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CrashStats

Serious A39 crash in Cornwall on 12 March 1979 at 18:20 involving a car

A car and a lorry were involved in a crash on the A39 in Cornwall at 18:20 on Monday 12 March 1979. A 59-year-old female passenger in the car was seriously injured and the 56-year-old male driver of the car was slightly injured.

It happened after dark under street lighting in the rain on a wet dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, at a T or staggered junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
12 Mar 1979
Monday, 18:20
Vehicles
2
Car and lorry
Casualties
2
1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.2585, longitude -5.04745, in the TR1 postcode district and within the built-up area of Truro.

Map of where the crash happened in Cornwall

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197950A080407
Council area
Cornwall
Police force
Devon and Cornwall

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
39
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph

Junction information

Junction type
T or staggered junction
Junction control
Give way or uncontrolled
Second road class
Unclassified

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Dark, street lights lit
Weather
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a serious injury crash on 31 October 1988.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South West
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded and overturned
    Hit object in carriageway
    Kerb
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    56 years

  • Vehicle 2: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South West
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    47 years

Casualties (2)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 59, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 56, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

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 197950A080407 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Cornwall road accident statistics for 1979.