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CrashStats

Fatal M4 crash in Rhondda Cynon Taf on 12 March 1981 at 07:55 involving a van

A van and a lorry were involved in a crash on the M4 in Rhondda Cynon Taf at 07:55 on Thursday 12 March 1981. The 35-year-old male driver of the van and a 40-year-old male passenger in the van were killed, one other person was seriously injured and one 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
Fatal
Date
12 Mar 1981
Thursday, 07:55
Vehicles
2
Van and lorry
Casualties
4
2 killed, 1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.51233, longitude -3.3649, in the CF72 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in Rhondda Cynon Taf

Use the arrow keys to move the map and the plus and minus keys to zoom.

  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
1981620E00440
Council area
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Police force
South Wales

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
4
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, 13 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 21 June 2019.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Van

    Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Nearside or offside crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    35 years

  • Vehicle 2: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    33 years

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Fatal

    Male, aged 35, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Fatal

    Male, aged 40, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Serious

    Male, aged 28, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 32, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

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 1981620E00440 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Rhondda Cynon Taf road accident statistics for 1981.