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CrashStats

M5 crash in Somerset on 25 August 1979 at 11:15 involving a car

Four cars were involved in a crash on the M5 in Somerset at 11:15 on Saturday 25 August 1979. A 6-year-old female passenger in vehicle 3 was slightly injured.

It happened in daylight in the rain on a wet dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Slight
Date
25 Aug 1979
Saturday, 11:15
Vehicles
4
Car and 3 others
Casualties
1
1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.19027, longitude -2.973, in the TA9 postcode district. The location was in the former Sedgemoor district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Slight

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197952JBC0804
Council area
Somerset
Police force
Avon and Somerset

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
5
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
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 36 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 15 May 1989.

Vehicles involved (4)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside onto central reservation
    Hit object off carriageway
    Central crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    45 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    38 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

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

  • Vehicle 4: Car

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

Casualties (1)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 6, car occupant, in vehicle 3 (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 197952JBC0804 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.