Skip to main content
CrashStats

M5 crash in Somerset on 17 December 1987 at 16:50 involving a car

Two cars and a lorry were involved in a crash on the M5 in Somerset at 16:50 on Thursday 17 December 1987. The 23-year-old female driver of vehicle 3 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
Slight
Date
17 Dec 1987
Thursday, 16:50
Vehicles
3
Car and 2 others
Casualties
1
1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.26739, longitude -2.92202, in the BS24 postcode district. The location was in the former Sedgemoor 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
  • Slight

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
198752GU02120
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

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 34 metres away, was a fatal crash on 4 November 2018.

Vehicles involved (3)

  • Vehicle 1: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Female
    Driver age
    39 years

  • Vehicle 2: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Offside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    25 years

  • Vehicle 3: Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Skidding and overturning
    Skidded
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside onto central reservation
    Hit object off carriageway
    Central crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Female
    Driver age
    23 years

Casualties (1)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Slight

    Female, aged 23, car occupant, in vehicle 3 (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 198752GU02120 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.