The fatalities in traffic this summer are record numbers. A total of 61 people have been killed so far this year, 15 women and men only in June. That is twice as many as last year. Former employees this week called the road director to an emergency meeting and implemented a number of measures. Now the police hope that the cars themselves will “remember” important details about the last seconds before the fatal crash. – In newer cars, there is often valuable information that can be extracted. We hope that it can provide important answers about the course of the accident, says police attorney Magne Kvalvik in Møre og Romsdal police district. He is looking for the investigation after one of the fatal accidents in June, where two women in Ålesund died after a frontal collision in the Blindheim tunnel. Police attorney Magne Kvalvik says the information from the black boxes is valuable in the investigation. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news Has analyzed 100 cases A small, black box that has been installed in front of the cab has been installed in more and more new cars in recent years. The box contains what is called an Event Data Recorder (EDR) and stores important information five seconds before the airbag is triggered. The technology will be able to provide answers to questions such as: How fast did the car drive in the last few seconds before the accident Pressed the driver on the accelerator and / or brake pedal Had the driver and passengers fastened their seat belts – It is quite valuable in an analysis of the accident to know about the speed and whether the brake has been used, how the driver has steered and so on, says Jens Petter Storrø, who is a senior engineer in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The black box has about the same function as the black box in airplanes. – Strengthens legal security In recent years, accident investigators from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration have extracted information from the car itself in about 100 cases. After the accident summer 2022, more motorists can be brought to justice after fatal accidents. Then information from the black boxes will come in handy. – It strengthens legal security. Instead of us being able to say that a car has driven between 80 and 100 kilometers per hour, we can perhaps now say that the registration shows that the motorist has driven at 92, says Storrø in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. From 2024, there will be requirements throughout the EU that all new cars must be delivered with black boxes. Senior engineer Jens Petter Storrø at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration thinks information from the black boxes can help establish a safe speed in connection with fatal accidents. Photo: Norwegian Public Roads Administration Hopes new technology has an effect Previous investigations show that speed is a significant cause in a number of fatal accidents, and that men are involved in most accidents. In Trøndelag, a research project is now underway among speed-aggressive, young men. Several rough drivers have said yes to the researchers being allowed to register all car driving. Not just just before an accident, but continuously. – All such technology that monitors your driving ring will have an effect. But it is highly uncertain how big or small the effect these black boxes will have, says senior adviser Bård Morten Johansen in Trygg Trafikk. Senior adviser Bård Morten Johansen says he is unsure whether the new technology can slow down in accident cars. Photo: Erland Knutsen / news Hope to give family answers For the relatives of 60 people, June 2022 became a black memory, after the fatal accidents in traffic. Police attorney Magne Kvalvik is leading the investigation into one of the fatal accidents this summer, in which two women died in the Blindheim tunnel in Ålesund. He hopes that the new technology not only helps the police, but can also mean something to the relatives. – I hope we can help them understand what happened. We can at least try to present as complete a course of events as possible, and then we hope that it is something they will appreciate, he says. Two women died after a collision in the Blindheim tunnel in Ålesund the first weekend in June. A third woman is seriously injured. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news
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