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CrashStats

M5 crash in Somerset on 20 December 1997 at 17:03 involving a Ford Escort

A Ford Escort and a Peugeot 205 were involved in a crash on the M5 in Somerset at 17:03 on Saturday 20 December 1997. The 26-year-old male driver of the Ford Escort, a 30-year-old female passenger in the Ford Escort and the 26-year-old male driver of the Peugeot 205 were slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in fine weather on a dry dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Slight
Date
20 Dec 1997
Saturday, 17:03
Vehicles
2
Ford Escort and Peugeot 205
Casualties
3
3 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.11953, longitude -2.67575, in the BA6 postcode district. The location was in the former Sedgemoor district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Slight

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
1997520002453
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
Dark, no street lighting
Weather
Fine, no high winds
Road surface
Dry

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 632 metres away, was a serious injury crash on 22 November 1980.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Ford Escort

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Central crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    26 years
    Engine capacity
    1,117 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    14 years

  • Vehicle 2: Peugeot 205

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South
    Travelling to
    North
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Nearside or offside crash barrier
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    26 years
    Engine capacity
    1,124 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    10 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 26, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

  • Casualty 2: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 30, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Ford Escort)

    Car passenger
    Front seat passenger

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 26, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Peugeot 205)

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 1997520002453 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 1997.