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CrashStats

Serious M23 crash in Mid Sussex on 31 August 1980 at 23:25 involving a car

A car crashed on the M23 in Mid Sussex at 23:25 on Sunday 31 August 1980. The 26-year-old male driver was seriously injured and a 27-year-old male passenger and a 26-year-old male passenger were slightly injured.

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

Severity
Serious
Date
31 Aug 1980
Sunday, 23:25
Vehicles
1
Car
Casualties
3
1 seriously injured, 2 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.1152, longitude -0.13753, in the RH10 postcode district and within the built-up area of Crawley, Crawley.

Map of where the crash happened in Mid Sussex

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198047NA00640
Council area
Mid Sussex
Police force
Sussex

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
23
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
Dark, no street lighting
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 30 metres away, was a serious injury crash on 9 October 2024.

Vehicles involved (1)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Changing lane to left
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    Lane or location
    Not on carriageway
    Skidding and overturning
    Overturned
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Other permanent object
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    26 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 26, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 27, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 26, 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 198047NA00640 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Mid Sussex road accident statistics for 1980.