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CrashStats

A38 crash in the South Hams on 4 January 1986 at 19:10 involving a car

Four cars were involved in a crash on the A38 in the South Hams at 19:10 on Saturday 4 January 1986. All five casualties were slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in the rain on a wet dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Slight
Date
4 Jan 1986
Saturday, 19:10
Vehicles
4
Car and 3 others
Casualties
5
5 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.38443, longitude -3.91432, in the PL21 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in the South Hams

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  • 1 crash
  • Slight

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198650E530009
Council area
South Hams
Police force
Devon and Cornwall

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
38
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
Dark, no street lighting
Weather
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 6 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 20 October 2025.

Vehicles involved (4)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North East
    Travelling to
    South West
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside, crossed central reservation
    Hit object off carriageway
    Other permanent object
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    41 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South West
    Travelling to
    North East
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    52 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South West
    Travelling to
    North East
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    55 years

  • Vehicle 4: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South West
    Travelling to
    North East
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    28 years

Casualties (5)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 43, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 20, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 18, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 4: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 20, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

  • Casualty 5: Passenger

    Slight

    Male, aged 84, 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 198650E530009 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the South Hams road accident statistics for 1986.