please contact us. Powered by National Highways’ Transport Data Feeds.
Staying safe on the M4
Accidents can appear with little warning and conditions can change fast. If you come across an incident, keep your distance and follow any signs or lane closures. In an emergency always call 999, and never use a phone while driving — stop somewhere safe first. For live updates across the whole motorway see our Latest M4 Traffic News page.
M4 crashes and accidents — what the numbers say
A crash on the M4 stops a great many people quickly, and today’s M4 accident news is above. The Department for Transport’s own M4 counts explain why an M4 incident clears slowly.
156,491
M4 vehicles a day
on the busiest stretch. Anything that closes one M4 lane is stopping a share of that immediately — and at the Heathrow end there is very little room either side.
1 in 5
is a van at Bristol
24,926 light goods vehicles a day at the M4/M5 interchange, plus 11,167 lorries. An M4 crash out west is rarely just cars, which is why lanes stay shut longer.
2×
the lorries by Bristol
M4 HGV traffic more than doubles between London and the Severn. A heavy goods vehicle involved in an M4 accident closes more lanes and takes far longer to recover.
32%
the M4 rush-hour swing
The M4 does have a quieter middle of the day — so an M4 crash at 7am and the same crash at 11am produce very different delays.
⚠ We report the latest M4 accident and crash news exactly as National Highways issue it and no more. The feed does not see everything that happens on the M4 motorway, so when we say there is nothing to report, that is precisely what we mean — not that the M4 is clear.
Figures are Average Annual Daily Flow for 2025, from Department for Transport road traffic statistics published on 20 May 2026.