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CrashStats

Serious A39 crash in Somerset on 16 March 1979 at 07:30 involving a bus or coach

A bus or coach and a lorry were involved in a crash on the A39 in Somerset at 07:30 on Friday 16 March 1979. A 17-year-old female passenger in the bus or coach and a 19-year-old male passenger in the bus or coach were seriously injured and the 30-year-old male driver of the lorry was slightly injured.

It happened in daylight in snow on a wet single carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
16 Mar 1979
Friday, 07:30
Vehicles
2
Bus or coach and lorry
Casualties
3
2 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.1466, longitude -3.12934, in the TA5 postcode district. The location was in the former Sedgemoor district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197952JBC0228
Council area
Somerset
Police force
Avon and Somerset

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
39
Road type
Single 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
Snowing, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 28 November 1999.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Bus or coach

    Bus or coach (17 or more seats)

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

  • Vehicle 2: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    West
    Travelling to
    East
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    30 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 17, bus or coach occupant, in vehicle 1 (Bus or coach)

    Bus or coach passenger
    Seated passenger

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 19, bus or coach occupant, in vehicle 1 (Bus or coach)

    Bus or coach passenger
    Seated passenger

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 30, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 2 (Lorry)

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 197952JBC0228 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Somerset road accident statistics for 1979.