M1 crash in West Northamptonshire on 18 May 1981 at 12:20 involving a van
A van, two cars and a lorry were involved in a crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire at 12:20 on Monday 18 May 1981. A 65-year-old female passenger in vehicle 4 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
- 18 May 1981
- Monday, 12:20
- Vehicles
- 4
- Van and 3 others
- Casualties
- 1
- 1 slightly injured
Location of the crash
Police recorded the crash at latitude 52.30577, longitude -1.12115, in the NN6 postcode district and within the built-up area of Watford. The location was in the former Daventry district.
Map of where the crash happened in West Northamptonshire
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- 1 crash
- Slight
Collision details
Basic information
- Reference
- 198134DD00430
- Council area
- West Northamptonshire
- Police force
- Northamptonshire
Road and location details
- First road class
- Motorway
- First road number
- 1
- 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, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 28 June 2012.
Slight
Ford Fiesta crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire, 28 June 2012
At the same spotRef 201234TM16432
Slight
Ford Fiesta crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire, 22 November 2009
14 m awayRef 200934TM49879
Slight
Mercedes Sprinter crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire, 18 September 2009
14 m awayRef 200934TM39119
Serious
Car crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire, 19 November 1980
20 m awayRef 198034DD00971
Slight
Ford Escort crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire, 19 January 1993
20 m awayRef 199334TD00046
Serious
Mercedes E Class crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire, 20 October 2024
21 m awayRef 2024340WN5582
Vehicles involved (4)
Vehicle 1: Van
Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes
- Manoeuvre
- Changing lane to right
- Travelling from
- North
- Travelling to
- South
- Leaving the carriageway
- Offside onto central reservation
- Hit object off carriageway
- Central crash barrier
- First point of impact
- Front
- Driver sex
- Male
- Driver age
- 20 years
Vehicle 2: Car
- Manoeuvre
- Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
- Travelling from
- North
- Travelling to
- South
- Leaving the carriageway
- Offside onto central reservation and rebounded
- Hit object off carriageway
- Central crash barrier
- First point of impact
- Offside
- Driver sex
- Male
- Driver age
- 57 years
Vehicle 3: Lorry
Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes
- Towing and articulation
- Articulated vehicle
- Manoeuvre
- Going ahead
- Travelling from
- North
- Travelling to
- South
- First point of impact
- Nearside
- Driver sex
- Male
- Driver age
- 50 years
Vehicle 4: Car
- Manoeuvre
- Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
- Travelling from
- North
- Travelling to
- South
- First point of impact
- Front
- Driver sex
- Male
- Driver age
- 66 years
Casualties (1)
Casualty 1: Passenger
SlightFemale, aged 65, car occupant, in vehicle 4 (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 198134DD00430 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the West Northamptonshire road accident statistics for 1981.