Home / All areas / South Somerset
Road collisions in South Somerset
Police recorded 1,087 road collisions involving injury in South Somerset between 2021 and 2025, about 217 a year. 33 of them were fatal, and an estimated 325 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.
Check your own street
Want to see collisions near a particular address in South Somerset? Search by postcode
When collisions happen
The busiest hour was 3pm to 4pm, and 32% of collisions happened between 3pm and 7pm (close to the 32% across Great Britain). Friday had the most collisions, and 25% happened at weekends.
Trend over time
Reported collisions went from 197 in 2021 to 242 in 2025, a rise of 23%. Counts are affected by traffic levels, population and changes in how police record injuries, so South Somerset should not be ranked against other areas on these numbers alone.
Who is affected
Across South Somerset, 1,505 people were injured or killed in these collisions. Pedestrians were 9% of casualties (14% across Great Britain), pedal cyclists 5% (12%) and motorcyclists 10% (12%). Car and taxi occupants made up 70%. 6 of the pedestrians were killed.
Children aged 0 to 15 were 6% of casualties, lower than the 9% national share. People aged 16 to 25 were 22% (21% nationally), and people over 65 were 16% (10% nationally).
| Road user | Casualties | Share in South Somerset | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 141 | 9.4% | 14.5% |
| Pedal cyclists | 69 | 4.6% | 11.9% |
| Motorcyclists | 144 | 9.6% | 12.4% |
| Car and taxi occupants | 1,057 | 70.2% | 54.4% |
| Bus and minibus occupants | 3 | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| Van and goods vehicle occupants | 75 | 5.0% | 3.5% |
| Other road users | 16 | 1.1% | 1.6% |
Casualties by age
| Age | Casualties | Share in South Somerset | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 21 | 1.4% | 1.6% |
| 6 to 10 | 33 | 2.2% | 2.6% |
| 11 to 15 | 29 | 1.9% | 4.8% |
| 16 to 20 | 181 | 12.1% | 10.6% |
| 21 to 25 | 144 | 9.6% | 11.0% |
| 26 to 35 | 288 | 19.3% | 20.8% |
| 36 to 45 | 205 | 13.7% | 15.8% |
| 46 to 55 | 167 | 11.2% | 12.8% |
| 56 to 65 | 188 | 12.6% | 10.1% |
| 66 to 75 | 127 | 8.5% | 5.3% |
| Over 75 | 110 | 7.4% | 4.5% |
Vehicles involved
12.5% of collisions involved a pedestrian casualty (17.7% nationally), 6.3% a cyclist (15.0%) and 13.0% a motorcyclist (15.3%). 6.3% involved a goods vehicle (3.9% nationally) and 24.7% involved a driver aged 17 to 24 (21.1%). 4 collisions involved an e-scooter.
| Vehicle | Vehicles | Share in South Somerset | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars and taxis | 1,460 | 74.9% | 69.7% |
| Vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) | 154 | 7.9% | 6.4% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 72 | 3.7% | 2.3% |
| Motorcycles | 153 | 7.9% | 9.3% |
| Pedal cycles | 70 | 3.6% | 8.7% |
| Buses and minibuses | 10 | 0.5% | 1.8% |
| Other vehicles | 30 | 1.5% | 1.8% |
Collision hotspots in South Somerset
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 | A303 | Roundabout | 18 | 0 | View on map |
| 2 | A303 | Roundabout | 10 | 0 | View on map |
| 3 | A303 | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 4 | Edmond's Hill (B3151) | T or staggered junction | 6 | 0 | View on map |
| 5 | A371 | Crossroads | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 6 | Kingston (A30) | Not at a junction | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 7 | A303 | Roundabout | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 8 | A303 | Roundabout | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 9 | Tintinhull Road | Crossroads | 5 | 0 | View on map |
| 10 | Lysander Way (A30) | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 11 | A303 | Roundabout | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 12 | A303 | Crossroads | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 13 | A303 | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 14 | Westfield Road | Crossroads | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 15 | Mudford Road (A359) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 16 | East Street (A30) | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 17 | Thorne Lane | Not at a junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 18 | Grove Avenue | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 19 | A30 | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 20 | Pitney Hill (B3153) | T or staggered junction | 4 | 0 | View on map |
| 21 | A356 | Crossroads | 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.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ilchester Road | 21 | 1 | 6 |
| Sherborne Road | 16 | 0 | 5 |
| North Street | 16 | 0 | 4 |
| High Street | 15 | 0 | 3 |
| Preston Road | 15 | 0 | 4 |
| Dorchester Road | 14 | 0 | 4 |
| Station Road | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Mudford Road | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| East Street | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Tintinhull Road | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Furnham Road | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| Reckleford | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Axminster Road | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| Thorne Lane | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| West Coker Road | 7 | 0 | 3 |
Numbered roads with the most collisions
44% of collisions happened on roads with a 30 mph limit or lower (69% nationally), and 41% on roads with a 60 or 70 mph limit (18% nationally). 42% were at or within 20 metres of a junction or roundabout, lower than the national 54%.
| Road | Collisions | Fatal | Serious (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A303 | 157 | 13 | 39 |
| A30 | 104 | 3 | 34 |
| A37 | 54 | 1 | 18 |
| A358 | 48 | 2 | 18 |
| B3151 | 36 | 1 | 12 |
| A359 | 33 | 0 | 13 |
| A372 | 29 | 0 | 12 |
| A356 | 28 | 1 | 12 |
| A3088 | 27 | 1 | 9 |
| B3153 | 23 | 0 | 7 |
| A371 | 19 | 2 | 7 |
| B3165 | 18 | 0 | 4 |
| B3081 | 18 | 1 | 7 |
| A378 | 15 | 0 | 2 |
| A357 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
Only numbered roads are listed here. Named streets are in the table above.
Conditions
23% of collisions in South Somerset happened in darkness, lower than the 28% across Great Britain. 23% happened on roads classed as urban, lower than the national 67%.
Type of road
| Type of road | Collisions | Share in South Somerset | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorway | 0 | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| A(M) road | 0 | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| A road | 530 | 48.8% | 44.0% |
| B road | 122 | 11.2% | 12.5% |
| C road | 0 | 0.0% | 4.4% |
| Unclassified road | 435 | 40.0% | 35.9% |
Speed limit
| Speed limit | Collisions | Share in South Somerset | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 39 | 3.6% | 17.1% |
| 30 mph | 443 | 40.8% | 52.0% |
| 40 mph | 100 | 9.2% | 8.7% |
| 50 mph | 56 | 5.2% | 4.4% |
| 60 mph | 404 | 37.2% | 12.2% |
| 70 mph | 45 | 4.1% | 5.5% |
Junctions
| Junctions | Collisions | Share in South Somerset | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not at a junction | 631 | 58.0% | 45.9% |
| T or staggered junction | 284 | 26.1% | 28.5% |
| Crossroads | 66 | 6.1% | 9.5% |
| Junction with more than four arms | 1 | 0.1% | 1.6% |
| Private drive or entrance | 11 | 1.0% | 2.2% |
| Other junction | 16 | 1.5% | 6.1% |
| Roundabout | 78 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Light conditions
| Light conditions | Collisions | Share in South Somerset | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 834 | 76.7% | 71.7% |
| Darkness, street lights lit | 71 | 6.5% | 20.6% |
| Darkness, street lights unlit | 5 | 0.5% | 0.7% |
| Darkness, no street lighting | 141 | 13.0% | 5.3% |
| Darkness, lighting unknown | 36 | 3.3% | 1.7% |
Urban or rural
| Urban or rural | Collisions | Share in South Somerset | Share across GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 249 | 22.9% | 67.2% |
| Rural | 838 | 77.1% | 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.