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CrashStats

Serious M4 crash in West Berkshire on 15 October 1979 at 12:29 involving a car

A car crashed on the M4 in West Berkshire at 12:29 on Monday 15 October 1979. There were four casualties: one person was seriously injured and three were slightly injured.

It happened in daylight in fine weather on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
15 Oct 1979
Monday, 12:29
Vehicles
1
Car
Casualties
4
1 seriously injured, 3 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.44975, longitude -1.41383, in the RG20 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in West Berkshire

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197943F031109
Council area
West Berkshire
Police force
Thames Valley

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
4
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph

Junction information

Junction type
Not at junction or within 20 metres

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Daylight
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 5 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 24 October 2025.

Vehicles involved (1)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    West
    Travelling to
    East
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside onto central reservation
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    75 years

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 75, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 45, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 70, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 72, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

Data source

This record comes from the Department for Transport’s road safety data (STATS19), in which police forces in Great Britain record every road crash reported to them where someone was injured. It is reference 197943F031109 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the West Berkshire road accident statistics for 1979.