The M5: where people are seriously hurt
Over 2021–2025, 219 people were killed or seriously injured in 188 collisions on the M5, making it the 46th worst numbered road in Britain by that measure.
188
serious or fatal collisions
219
people killed or seriously injured
25
collisions that took a life
#46
of 150 numbered roads
What the record shows
The M5 carries 800 recorded injury collisions over the period, 188 of them serious or fatal. Serious injury concentrates in Stroud, Wychavon, North Somerset, with 3 further areas also recording collisions. Collisions here are more likely than average to be fatal: 13% 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 2025 with 52 serious collisions, and the count is up 44% between 2021 and 2025.
Every serious and fatal collision on the M5
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
- Stroud25 KSI
- Wychavon22 KSI
- North Somerset18 KSI
- Tewkesbury17 KSI
- South Gloucestershire14 KSI
- Mid Devon14 KSI
Local authority areas with the most serious collisions on this road.
The trend
Serious and fatal collisions on the M5
2025: 52 (up 100% on the year before) · peak 52 in 2025 · +44.4% across the period
Axis clipped to the data range to show year-on-year movement.
About the M5
How many accidents happen on the M5?
Police recorded 800 injury collisions on the M5 over 2021–2025, of which 188 were fatal or serious. Those serious collisions left 219 people killed or seriously injured, including 25 fatal collisions.
Is the M5 a dangerous road?
By volume of serious injury it ranks 46 of the 150 numbered roads we analyse, and 6 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 M5 do collisions happen?
They concentrate in Stroud, Wychavon, North Somerset. 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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