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Road collisions in Somerset West and Taunton
Police recorded 970 road collisions involving injury in Somerset West and Taunton between 2021 and 2025, about 194 a year. 24 of them were fatal, and an estimated 260 involved serious injury once DfT's severity adjustment is applied. These are reported injury collisions only: damage-only incidents and unreported injuries are not included.
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When collisions happen
The busiest hour was 3pm to 4pm, and 31% of collisions happened between 3pm and 7pm (lower than the 32% across Great Britain). Friday had the most collisions, and 24% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 194 in 2021 to 211 in 2025, a rise of 9%. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so Somerset West and Taunton should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across Somerset West and Taunton, 1,367 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 10% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 10% (12%) and motorcyclists 9% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 65%. 5 of the pedestrians were killed.
Children aged 0 to 15 were 8% of casualties, close to the 9% national share. People aged 16 to 25 were 23% (21% nationally), and people over 65 were 14% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in Somerset West and Taunton | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 131 | 9.6% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 133 | 9.7% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 123 | 9.0% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 891 | 65.2% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 33 | 2.4% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 38 | 2.8% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 18 | 1.3% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in Somerset West and Taunton | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 26 | 1.9% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 45 | 3.3% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 44 | 3.3% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 176 | 13.0% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 136 | 10.1% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 214 | 15.9% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 190 | 14.1% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 167 | 12.4% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 161 | 11.9% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 104 | 7.7% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 86 | 6.4% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
12.9% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 13.6% a cyclist (15.0%) and 11.9% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 3.8% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 26.0% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). 5 collisions involved an e-scooter.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in Somerset West and Taunton | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 1,294 | 73.9% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 110 | 6.3% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 37 | 2.1% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 123 | 7.0% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 140 | 8.0% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 17 | 1.0% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 29 | 1.7% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in Somerset West and Taunton
These are the 100 metre squares with the most reported collisions in 2021 to 2025. Location is the average position of the collisions in each square, so treat it as approximate.
| # | Where | Junction type | Collisions | Fatal | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toneway (A358) | Crossroads | 13 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | Toneway (A38) | Roundabout | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 3 | Silver Street (A38) | T or staggered junction | 11 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | East Street (A38) | T or staggered junction | 8 | 0 | View on map |
| 5 | B3170 | Crossroads | 7 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | Station Road (A3038) | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | East Reach (A38) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | North Street (A3027) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | A3259 | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | B3227 | T or staggered junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | A38 | Crossroads | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 12 | Wellington New Road (A38) | Not at a junction | 4 | 1 | View on map |
| 13 | St Andrew's Road (A358) | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 14 | A39 | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 15 | Cann Street (A38) | Other junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 16 | A358 | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 17 | Priorswood Road (A358) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 18 | Roman Road | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 19 | A358 | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 20 | A358 | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 21 | Cheddon Road | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 22 | Mattock's Tree Hill (A358) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 23 | East Reach (A38) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 24 | East Reach (A38) | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
Roads and streets with the most collisions
Each collision is matched to the nearest named road. Long roads and busy town centres collect the most, so this list shows where collisions are recorded, not which streets are riskiest.
| Road or street | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Station Road | 20 | 0 | 5 |
| Toneway | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| East Reach | 16 | 0 | 5 |
| Bridgwater Road | 12 | 1 | 4 |
| Kingston Road | 11 | 1 | 3 |
| Mattock's Tree Hill | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| East Street | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Wellington New Road | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| High Street | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| Staplegrove Road | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Cheddon Road | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| South Road | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| Fore Street | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Wellington Road | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Roman Road | 6 | 0 | 1 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
53% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 29% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 46% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, lower than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A38 | 129 | 2 | 31 |
| A358 | 118 | 1 | 33 |
| A39 | 69 | 5 | 24 |
| M5 | 32 | 3 | 8 |
| B3227 | 29 | 1 | 9 |
| B3170 | 23 | 1 | 6 |
| A3027 | 23 | 0 | 8 |
| B3187 | 20 | 1 | 3 |
| A3038 | 19 | 0 | 4 |
| B3224 | 16 | 1 | 8 |
| A3259 | 16 | 0 | 5 |
| A361 | 12 | 0 | 3 |
| A396 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| B3191 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| A3065 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
22% of collisions in Somerset West and Taunton happened in darkness, lower than the 28% across Great Britain. 42% happened on roads classed as urban, lower than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in Somerset West and Taunton | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 32 | 3.3% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| A road | 413 | 42.6% | 44.0% |
| B road | 117 | 12.1% | 12.5% |
| C road | 1 | 0.1% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 407 | 42.0% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in Somerset West and Taunton | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 43 | 4.4% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 470 | 48.5% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 107 | 11.0% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 70 | 7.2% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 243 | 25.1% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 37 | 3.8% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in Somerset West and Taunton | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 527 | 54.4% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 277 | 28.6% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 63 | 6.5% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 10 | 1.0% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 10 | 1.0% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 15 | 1.5% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 67 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in Somerset West and Taunton | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 757 | 78.2% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 88 | 9.1% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 2 | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 91 | 9.4% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 30 | 3.1% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in Somerset West and Taunton | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 403 | 41.5% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 567 | 58.5% | 32.8% |
About these figures
Only collisions involving injury that were reported to the police are counted. The figures are not adjusted for traffic volume or population, so they should not be used to rank areas against each other. Serious and slight splits use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment. Full explanation.