M6 Southbound Traffic
If you are heading south on the M6 — towards Birmingham, the West Midlands, the M1 at Catthorpe or on to the M5 and the South West — this page covers your side of the motorway. Traffic on a motorway is rarely the same in both directions, and neither is the news.
Heading the other way? See M6 northbound traffic »
Search all the latest M6 traffic news
Latest accident or incident on the M6 southbound
The most recent accident or incident on the M6 southbound that we are aware of.
Latest active roadworks on the M6 southbound
Roadworks live on the M6 southbound right now.
M6 southbound Jct 4a to Jct 4 carriageway closure
05:02 (5:02am)23 Oct 2026reported 4 min ago
- Location
- M6 southbound between J4A and J4
- Direction
- Southbound
- Lanes closed
- Carriageway closed
- Reason
- Road improvement or upgrading
- Schedule
- 21:16 (9:16pm) Thu 22 Oct 2026 → 06:00 (6am) Fri 23 Oct 2026
Latest planned roadworks on the M6 southbound
The next planned roadworks scheduled on the M6 southbound.
M6 Southbound Lanes 2 and 3 closure (MP 297/9 to 296/9)
05:02 (5:02am)23 Oct 2026reported 4 min ago
- Location
- M6 southbound within J20A after A50 access
- Direction
- Southbound
- Lanes closed
- Lane closures
- Reason
- Repair work
- Schedule
- 23:00 (11pm) Fri 23 Oct 2026 → 06:00 (6am) Sat 24 Oct 2026
Forecast - not confirmed
+ 21 more planned roadworks - search all M6 traffic news →
Road closed — on the overhead signs now
National Highways’ overhead signs are showing a road closure, as at 05:07 (5:07am) Fri 23 Oct 2026. 2 other serious messages are on the signs - see them all below.
M6 J4-J4A closed
Time now: Friday, 23 October 2026, 05:07 (5:07am)05:01 (5:01am)23 Oct 2026set 6 min ago✓ Checked by us 05:07 (5:07am)
M6 J4-J4A
CLOSEDOverhead Message
WhereM6 northbound, J1 to J3 · on 9 signsAlso onAlso showing on M5, M40, M42, M1, M69, A46 and A14 signsSinceOn the signs since at least 20:55 (8:55pm) Thu 22 Oct 2026We check these overhead signs at least every five minutes, but we can't guarantee a sign is still current if an incident or issue has been cleared and the sign has not been updated yet. Signs and news can each carry something the other does not - check both before you travel.
Search all the latest M6 traffic news
Updated 05:07 (5:07am) Fri 23 Oct 2026
Powered by National Highways’ Transport Data Feeds.
How Busy Is the M6 Southbound?
The Department for Transport counts the M6 separately in each direction, at 58 southbound count points out of 181 directional counts in total. The busiest southbound stretch is Junction 20 to Junction 21 spur, carrying 93,711 vehicles a day southbound on its own.
| Stretch (southbound) | Vehicles per day | Lorries |
|---|---|---|
| J20 to J21 spur | 93,711 | 12,113 |
| J30 to J31 | 83,091 | 7,332 |
| J9 to J10 | 81,705 | 13,685 |
| J6 to JLA boundary | 80,412 | 11,850 |
| J31 to J31A | 79,457 | 6,541 |
| J17 to J18 | 72,959 | 10,728 |
| J18 to JLA boundary | 70,166 | 13,971 |
© M6Traffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport
These are one-direction figures. For both carriageways combined see how busy the M6 is junction by junction.
Southbound Against Northbound: What Our Own Data Shows
Heading south, the M6 is at its slowest in the morning, and the place is the Black Country. In our own record of National Highways' live speeds for Monday 12 to Friday 16 October 2026, southbound traffic between Junctions 10A and 7 averaged 25 to 38 mph in the 06:00 to 10:00 peak, as commuters head in towards Birmingham, and the stretch from Junction 10A to Junction 10 alone had about 840 minutes (14 hours) of stop-start traffic over the five days. By the evening the southbound side between Junctions 4 and 7 is back to 50 mph or more, though the Black Country stretches stay slower, at 36 to 46 mph. The Department for Transport counts almost the same traffic in each direction, so the difference is timing, not volume. Between 9 and 16 October, southbound also had more broken-down vehicles reported: 14, against 10 northbound.
| Stretch (southbound) | Morning peak 06:00–10:00 | Evening peak 15:00–19:00 | Minutes of stop-start, whole week |
|---|---|---|---|
| J4A to J4 | 56 mph (usual 57) | 60 mph (usual 58) | 0 |
| J5 to J4A | 50 mph (usual 50) | 50 mph (usual 51) | 0 |
| J6 to J5 | 51 mph (usual 47) | 54 mph (usual 49) | 230 (3.83 hours) |
| J7 to J6 | 42 mph (usual 39) | 53 mph (usual 50) | 365 (6.08 hours) |
| J8 to J7 | 34 mph (usual 39) | 42 mph (usual 47) | 435 (7.25 hours) |
| J9 to J8 | 36 mph (usual 40) | 41 mph (usual 42) | 205 (3.42 hours) |
| J10 to J9 | 25 mph (usual 30) | 36 mph (usual 32) | 655 (10.92 hours) |
| J10A to J10 | 38 mph (usual 40) | 46 mph (usual 40) | 840 (14 hours) |
| J11 to J10A | 53 mph (usual 51) | 52 mph (usual 50) | 105 (1.75 hours) |
| J11A to J11 | 61 mph (usual 56) | 61 mph (usual 56) | 0 |
| J12 to J11A | 56 mph (usual 50) | 56 mph (usual 50) | 0 |
| J13 to J12 | 61 mph (usual 62) | 63 mph (usual 60) | 0 |
| J14 to J13 | 64 mph (usual 62) | 63 mph (usual 63) | 290 (4.83 hours) |
| J15 to J14 | 64 mph (usual 62) | 64 mph (usual 63) | 0 |
| J16 to J15 | 61 mph (usual 61) | 61 mph (usual 60) | 120 (2 hours) |
© M6Traffic.co.uk · Our own record of National Highways’ live speed data (NTIS), Monday 12 to Friday 16 October 2026, averaged over the weekdays; “usual” is National Highways’ own expected speed for that hour. Stop-start means readings under 15 mph over at least 400 metres. One week of readings: we will add more weeks as they are collected.
| Type | Northbound | Southbound |
|---|---|---|
| Collisions | 17 | 15 |
| Broken-down or stopped vehicles | 10 | 14 |
| Other obstructions | 2 | 0 |
| All | 29 | 29 |
© M6Traffic.co.uk · Our own record of National Highways’ incident reports, from 9 October 2026 (when our recording started) to 16 October 2026.
National Highways’ live readings north of Junction 16 are patchier, so this table covers Junctions 4 to 16, where we have the most complete record.
Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.