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CrashStats

M5 crash in Somerset on 31 October 1997 at 18:25 involving a Fiat Marea

A Fiat Marea and a Ford Escort were involved in a crash on the M5 in Somerset at 18:25 on Friday 31 October 1997. A 36-year-old female passenger in the Ford Escort was 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
31 Oct 1997
Friday, 18:25
Vehicles
2
Fiat Marea and Ford Escort
Casualties
1
1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.23907, longitude -2.94394, in the TA9 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
1997520039503
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
Special conditions at the site
Roadworks
Carriageway hazards
Roadworks

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 24 August 1979.

Vehicles involved (2)

  • Vehicle 1: Fiat Marea

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Slowing or stopping
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Back
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    26 years
    Engine capacity
    1,581 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    0 years

  • Vehicle 2: Ford Escort

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    North
    Travelling to
    South
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    43 years
    Engine capacity
    1,117 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    14 years

Casualties (1)

  • Casualty 1: Passenger

    Slight

    Female, aged 36, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Ford Escort)

    Car passenger
    Front 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 1997520039503 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.