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CrashStats

Fatal A39 crash in Cornwall on 3 September 1981 at 20:30 involving a motorcycle

A motorcycle hit a pedestrian on the A39 in Cornwall at 20:30 on Thursday 3 September 1981. A 77-year-old male pedestrian was killed, the 23-year-old male rider was seriously injured and a 17-year-old female passenger was slightly injured.

It happened after dark under street lighting in fine weather on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, at a T or staggered junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
3 Sep 1981
Thursday, 20:30
Vehicles
1
Motorcycle
Casualties
3
1 killed, 1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.2585, longitude -5.04745, in the TR1 postcode district and within the built-up area of Truro.

Map of where the crash happened in Cornwall

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198150A081745
Council area
Cornwall
Police force
Devon and Cornwall

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
39
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph

Junction information

Junction type
T or staggered junction
Junction control
Give way or uncontrolled
Second road class
Unclassified

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Dark, street lights lit
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a serious injury crash on 12 March 1979.

Vehicles involved (1)

  • Vehicle 1: Motorcycle

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North West
    Travelling to
    South West
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    Hit object in carriageway
    Bollard or refuge
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside onto central reservation and rebounded
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    23 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Rider

    Serious

    Male, aged 23, motorcyclist, on vehicle 1 (Motorcycle)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 17, motorcyclist, on vehicle 1 (Motorcycle)

  • Casualty 3: Pedestrian

    Fatal

    Male, aged 77, hit by vehicle 1 (Motorcycle)

    Pedestrian location
    In carriageway, crossing elsewhere
    Pedestrian movement
    Crossing from driver's nearside

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 198150A081745 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Cornwall road accident statistics for 1981.