Skip to main content
CrashStats

Serious A303 crash in Somerset on 21 July 1985 at 22:40 involving a car

Four cars were involved in a crash on the A303 in Somerset at 22:40 on Sunday 21 July 1985. There were four casualties: one person was seriously injured and three were slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in the rain on a wet single carriageway with a 60 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
21 Jul 1985
Sunday, 22:40
Vehicles
4
Car and 3 others
Casualties
4
1 seriously injured, 3 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.9313, longitude -2.85659, in the TA19 postcode district. The location was in the former South Somerset district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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

  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198552FI00982
Council area
Somerset
Police force
Avon and Somerset

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
303
Road type
Single carriageway
Speed limit
60 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
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 22 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 21 May 2025.

Vehicles involved (4)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    West
    Travelling to
    East
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    35 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Other permanent object
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    20 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Other permanent object
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    35 years

  • Vehicle 4: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    West
    Travelling to
    East
    First point of impact
    Did not impact

Casualties (4)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 35, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 16, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 35, car occupant, in vehicle 3 (Car)

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 30, car occupant, in vehicle 3 (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 198552FI00982 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Somerset road accident statistics for 1985.