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CrashStats

Serious M5 crash in Somerset on 26 February 1996 at 21:50 involving a van

A van crashed on the M5 in Somerset at 21:50 on Monday 26 February 1996. The 55-year-old male driver was seriously injured.

It happened after dark under street lighting in fine weather on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
26 Feb 1996
Monday, 21:50
Vehicles
1
Van
Casualties
1
1 seriously injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.97742, longitude -3.14232, in the TA3 postcode district. The location was in the former Somerset West and Taunton district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
19965296K7820
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
Urban or rural
Rural
Trunk road
Trunk road (National Highways)

Junction information

Junction type
Not at junction or within 20 metres
Junction control
Give way or uncontrolled
Second road class
Unclassified

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Dark, street lights lit
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 26 April 1984.

Vehicles involved (1)

  • Vehicle 1: Van

    Van or goods vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Changing lane to left
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    Skidding and overturning
    Jackknifed
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Road sign or traffic signal
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    55 years

Casualties (1)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 55, van occupant, in vehicle 1 (Van)

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 19965296K7820 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 1996.