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CrashStats

Fatal A361 crash in Somerset on 4 December 1998 at 07:35 involving an MZ motorcycle

An MZ motorcycle, a Volvo 440 and a lorry were involved in a crash on the A361 in Somerset at 07:35 on Friday 4 December 1998. The 54-year-old male rider of the MZ motorcycle was killed, the 27-year-old male driver of the Volvo 440 was seriously injured and the 38-year-old male driver of the lorry was slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in fine weather on a wet single carriageway with a 60 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Fatal
Date
4 Dec 1998
Friday, 07:35
Vehicles
3
MZ and 2 others
Casualties
3
1 killed, 1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 51.20089, longitude -2.38067, in the BA11 postcode district. The location was in the former Mendip district.

Map of where the crash happened in Somerset

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  • 1 crash
  • Fatal

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
1998520144681
Council area
Somerset
Police force
Avon and Somerset

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
361
Road type
Single carriageway
Speed limit
60 mph
Urban or rural
Rural
Trunk road
Non-trunk road

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
Wet or damp

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, at the same spot, was a slight injury crash on 9 November 1992.

Vehicles involved (3)

  • Vehicle 1: MZ

    Motorcycle

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    North East
    Travelling to
    South West
    Leaving the carriageway
    Offside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Tree
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    54 years
    Engine capacity
    125 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    13 years

  • Vehicle 2: Volvo 440

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Overtaking moving vehicle on its offside
    Travelling from
    South West
    Travelling to
    North East
    Leaving the carriageway
    Nearside
    Hit object off carriageway
    Tree
    First point of impact
    Front
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    27 years
    Engine capacity
    1,721 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Vehicle age
    7 years

  • Vehicle 3: Lorry

    Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes

    Towing and articulation
    Articulated vehicle
    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    South West
    Travelling to
    North East
    First point of impact
    Did not impact
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    38 years

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Rider

    Fatal

    Male, aged 54, motorcyclist, on vehicle 1 (MZ)

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 27, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Volvo 440)

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Slight

    Male, aged 38, goods vehicle occupant (over 3.5 tonnes), in vehicle 3 (Lorry)

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 1998520144681 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 1998.