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CrashStats

Serious M5 crash in Somerset on 25 December 1987 at 03:56 involving a car

Two cars were involved in a crash on the M5 in Somerset at 03:56 on Friday 25 December 1987. The 26-year-old male driver of vehicle 2 was seriously injured and the 21-year-old male driver of vehicle 1 was slightly injured.

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

Severity
Serious
Date
25 Dec 1987
Friday, 03:56
Vehicles
2
Car and another
Casualties
2
1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.16593, longitude -2.98107, in the TA7 postcode district. The location was in the former Sedgemoor district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198752GR02175
Council area
Somerset
Police force
Avon and Somerset

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
5
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
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp
Carriageway hazards
Other object in carriageway

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a fatal crash on 21 July 1980.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside and rebounded
    Hit object off carriageway
    Nearside or offside crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    21 years

  • Vehicle 2: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking stationary vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Skidding and overturning
    Overturned
    Hit object in carriageway
    Other object
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside and rebounded
    Hit object off carriageway
    Other permanent object
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    26 years

Casualties (2)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 26, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Car)

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 21, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (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 198752GR02175 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 1987.