A foreign truck train was stopped on Tuesday with trailer tires with less than 2 millimeters tread depth at the Taraldsrud control station on the E6 south of Oslo. In the period from 15 November to 31 March, there is a requirement for tires with a tread depth of at least five millimeters on such vehicles and their trailers. – It’s not very good that something like this is happening to our vegans, especially not with the weather we’ve had recently, says senior inspector Daniel Alexander Hals in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Hals led today’s inspection at Taraldsrud and says that many of the vehicles they stop are properly fitted for the conditions. – But unfortunately we have also seen many who are missing all the chains they are supposed to bring, which is at least seven on a truck train. We see a lack of winter tyres, too little tread depth. These are vehicles that we clearly want to get out of traffic, says the inspector. Photo: Statens vegvesen Are happy and shocked at the uncovering of defects in the vehicles If vegans are full of snow, as in Austlandet in recent days, the driver of a truck train that is not well shod is prohibited from using it until he has rectified the defects. At the same time, the driver receives a fine that is in line with how many tires are too bad or chains that are missing, says Hals. The driver of the wagon train with the tire pictured in this case was banned from using it and charged a traffic fee of NOK 2,000. Hals did not catch the conversation between the driver and the inspector who spoke to him, but says that the drivers they stop generally react differently when an inspector points out deficiencies. – Some drivers are aware of the problem and are frustrated because they have told their employer about this, but that it has not been heard. Others are shocked that they have such bad winter tires or are missing chains. Several are happy with the work we do, and that they are instructed to fix the problem straight away, says Hals. Although the wagon train with the tires depicted in this case was foreign, the senior inspector does not see any clear difference in the number of defects between Norwegian and foreign transport companies, or Norwegian and foreign drivers. – I see both Norwegian and foreign ones as lacking, but I also see both Norwegian and foreign ones as having very good tires and good chains too. So I can’t separate there, he says. Trygg Trafikk is not surprised – Unfortunately, there are still many people who are out on our roads without decent tires in winter. That’s what Christoffer Solstad Steen, press manager at Trygg Trafikk, says. – It becomes particularly serious when you drive heavy vehicles. There are a lot of forces involved, and if you first lose control, it can have fatal consequences, both for the driver of the train, but not least for others who are in the same place at the same time. – Are you surprised that the Swedish Road Administration stopped a truck train with such thinly worn tires today? – I would like that, but unfortunately we still hear about this kind of thing all the time. It is very sad and scary. Fortunately, the National Road Administration is out to control and stop these vehicles. It is an incredibly important job, especially under such demanding driving conditions as now, says Steen. – Even if we are talking about tires on a trailer, is this dangerous? – Regardless of whether there are tires on the vehicle itself or the trailer, there must be good tires with a pattern that is deep enough. Here we are talking about a pattern depth of less than two millimeters. It’s all too bad, says Steen.
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Stop wagon trains with these tires on the snow-filled E6
