On Monday, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration had a large-scale inspection of heavy vehicles on Svinesund. The border crossing is the busiest in the country. One in ten vehicles had such serious faults that they were banned from use. This means that they are not allowed to leave the checkpoint until the errors have been rectified. Even more had deficiencies. Øyvind Grotterød in the National Roads Administration sees daily major deficiencies in foreign truck trains on their way into Norway. Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke/news One of the vehicles that had to remain was a Polish truck train. It had a toolbox on the trailer with such extensive rust damage that tools, jacks and jack straps were about to fall out onto the road. – If things had fallen out of the toolbox and onto the road, as they were about to do, it could have had catastrophic consequences, says station manager Øyvind Ivar Grotterød in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. – A small jack can be very dangerous at high speed. Bad brakes Around 2,000 vehicles pass the border crossing at Svinesund every day, but only a few of these end up in extended control. 47 wagon trains were banned from use yesterday. – We have people who are good at picking out the right vehicles. It is not unusual for us that one in ten is prohibited from using it, says Grotterød. Bad brakes in particular are a recurring problem. A wagon train from the Netherlands was refused to continue because there was “steel against steel” on the brakes. When the brake lining is worn down, the brakes can burst and, in the worst case, catch fire. This was one of the bad brakes the Norwegian Road Administration discovered on 15 May. Photo: Statens vegvesen This means that the brake lining on the brake pads has completely worn away. In practice, this means that the wagon train can still brake, but it doesn’t take long before they smoke or, in the worst case, catch fire. – If you drive down the Oslofjordtunnel and brake all the way with such brakes, it only takes a little time before it starts to burn and you end up in a life-threatening situation. Trucks often involved Trygg Trafikk finds it disturbingly common that the road service and the police uncover serious faults with vehicles that want to enter the country. – It is sad for those who have to use the vehicles, but also for us who have to deal with them and the dangerous situations they create on our roads, says special advisor Paal Gunnar Mathisen in Trygg Trafikk Viken. Paal Gunnar Mathisen in Trygg Trafikk i Viken. Photo: Safe traffic – We look at the figures from last year that trucks were involved in a large part of the accidents. We do not know whether all were foreign, but it is reasonable to believe that they are involved in more than the Norwegians, Mathisen continues. Erik Graarud of the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association has previously stated that foreign truck trains destroy the reputation of the industry. – I would like to emphasize that it is mostly foreign lorry trains that are stopped at the border with major defects. Only 8–10 percent of the wagon trains across Svinesund are Norwegian, Graarud has previously told news. The Swedish Road Administration at the border crossing at Svinesund had 441 vehicle trains pass the control station yesterday. They put great resources into stopping the worst. – When we uncover serious faults, they must be repaired before they are allowed to travel further into our country, concludes station manager Øyvind Ivar Grotterød.
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47 heavy vehicles were banned from using Svinesund – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
