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CrashStats

Fatal A35 crash in Dorset on 1 December 1979 at 23:00 involving a van

A van and a car were involved in a crash on the A35 in Dorset at 23:00 on Saturday 1 December 1979. The 18-year-old male driver of the van was killed and three other people were seriously injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in the rain on a wet single carriageway with a 60 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
1 Dec 1979
Saturday, 23:00
Vehicles
2
Van and car
Casualties
4
1 killed, 3 seriously injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.7111, longitude -2.55571, in the DT2 postcode district. The location was in the former West Dorset district.

Map of where the crash happened in Dorset

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
1979557912756
Council area
Dorset
Police force
Dorset

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
35
Road type
Single carriageway
Speed limit
60 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
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 14 metres away, was a serious injury crash on 25 December 1979.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Van

    Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    West
    Travelling to
    East
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    18 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    31 years

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 18, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 19, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 31, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Serious

    Female, aged 34, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (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 1979557912756 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Dorset road accident statistics for 1979.