The M6: where people are seriously hurt
Over 2021–2025, 505 people were killed or seriously injured in 400 collisions on the M6, making it the 13th worst numbered road in Britain by that measure.
400
serious or fatal collisions
505
people killed or seriously injured
56
collisions that took a life
#13
of 150 numbered roads
What the record shows
The M6 carries 1,823 recorded injury collisions over the period, 400 of them serious or fatal. Serious injury concentrates in Lancaster, Cheshire East, Preston, with 3 further areas also recording collisions. Collisions here are more likely than average to be fatal: 14% 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 2024 with 86 serious collisions, and the count is up 28% between 2021 and 2025.
Every serious and fatal collision on the M6
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
- Lancaster36 KSI
- Cheshire East35 KSI
- Preston31 KSI
- Warrington24 KSI
- Westmorland and Furness23 KSI
- Rugby21 KSI
Local authority areas with the most serious collisions on this road.
The trend
Serious and fatal collisions on the M6
2025: 86 (down 0% on the year before) · peak 86 in 2024 · +28.4% across the period
Axis clipped to the data range to show year-on-year movement.
About the M6
How many accidents happen on the M6?
Police recorded 1,823 injury collisions on the M6 over 2021–2025, of which 400 were fatal or serious. Those serious collisions left 505 people killed or seriously injured, including 56 fatal collisions.
Is the M6 a dangerous road?
By volume of serious injury it ranks 13 of the 150 numbered roads we analyse, and 1 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 M6 do collisions happen?
They concentrate in Lancaster, Cheshire East, Preston. 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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