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CrashStats

Serious M5 crash in Somerset on 20 December 1996 at 14:25 involving an ERF lorry

An ERF lorry and a Ford Orion were involved in a crash on the M5 in Somerset at 14:25 on Friday 20 December 1996. The 19-year-old male driver of the Ford Orion was seriously injured.

It happened in daylight on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
20 Dec 1996
Friday, 14:25
Vehicles
2
ERF and Ford Orion
Casualties
1
1 seriously injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.27163, longitude -2.92024, in the BS26 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
19965296L0090
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

Pedestrian crossing information

Crossing facilities
No physical crossing facility within 50 m

Environmental conditions

Light conditions
Daylight
Weather
Other
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 23 January 1998.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: ERF

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    56 years
    Engine capacity
    10,000 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Diesel
    Vehicle age
    7 years

  • Vehicle 2: Ford Orion

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    19 years
    Engine capacity
    1,596 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    7 years

Casualties (1)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 19, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Ford Orion)

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 19965296L0090 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.