The M40: where people are seriously hurt
Over 2021–2025, 150 people were killed or seriously injured in 115 collisions on the M40, making it the 103th worst numbered road in Britain by that measure.
115
serious or fatal collisions
150
people killed or seriously injured
21
collisions that took a life
#103
of 150 numbered roads
What the record shows
The M40 carries 400 recorded injury collisions over the period, 115 of them serious or fatal. Serious injury concentrates in Buckinghamshire, Cherwell, Stratford-on-Avon, with 2 further areas also recording collisions. Collisions here are more likely than average to be fatal: 18% against 7% across the numbered network, which usually points to higher speeds. Most collisions were recorded on 70 mph sections. The worst year of the period was 2022 with 28 serious collisions, and the count is up 93% between 2021 and 2025.
Every serious and fatal collision on the M40
Blue markers are serious collisions, red crosses fatal. Click any marker for the year. Zoom in to see the specific junctions and stretches where they cluster.
Where along the route
- Buckinghamshire37 KSI
- Cherwell31 KSI
- Stratford-on-Avon23 KSI
- South Oxfordshire13 KSI
- Warwick11 KSI
Local authority areas with the most serious collisions on this road.
The trend
Serious and fatal collisions on the M40
2025: 27 (down 3.6% on the year before) · peak 28 in 2022 · +92.9% across the period
Axis clipped to the data range to show year-on-year movement.
About the M40
How many accidents happen on the M40?
Police recorded 400 injury collisions on the M40 over 2021–2025, of which 115 were fatal or serious. Those serious collisions left 150 people killed or seriously injured, including 21 fatal collisions.
Is the M40 a dangerous road?
By volume of serious injury it ranks 103 of the 150 numbered roads we analyse, and 10 among motorways. That is a count rather than a rate: longer and busier roads accumulate more collisions, so a high ranking reflects exposure as well as risk.
Where on the M40 do collisions happen?
They concentrate in Buckinghamshire, Cherwell, Stratford-on-Avon. The map on this page plots every serious and fatal collision recorded on the route, so you can see the specific stretches rather than the total.
Counts include every collision the police recorded on this road number across all authority areas. They are not adjusted for traffic volume or road length, so treat them as a measure of where injury concentrates rather than a per-mile risk rating. Method. Free to reuse with attribution to this page.
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