– Now the drivers must join us and help us – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio

This summer alone, 27 people have lost their lives on Norwegian roads. There are ten more than in June and July last year. Last weekend there were two fatal accidents, one of them in Larvik. Concern Now road director Ingrid Dahl Hovland is expressing a concern in the last summer month. – I fear the August accidents, of which there have also been many in the past. Last year we lost 13 in this month alone, she said in a press release on Monday. The police share Hovland’s concern. – We have now had a positive decline over several years. Suddenly the numbers rise again. We find that very, very sad, says Henning Ødegaard Johansen, traffic coordinator in the South-East police district. The traffic coordinator in the South-East police district is asking drivers to take more responsibility in traffic. Photo: Robert Hansen / news According to the police, these are among the reasons why an accident has a fatal outcome: Incorrect use of seat belts Negligence Inattention (mobile phone and screen use) Illness Intoxication Excessive speed Much has been done to prevent accidents. The roads are better, the cars are better. Now it is the drivers’ turn to take greater responsibility, says Johansen. – Drivers of vehicles are willing to take too great a risk. This contributes to more accidents. Now they must join in and help us, and take responsibility for making this better. A motorcycle and a car collided west of Mandal. The driver of the motorcycle was confirmed dead at the scene. Photo: Ronny Blix More traffic It has been a long time since the UP chief has seen such a gloomy statistic. – The statistics are unfortunately very negative this year. In total, we have had 72 deaths in traffic so far this year, compared to 80 in the whole of last year. There is a sharp increase, says chief of the Emergency Police, Knut Smedsrud. Knut Smedsrud, head of the Emergency Police. Photo: The police He supports his colleague in the South-Eastern police district in that it is drivers of vehicles who must now be tougher. – It is primarily the drivers who decide. They are absolutely crucial. If they drive without drugs, if they follow traffic rules and speed limits. This perhaps particularly applies to motorcyclists, for whom we see that we have very high numbers of accidents this year. In June and July last year, five motorcyclists lost their lives in summer traffic, while the figure for the same months this year is 17. Smedsrud cannot explain the large increase in the number of traffic fatalities. – Something we know is due to more traffic. This is a total increase of approximately 20 per cent compared to the previous two years. There are also probably a number of coincidences. At the same time, they know that visible police on the roads has a preventive effect. That is why checks along European roads and national roads in particular have been intensified this summer.



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