Motorway
M42 traffic and collisions
The M42 is a motorway of 44.8 miles, from Worcestershire to Leicestershire. This page covers its traffic at 26 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 1.5bn vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 89,637 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 136,724 J4 to J5
- HGV share 11.8% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −4.9% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 262 3.6 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the M42?
On an average day in 2025, 89,637 vehicles passed each point on the M42, counting both directions. The busiest section is J4 to J5 (Solihull), with 136,724 a day; the quietest listed is M6 Toll South to M42, with 16,566.
Busiest sections, 2025
J4 to J5 carries 1.5 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| J4 to J5 Solihull · 2.4 mi · HGVs 10.3% | 136,724 |
| J6 to J7 Solihull · 2.1 mi · HGVs 10.4% | 128,313 |
| J3 to M42 Warwickshire · 3.4 mi · HGVs 9.6% | 126,742 |
| J3A to J4 Warwickshire, Solihull · 2.1 mi · HGVs 11.1% | 126,410 |
| J1 to J2 Worcestershire · 4.2 mi · HGVs 10.1% | 115,815 |
| J2 to J3 Worcestershire · 2.7 mi · HGVs 9.8% | 114,179 |
| J5 to J6 Solihull · 3.6 mi · HGVs 10.4% | 109,996 |
| M6 Toll and M42 Interchange North of Gilson - Junction 8 to J9 Warwickshire · 1.6 mi · HGVs 15.5% | 104,732 |
| M42 split to J1 Worcestershire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 11.4% | 98,893 |
| J9 to J10 Warwickshire · 5.9 mi · HGVs 14.5% | 79,468 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Worcestershire to Leicestershire · 44.8 miles
M42 traffic and collisions by section
18 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 6 short link roads and spurs (4.1 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Show all 18 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M5 to M42 mergeWorcestershire | 54,643 | 9 |
| 2 | M42 split to J1Worcestershire | 98,893 | 5 |
| 3 | J1 to J2Worcestershire | 115,815 | 18 |
| 4 | J2 to J3Worcestershire | 114,179 | 20 |
| 5 | J3 to M42Warwickshire | 126,742 | 17 |
| 6 | M42 to J3AWarwickshire | 69,986 | 5 |
| 7 | J3A to J4Warwickshire, Solihull | 126,410 | 14 |
| 8 | J4 to J5Solihull | 136,724 | 14 |
| 9 | J5 to J6Solihull | 109,996 | 28 |
| 10 | J6 to J7Solihull | 128,313 | 22 |
| 11 | J7 to J7AWarwickshire | 99,354 | 3 |
| 12 | J7A to M6 TollWarwickshire | 48,066 | 5 |
| 13 | M6 Toll South to M42Warwickshire | 16,566 | fewer than 3 |
| 14 | M42 to M6 Toll NorthWarwickshire | 31,420 | 6 |
| 15 | M6 Toll and M42 Interchange North of Gilson - Junction 8 to J9Warwickshire | 104,732 | 18 |
| 16 | J9 to J10Warwickshire | 79,468 | 48 |
| 17 | J10 to J11Warwickshire, Leicestershire | 67,447 | 23 |
| 18 | A444 to A42Leicestershire | 47,583 | fewer than 3 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M42 as the first road, placed on the nearest section by their recorded position; rates (per 100 million vehicle miles) are shown for sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more.
M42 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 70.3% of the vehicle miles on the M42. HGVs account for 11.8%, rising to 15.7% on J10 to J11.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 13.5% |
| 2001 | 13.2% |
| 2002 | 13.4% |
| 2003 | 13.4% |
| 2004 | 13.5% |
| 2005 | 13.1% |
| 2006 | 12.9% |
| 2007 | 12.3% |
| 2008 | 12.6% |
| 2009 | 11.7% |
| 2010 | 12.5% |
| 2011 | 11.8% |
| 2012 | 11.8% |
| 2013 | 11.5% |
| 2014 | 11.8% |
| 2015 | 12.5% |
| 2016 | 12.5% |
| 2017 | 12.4% |
| 2018 | 12.4% |
| 2019 | 12.5% |
| 2020 | 17.1% |
| 2021 | 15.6% |
| 2022 | 13.8% |
| 2023 | 13.3% |
| 2024 | 13.1% |
| 2025 | 11.8% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
M42 traffic trend
Traffic on the M42 came to 1.47 billion vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 4.9% on 2019, before the pandemic, and down 3.5% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 18.0% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.3bn |
| 2001 | 1.3bn |
| 2002 | 1.4bn |
| 2003 | 1.3bn |
| 2004 | 1.4bn |
| 2005 | 1.5bn |
| 2006 | 1.5bn |
| 2007 | 1.5bn |
| 2008 | 1.5bn |
| 2009 | 1.5bn |
| 2010 | 1.5bn |
| 2011 | 1.5bn |
| 2012 | 1.5bn |
| 2013 | 1.5bn |
| 2014 | 1.5bn |
| 2015 | 1.5bn |
| 2016 | 1.6bn |
| 2017 | 1.5bn |
| 2018 | 1.5bn |
| 2019 | 1.5bn |
| 2020 | 1.1bn |
| 2021 | 1.3bn |
| 2022 | 1.5bn |
| 2023 | 1.5bn |
| 2024 | 1.5bn |
| 2025 | 1.5bn |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 84,701 |
| 2001 | 87,074 |
| 2002 | 88,389 |
| 2003 | 83,031 |
| 2004 | 88,612 |
| 2005 | 92,256 |
| 2006 | 93,949 |
| 2007 | 95,391 |
| 2008 | 97,013 |
| 2009 | 94,766 |
| 2010 | 95,330 |
| 2011 | 96,742 |
| 2012 | 95,502 |
| 2013 | 96,650 |
| 2014 | 92,034 |
| 2015 | 95,464 |
| 2016 | 96,495 |
| 2017 | 95,888 |
| 2018 | 94,639 |
| 2019 | 95,509 |
| 2020 | 66,668 |
| 2021 | 79,884 |
| 2022 | 89,790 |
| 2023 | 91,348 |
| 2024 | 89,914 |
| 2025 | 89,637 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
The chart counts the whole road as it was each year, so new or renumbered stretches move it. The percentage changes compare only count points present in both years. In 2025, 18 of the 26 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
M42 collisions
Police recorded 262 collisions with the M42 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 70 of them fatal or serious, including 4 fatal. That is 3.6 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 4.9 for all motorways in Great Britain. On average there were 1.2 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 3.3% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | 10 |
| 2022 | 35 | 17 |
| 2023 | 27 | 9 |
| 2024 | 33 | 17 |
| 2025 | 46 | 17 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
Sections with the highest collision rates
Per 100 million vehicle miles, 2021 to 2025. Sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more collisions.
| Section | Per 100m vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| M6 Toll and M42 Interchange North of Gilson - Junction 8 to J9 Warwickshire · 18 collisions | 6.0 |
| J9 to J10 Warwickshire · 48 collisions | 5.7 |
| J6 to J7 Solihull · 22 collisions | 4.1 |
| J2 to J3 Worcestershire · 20 collisions | 3.7 |
| J5 to J6 Solihull · 28 collisions | 3.5 |
| J3A to J4 Warwickshire, Solihull · 14 collisions | 2.9 |
| J10 to J11 Warwickshire, Leicestershire · 23 collisions | 2.8 |
| J4 to J5 Solihull · 14 collisions | 2.5 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 29 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M42 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. How we count collisions
Council areas on the M42
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Worcestershire
- Warwickshire
- Solihull
- Leicestershire
Planned closures on the M42 in England
National Highways has 41 planned closures on the M42 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, 36 of them starting in that period. 12 close a carriageway rather than a lane or slip road, and 34 start between 7pm and 6am.
-
Lane or slip Mobile lane closure southbound
-
Lane or slip M42 lanes 2 and 3 closure southbound
-
Lane or slip M6 lanes 2 and 3 closure southbound
-
Lane or slip Lanes closures southbound
-
Lane or slip Lanes closures northbound
-
Lane or slip Lanes 1 and 2 closure northbound
-
Lane or slip Lane 2 closure northbound
-
Lane or slip Lanes closures southbound
33 more planned closures in this period are not shown.
Planned closures only: National Highways can cancel or change them, and closures caused by incidents are not shown. Council roads in England are not covered. Roadworks and closures across the UK
Source:National Highways 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 Updated
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic counts and vehicle mix | Road traffic statistics (AADF by count point) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2000 to 2025 | 26 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 262 reported collisions | 15 September 2026 |
| Planned closures | Transport Data Feeds (DATEX II) National Highways | 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 | 2,304 planned closure schemes | 16 September 2026 |
- Annual average daily flow (AADF) is the average number of vehicles passing a point on a typical day of the year, both directions combined.
- Vehicle miles are AADF multiplied by link length and 365, summed over every count point link on the road.
- Sections join count point links between junctions, using the link lines in DfT’s major road database.
- STATS19 covers personal injury collisions reported to the police. Damage-only collisions are not included, and not every injury collision is reported.
- Serious and slight figures are DfT’s adjusted estimates, which allow for police forces moving to injury-based reporting.
- Counts of one or two collisions below Great Britain level are shown as “fewer than 3”.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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