M40 Northbound Traffic
Northbound on the M40 means leaving London behind: from Denham and the M25, up through the Chilterns, past Oxford and Banbury, and on to Warwick and the M42 for Birmingham. This page shows reports affecting that direction.
Search all the latest M40 traffic news
Latest accident or incident on the M40 northbound
The most recent accident or incident on the M40 northbound that we are aware of.
Latest active roadworks on the M40 northbound
Roadworks live on the M40 northbound right now.
M40 northbound Jct 3 to Jct 4 hard shoulder closure
04:56 (4:56am)10 Nov 2026reported just now
- Location
- M40 northbound between J3 and J4
- Direction
- Northbound
- Lanes closed
- Hard shoulder closed
- Reason
- Tree and vegetation cutting work
- Schedule
- 10:20 (10:20am) Sun 1 Nov 2026 → 23:59 (11:59pm) Wed 11 Nov 2026
Latest planned roadworks on the M40 northbound
The next planned roadworks scheduled on the M40 northbound.
M40 Northbound Jct 2 entry slip road closure
04:56 (4:56am)10 Nov 2026reported just now
- Location
- M40 J2 northbound access
- Direction
- Northbound
- Lanes closed
- Carriageway closed
- Reason
- Tree and vegetation cutting work
- Schedule
- 23:00 (11pm) Tue 10 Nov 2026 → 06:00 (6am) Wed 11 Nov 2026
Forecast - not confirmed
+ 3 more planned roadworks - search all M40 traffic news →
Search all the latest M40 traffic news
Updated 04:57 (4:57am) Tue 10 Nov 2026
Powered by National Highways’ Transport Data Feeds.
What northbound drivers meet
From the M25 at Junction 1A the first few miles are the busiest on the road, past Beaconsfield and High Wycombe. After Junction 5 the road passes through the Stokenchurch Gap, a deep chalk cutting in the Chiltern Hills, and enters Oxfordshire. At Junction 8 the motorway turns north, leaving the A40 to carry on into Oxford, and runs past Bicester and Banbury into Warwickshire.
Near the end, on the approach to the M42 at the northern end of the M40, Active Traffic Management is used, so gantry signs there can change lanes and limits.
Northbound traffic, stretch by stretch
These are the Department for Transport’s 2025 daily counts for traffic heading away from London only.
| Stretch | All vehicles | Cars & taxis | Lorries |
|---|---|---|---|
| J1 to J1A (M25) | 53,303 | 40,282 | 3,198 |
| J1A to J2 Beaconsfield | 66,843 | 50,623 | 4,424 |
| J2 to J3 High Wycombe east | 64,635 | 50,391 | 3,741 |
| J3 to J4 Handy Cross | 51,349 | 38,983 | 3,411 |
| J4 to J5 Stokenchurch | 48,715 | 36,798 | 3,467 |
| J5 to J6 Lewknor | 50,402 | 39,249 | 4,284 |
| J6 to J7 Thame | 47,471 | 35,831 | 3,309 |
| J7 to J8 Wheatley | 46,261 | 34,893 | 3,321 |
| J8 to J9 Oxford | 38,833 | 28,984 | 2,902 |
| J9 to J10 Bicester | 56,031 | 40,648 | 5,927 |
| J10 to J11 Banbury | 46,226 | 33,219 | 4,614 |
| J11 to J12 Gaydon | 44,337 | 31,356 | 5,564 |
| J12 to J13 Leamington | 46,487 | 34,088 | 5,497 |
| J13 to J14 | 45,894 | 33,334 | 4,675 |
| J14 to J15 Warwick | 58,785 | 43,963 | 5,085 |
| J15 to J16 Henley-in-Arden | 46,736 | 34,327 | 4,707 |
| J16 to M42 J3A | 49,807 | 35,606 | 4,330 |
© M40Traffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport
The heaviest northbound stretch is Junction 1A to Junction 2, at 66,843 vehicles a day. Three stretches carry noticeably more traffic northbound than the other way: Junction 1 to 1A leaving Denham (53,303 against 41,585), Junction 8 to 9 past Oxford (38,833 against 30,917) and Junction 9 to 10 past Bicester (56,031 against 44,262). The Junction 8 to 9 figures come from the count point labelled north and south; the other count point on that stretch shows an almost even split, 35,953 and 35,033. Northbound lorry numbers peak between Junctions 9 and 10, at 5,927 a day.
The Department for Transport labels most M40 count points eastbound and westbound, and the stretch from Oxford to Banbury northbound and southbound, because the road changes bearing. We read westbound and northbound as travel away from London, and eastbound and southbound as travel towards London. That is our reading of the compass letters, not a label the dataset gives. Where one stretch has more than one count point we show one; between Junctions 8 and 9 we use the count point labelled north and south.
Where to stop northbound
In order: Beaconsfield (Junction 2), Oxford (Junction 8A), Cherwell Valley (Junction 10) and Warwick, whose northbound site is between Junctions 12 and 13.
Heading the other way? M40 southbound traffic towards London
Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.