Skip to main content
CrashStats

M1 crash in West Northamptonshire on 4 October 1985 at 15:38 involving a car

Thirteen cars, a van and a bus or coach were involved in a crash on the M1 in West Northamptonshire at 15:38 on Friday 4 October 1985. A 25-year-old female passenger in vehicle 2 and the 28-year-old male driver of vehicle 14 were 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
4 Oct 1985
Friday, 15:38
Vehicles
15
Car and 14 others
Casualties
2
2 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 52.24322, longitude -1.05457, in the NN7 postcode district. The location was in the former Daventry district.

Map of where the crash happened in West Northamptonshire

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

  • 1 crash
  • Slight

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198534BD01434
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, 19 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 22 September 2025.

Vehicles involved (15)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    40 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    29 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    46 years

  • Vehicle 4: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    35 years

  • Vehicle 5: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    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
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    23 years

  • Vehicle 6: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    35 years

  • Vehicle 7: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    24 years

  • Vehicle 8: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    28 years

  • Vehicle 9: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    61 years

  • Vehicle 10: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    40 years

  • Vehicle 11: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    35 years

  • Vehicle 12: Van

    Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    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
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    37 years

  • Vehicle 13: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    41 years

  • Vehicle 14: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    28 years

  • Vehicle 15: Bus or coach

    Bus or coach (17 or more seats)

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside, crossed central reservation
    Hit object off carriageway
    Central crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    34 years

Casualties (2)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 25, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 28, car occupant, in vehicle 14 (Car)

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 198534BD01434 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 1985.