Through the Brennpunkt documentary “Collision”, news puts the spotlight on the control of brakes on freight trains. Here, Helge Andersen settles a settlement with his former employer, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. He believes that the control method used in Norway can, in certain cases, send vehicles with life-threatening brakes onto the roads. On the same day that the documentary was broadcast on news, the Norwegian Lorry Owners Association (NLF), which consists of 4,000 members with approximately 15,000 lorries in total, took a position on the matter: “We have full confidence that the Swedish Road Administration uses the best control methods at all times », managing director Geir A. Mo is quoted in Lastebil.no, which is NLF’s own website. At the same time, users in the union’s comments section on Facebook question NLF’s approach to the matter: Photo: Screen dump / Facebook Photo: Screen dump / Facebook Former NLF leader is stumped – I think the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association is quick when they stand behind the Norwegian Road Administration in this the case. Maybe they shouldn’t be so bombastic. I think Andersen has a lot of good points. More research should be done on this, and I think it is not wise to categorically dismiss Andersen, says Harry Nilsen. He is the general manager and owner of Sørum Transport, a company with 155 employees in Kløfta in Viken County. Nilsen was for several years the county leader of NLF Oslo/Akershus and sat on the federal board of NLF until 2019. Read the answer from NLF director Geir A. Mo further down in the matter. Harry Nilsen advocates that several measuring instruments should be able to be used to check the braking power of lorries. Photo: Kjetil Grude Flekkøy / news Helge Andersen previously worked as an outside inspector in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. He believes the test system with so-called rolling testers, which in practice is the only method of checking brakes, is inaccurate. He also believes that it is not possible to detect certain serious errors in the way the roll samples are used today. Andersen advocates, among other things, the extended use of another method – a so-called deceleration measurement. The method involves measuring how fast a vehicle brakes on the road. In the documentary, it emerges that the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board has several times asked the Norwegian Road Administration to take measures to better control the distribution of brakes between the towing vehicle and the trailer. However, the recommendations from the Accident Investigation Board have not led to major changes in the Swedish Road Administration’s work with brake control. – More people should be concerned about the statements from the National Accident Investigation Board in this documentary. They believe that the Swedish Road Administration should take the problem more seriously. The tool we use today is partially satisfactory, but we must not reject other systems, says company manager Nilsen. In connection with the documentary “Collision”, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has emphasized that they believe serious brake faults are detected through current control methods. The Swedish Road Administration expresses that they want to continue to improve the current control regime within the international regulations that they must comply with at all times. NLF member: – Very disappointed Under the title “NLF trusts SVV’s road tests”, the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association and director Geir A. Mo write that there is no reason to doubt the Norwegian Road Administration’s control methods in this matter. Nils Cato Rekanes is company manager and owner of Cato Rekanes Transport, a company with 40 employees. He is a member of the NLF, and reacted when he read about the association’s position. – The documentary was good enough, but what was not good was the comment from Geir A. Mo on Lastebil.no. I question his knowledge of brakes. That one day he can watch the documentary and on the same day comment on such a complicated question as he does… It appears frivolous, says Rekanes and continues: – I am very, very disappointed by that comment. He does not gather members that way. At work in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Helge Andersen discovered a fault with brake controls on truck trains. Now his fight for change has become an news Brennpunkt documentary. He believes it is in the NLF members’ interest that the union looks into the matter more closely. – I of course hope that there will be more control of how brakes are tested. The brake adjustment between trailer and car is the most important thing here. With the new trucks, in theory there should not be a problem with over braking, but we have seen many examples that it can still be a problem. NLF: – We have not taken a position In a statement to news, NLF chief Geir A. Mo explains what he meant by the post published on the same day as the documentary “Collision” was launched. – It is important for news to be aware that NLF has not “stood behind” the Norwegian Public Roads Administration in this matter. We have not taken a position on Andersen’s claims about the time he was employed by the Swedish Road Administration. Nor have we taken a position on his invention and whether it should have been used instead, says Mo. NLF writes that during the past five years they have not received any inquiries from their member companies about the matter. – We have also established that road safety is of course the number one priority for our member companies. If they had had situations where they were ordered to repair brakes that were in order, we are convinced that we would have heard about it, says Mo and continues: – If it was the other way around, we assume that it would have been known. We, our technical department and our technical committee, have no such indications. Geir A. Mo, managing director of the Norwegian Truck Owners Association. Photo: Lokman Ghorbani THIS IS HOW NLF WISHES TO ENSURE QUALITY Right to a new assessment of the brakes before sanctions are implemented – on given criteria. NLF believes this will contribute to a more correct result, but points out that brake tests will very often have different results due to a number of different conditions. Independent control and calibration of the equipment for the Norwegian Road Administration. Today, this is carried out by suppliers who are authorized for this by the Swedish Road Administration. NLF believes that this could advantageously have been carried out by an independent body, such as the Correctional Service. Managing director Mo expects the Swedish Road Administration to take the matter seriously and to be critical of its own operations in the area at all times. – That they review the results that news’s tests show is also a matter of course. In that sense, I agree with Harry Nilsen, says Mo. Driver fears brake failure Among those who have seen the news Brennpunkt documentary is truck driver Christer Blankenberg. He is well acquainted with variations after brake control. Documents that news has gained access to show that Blankenberg’s semi-trailer received different test results every few days in August 2017. In order to have the brakes approved, the trailer on Blankenberg’s semi-trailer had to have a braking force of 0.45 or more in the so-called Zt value . In a complaint, Blankenberg writes that the results varied from 0.24 to 0.4449 in Zt value. In a response from the Swedish Road Administration, it also appears that the brakes were measured to have a Zt value of 0.37 and 0.32 during the tests. – When I tried several deceleration tests, I got the same result each time: approved with a Zt value of 0.47. Back at the workshop, there were different and very varying results, Blankenberg claims to news. In the Swedish Road Administration’s response from 2017, however, it is stated that Blankenberg’s documentation from the deceleration measurement was not good enough. In the end, Blankenberg chose to sell the trailer. – The costs are one thing, but I am more concerned about the drivers’ legal security and road safety in general, says Christer Blankenberg. Photo: Privat Blankenberg says that his biggest fear is that the brakes on the trailer he uses are too powerful, and that the trailer swerves into the opposite lane. He therefore believes that the drivers’ legal security is central to the issue of brake controls. The driver also reacts to the Norwegian Association of Truck Owners’ response to the news Brennpunkt documentary. – I think it is a complete crisis that the NLF quickly steps up to support the Norwegian Road Administration in this matter. I don’t understand why. Maybe it’s about political correctness? I myself opted out many years ago. The local teams can be good, but centrally I didn’t feel that the drivers got anything out of the membership, says Blankenberg. NLF director Geir A. Mo says in a statement that he takes Blankenberg’s opinions into account and points out that NLF is a business and employer organization – not a trade union.
ttn-69
Responds to truck association declaring “full confidence” in the Road Administration – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
