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CrashStats

Fatal A371 crash in Somerset on 5 October 1979 at 23:47 involving a car

A car and another vehicle were involved in a crash on the A371 in Somerset at 23:47 on Friday 5 October 1979. The 22-year-old male driver of the car and a 17-year-old female passenger in the car were killed and two other people were seriously injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in fine weather on a dry single carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
5 Oct 1979
Friday, 23:47
Vehicles
2
Car and other vehicle
Casualties
4
2 killed, 2 seriously injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.08083, longitude -2.50531, in the BA7 postcode district. The location was in the former South Somerset district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
197952MCW0895
Council area
Somerset
Police force
Avon and Somerset

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
371
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
Dark, no street lighting
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 14 May 1982.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Lane or location
    Not on carriageway
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    22 years

  • Vehicle 2: Other vehicle

    Manoeuvre
    Parked
    Travelling from
    Parked
    Travelling to
    Parked
    Lane or location
    Not on carriageway
    First point of impact
    Back

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 22, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Fatal

    Female, aged 17, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 24, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 24, 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 197952MCW0895 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.