Norway has had a marked decrease in traffic fatalities over the past 20 years (down 71 per cent), and is the country in the world with the fewest traffic fatalities per inhabitant. But so far this year, there has been a sharp increase in the number of fatalities, even though summer traffic has been calmer than expected. So far this year, 70 people have lost their lives on Norwegian roads. That is more than twice as many as in the first half of 2021. The number of fatal accidents has caused concern among Norwegian authorities, and earlier this summer the Road Administration called in a crisis meeting after a weekend in which four people died in traffic. In this context, they broke down the accidents by road types, speed limits, the number of lanes and traffic volume. In summary, the overview shows that the vast majority of fatal accidents (as of 15 June) have occurred on two-lane roads with a yellow median strip (without median sections) and on roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h. A historical overview of the accident trend on the various road categories can be found in this report from 2020. To news, Frank Sve (Frp) in the Transport Committee at the Storting says that the government’s agreement with SV on “motorway slimming” should be reassessed in light of the “summer of accidents 2022”. – We need more road construction. No less. The vast majority of accidents are on two-lane roads at high speeds. More four-lane roads will lead to fewer deaths, he says. This summer, the Swedish Road Administration and Nye Veg have proposed new road standards which entail narrower motorways and a higher traffic threshold for when the state can and must build a four-lane road. The proposal is now on the table of Transport Minister Jon Ivar Nygård (Ap). – We will implement measures if trends in the accident picture indicate it, Transport Minister Jon Ivar Nygård (Ap). Here together with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Photo: Kjell Brataas / Ministry of Transport – Can’t jump to conclusions In a written reply to Frank Sve (Frp), the Minister of Transport writes that there have been “an alarmingly high number of fatal accidents”, but that there is no basis for commenting on whether the road conditions have contributed to the accidents. – I would like to emphasize that the Norwegian Road Administration does not yet have in-depth analyzes for any of the fatal accidents that have occurred in 2022, he writes. He adds that they “will implement measures if trends in the accident picture indicate it”. In 2002, the Storting adopted a vision of no deaths or serious injuries in road traffic (the “zero vision”). – We agree with the minister that we cannot draw hasty conclusions for the accidents that have not yet been thoroughly analysed, says parliamentary representative for Høgre, Liv Kari Eskeland. But she is “concerned about signals about downscaling of important measures and road projects”. – Reduction from four-lane roads to two- and three-lane roads can lead to more accidents. That a four-lane road with medians reduces the risk of accidents is indisputable, she says. Arild Hermstad in MDG “hopes Nygård will turn a deaf ear to FRP’s easy solutions”. – Why should we have four fields, when we manage to get a central section? We cannot afford to build all the state-of-the-art motorways Frank Sve wants. Especially in and out of the cities, increased capacity on the motorways will contribute to increased traffic and increased pollution, which also takes many lives. – The vast majority of accidents are on two-lane roads at high speeds. More four-lane roads will lead to fewer people killed and injured in traffic, says Frank Sve (Frp). Photo: Tore Ellingseter / news – Could be other reasons The leader of the Storting’s transport committee, Erling Sande (Sp), has advocated scaling back the construction of several large and small transport projects in Southern Norway, Eastern Norway, Western Norway and in Trøndelag. Concrete projects he wants to designate are four-lane E6 in Gudbrandsdalen and in Trøndelag, Hordfast (E39) and four-lane E18/E39 in Southern Norway. Like the transport minister, Sande believes that it is too early to draw political lessons from the accident statistics. – We need more knowledge about why we have had this large increase. Road standards can be a cause of accidents, but there can also be other reasons. – The trend shows that it is middle-aged men who have the greatest risk of being killed Rikard G. Knutsen, Road Traffic Information Council (OFV) – We are very concerned about the dramatic increase in fatal accidents. It is too early to be able to say anything concrete about the reasons. They can be many and combined. We support the Director of Roads’ initiative, but call for this increased power to be reflected in more road and road user organizations being invited to the table. – Knowledge is needed about why this is happening now. The trends have so far also shown that it is middle-aged men who have the greatest risk of being killed or seriously injured in traffic. There is too little knowledge about why. When the organizations gather at the road director’s table, we should also have an even greater degree of insight into the specific accident reports to ensure understanding and good decisions. – We believe that speed alone is not the answer. Measures such as reduced speed on particularly accident-prone stretches may be a measure that should be carefully assessed before it is possibly implemented. But it must not become a cushion to continue to ensure road maintenance and development. A safe, level and forgiving road will continue to be one of the best traffic safety measures. In particular, the county road network and parts of the national road network are in poor condition and increase the risk of accidents. Theory that there are several disturbing elements in the car – Several different theories and hypotheses have been proposed to explain the increase in fatal accidents, says head of research at the Institute of Transport Economics, Tor-Olav Nævestad. He nevertheless clarifies that it is too early to say anything categorical about the causes, and that it may be a matter of natural statistical variation. – The number of fatal accidents was unusually low in 2021. When we take that into account, it is perhaps more important to explain the low number of fatal accidents in 2021 than to focus on 2022, he says. In recent years, the number of people killed in traffic per million inhabitants has been around 20 in Norway, while the average in Europe has been around 50. – We have a theory that there are several disturbing elements in the car, says Cecilie Bryner in Trygg Trafikk . She said that they are working on a research project to look more closely at how much the touch screens in new cars catch the driver’s attention. In a survey from June, 1 in 4 stated that they had used their mobile phone while driving. In the survey, 2 out of 5 men answer that they have “good control” and do not feel that there is any risk when using a mobile phone in the car. – It is a dangerous tendency when we know how distracting the phone can be, says Bryner.
ttn-69
Dispute over the summer of accidents should have consequences for road construction – news Vestland
