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CrashStats

M5 crash in East Devon on 17 August 1997 at 16:40 involving a Peugeot 405

A Peugeot 405 crashed on the M5 in East Devon at 16:40 on Sunday 17 August 1997. The 42-year-old male driver, a 47-year-old female passenger and a 16-year-old female passenger were slightly injured.

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

Severity
Slight
Date
17 Aug 1997
Sunday, 16:40
Vehicles
1
Peugeot 405
Casualties
3
3 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.78171, longitude -3.45203, in the EX5 postcode district.

Map of where the crash happened in East Devon

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  • 1 crash
  • Slight

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
199750D213038
Council area
East Devon
Police force
Devon and Cornwall
Highway authority
Devon

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
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 52 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 3 October 2025.

Vehicles involved (1)

  • Vehicle 1: Peugeot 405

    Car

    Towing and articulation
    Other tow
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North East
    Travelling to
    South West
    Skidding and overturning
    Jackknifed and overturned
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Nearside or offside crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Nearside
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    42 years
    Engine capacity
    1,905 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Diesel
    Vehicle age
    8 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 42, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Peugeot 405)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 47, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Peugeot 405)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 16, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Peugeot 405)

    Car passenger
    Rear seat passenger

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 199750D213038 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the East Devon road accident statistics for 1997.