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CrashStats

M6 crash in Preston on 18 December 1996 at 06:40 involving a Mercedes 300 van

A Mercedes 300 van and a lorry were involved in a crash on the M6 in Preston at 06:40 on Wednesday 18 December 1996. The 38-year-old male driver of the Mercedes 300 van was slightly injured.

It happened after dark under street lighting in the rain on a wet dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Slight
Date
18 Dec 1996
Wednesday, 06:40
Vehicles
2
Mercedes 300 and lorry
Casualties
1
1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 53.78364, longitude -2.65074, in the PR2 postcode district and within the built-up area of Preston.

Map of where the crash happened in Preston

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  • 1 crash
  • Slight

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
199604L045196
Council area
Preston
Police force
Lancashire
Highway authority
Lancashire

Road and location details

First road class
Motorway
First road number
6
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph
Urban or rural
Rural
Trunk road
Trunk road (National Highways)

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, street lights lit
Weather
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 4 August 1991.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Mercedes 300

    Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes

    Manoeuvre
    Changing lane to left
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    38 years
    Engine capacity
    2,874 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Diesel
    Vehicle age
    1 year

  • Vehicle 2: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

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

Casualties (1)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 38, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Mercedes 300)

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 199604L045196 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the Preston road accident statistics for 1996.