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CrashStats

Serious A38 crash in the South Hams on 18 December 2025 at 17:15 involving a Dacia Duster

A Dacia Duster, a Volkswagen Golf and a BMW 1 Series were involved in a crash on the A38 in the South Hams at 17:15 on Thursday 18 December 2025. The 30-year-old male driver of the Dacia Duster was seriously injured and the 40-year-old female driver of the BMW 1 Series and the 27-year-old female driver of the Volkswagen Golf were slightly injured.

It happened after dark with no street lighting in the rain on a wet dual carriageway with a 70 mph limit, away from any junction.

Severity
Serious
Date
18 Dec 2025
Thursday, 17:15
Vehicles
3
Dacia Duster and 2 others
Casualties
3
1 seriously injured, 2 slightly injured

Location of the crash

Police recorded the crash at latitude 50.38651, longitude -3.93931, in the PL21 postcode district. It is one of the crashes that make up the Ermington & Ugborough, South Hams, PL21 9GP area accident hotspot.

Map of where the crash happened in the South Hams

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  • 1 crash
  • Serious

Collision details

Basic information

Reference
2025501685145
Council area
South Hams
Police force
Devon and Cornwall
Police attended the scene
Yes
Highway authority
Devon

Road and location details

First road class
A
First road number
38
Road type
Dual carriageway
Speed limit
70 mph
Urban or rural
Urban
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
Raining, no high winds
Road surface
Wet or damp

Enhanced collision data

Serious injury band
Less serious
How severity was recorded
From injuries recorded by police (CRASH system)
Estimated chance it was serious
100%
Estimated chance it was slight
0%

The 6 nearest recorded crashes

The nearest, 3 metres away, was a slight injury crash on 14 April 1997.

Vehicles involved (3)

  • Vehicle 1: Dacia Duster

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Position at junction
    Not at or within 20 metres of junction
    First point of impact
    Front
    Left-hand drive
    No
    Driver sex
    Male
    Driver age
    30 years
    Engine capacity
    1,461 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Diesel
    Driver home area deprivation
    20 to 30% most deprived
    Distance from driver's home
    10 to 20 km

  • Vehicle 2: Volkswagen Golf

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Position at junction
    Not at or within 20 metres of junction
    First point of impact
    Back
    Left-hand drive
    No
    Journey purpose
    Commuting to or from work
    Driver sex
    Female
    Driver age
    27 years
    Engine capacity
    1,498 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Driver home area deprivation
    10% most deprived
    Distance from driver's home
    10 to 20 km

  • Vehicle 3: BMW 1 Series

    Car

    Manoeuvre
    Going ahead
    Travelling from
    East
    Travelling to
    West
    Position at junction
    Not at or within 20 metres of junction
    First point of impact
    Back
    Left-hand drive
    No
    Driver sex
    Female
    Driver age
    40 years
    Engine capacity
    1,499 cc
    Fuel or propulsion
    Petrol
    Driver home area deprivation
    30 to 40% least deprived
    Distance from driver's home
    20 to 100 km

Casualties (3)

  • Casualty 1: Driver

    Slight

    Female, aged 40, car occupant, in vehicle 3 (BMW 1 Series)

    Home area deprivation
    30 to 40% least deprived
    Distance from home
    20 to 100 km

  • Casualty 2: Driver

    Serious

    Male, aged 30, car occupant, in vehicle 1 (Dacia Duster)

    Serious injury band
    Less serious
    Home area deprivation
    20 to 30% most deprived
    Distance from home
    10 to 20 km

  • Casualty 3: Driver

    Slight

    Female, aged 27, car occupant, in vehicle 2 (Volkswagen Golf)

    Home area deprivation
    10% most deprived
    Distance from home
    10 to 20 km

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 2025501685145 in the data published on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and one of the crashes counted in the South Hams road accident statistics for 2025.