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CrashStats

Serious M4 crash in South Gloucestershire on 16 August 1979 at 11:40 involving a car

Three cars and a lorry were involved in a crash on the M4 in South Gloucestershire at 11:40 on Thursday 16 August 1979. The 33-year-old male driver of vehicle 1 and a 25-year-old female passenger in vehicle 1 were seriously 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
16 Aug 1979
Thursday, 11:40
Vehicles
4
Car and 3 others
Casualties
2
2 seriously injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.61023, longitude -2.64114, in the NP16 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in South Gloucestershire

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197952EFT1211
Council area
South Gloucestershire
Police force
Avon and Somerset

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, 28 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 4 February 2024.

Vehicles involved (4)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    33 years

  • Vehicle 2: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Waiting to go ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    33 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Waiting to go ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    50 years

  • Vehicle 4: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Waiting to go ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South East
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    49 years

Casualties (2)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 33, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 25, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front 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 197952EFT1211 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the South Gloucestershire road accident statistics for 1979.