On Saturday, the emergency police held a speed control on Ørskogfjellet on the E39 between Sunnmøre and Romsdal, and in the 80 zone two drivers drove past the patrol at 158 km/h and 143 km/h. The two were stopped and reported. – It is extremely serious and totally irresponsible to drive like this on Norwegian roads. If they had driven off the road or hit another car, you would most likely die, says Per Gjerde, regional manager at Trygg Trafikk Møre og Romsdal. – It is far above the speed limit and completely unacceptable. Fortunately, violations of this caliber are not common in traffic, while at the same time we see that quite a few relatively serious speeding violations are uncovered, says Acting District Manager of the Emergency Police Baard Owe Næs. He believes that road users are generally good on the roads, but when the speed becomes so high, the margins become small, and the consequences can be great in the event of unforeseen events. Photo: Screen dump Driving fast after the overtaking lane This summer, the new overtaking lane above Ørskogfjellet was completed. It was made to make the road safer. Heavy vehicles have struggled to maintain normal speed, and with few and short overtaking opportunities, there have thus been queues. Slippery roads have also meant that the wagon trains have been stuck and blocked other traffic. But after the overtaking lane came, there are also some who drive faster than before. Per Gjerde is regional manager at Trygg Trafikk Møre and Romsdal. Photo: Morten Brakestad / Morten Brakestad – After the arrival of the crab field, the general speed level has increased. There are some who, when they pass a train, take the speed from the overtaking zone with them and don’t slow down again, says Per Gjerde. The emergency police carry out many checks on Ørskogfjellet every year, and have the same impression as Gjerde. – We experience that speed is driven in the overtaking lane/crab lane. Also when drivers are alone on the route, as this case shows. We fear that the drivers will take their speed with them after the overtaking lane, says police chief in UP district Midt, Jarle Paul Opsdal. According to Opsdal, the entire Ørskogfjellet is a priority stretch for UP. – It is a section with partly high speed, also such high speed that it ends up with confiscation of the driver’s license, he says. People are still getting smarter Although you often read about rough driving, dangerous situations and mobile phone use in traffic, Trygg Trafikk believes that people have generally become smarter. – The speed level in general in Norway has decreased, and the police are catching more and more. The extreme speeds are lower now than 20–25 years ago. Young people drive more responsibly today. We see that it is adult men between the ages of 40 and 60 who top the statistics on traffic fatalities, says Per Gjerde. He believes both they themselves, together with the NAF, the Norwegian Road Administration, traffic schools and the police have done a job to change people’s attitudes. Last year, 80 people died in traffic, and this is the lowest number of deaths in several decades, but this year there have been more accidents, which has worried Trygg Trafikk and the National Roads Administration. Gjerde adds that this is a time of year when accidents often happen, and asks people to be careful. – There are more accidents in the transition between autumn and winter, when there is frost or the first snow. It’s a scary time, and cold at night. I drove myself from Oppdal last week, and in Sunndal it was frosty. As a result, I had to drive very carefully with the summer tyres, so the tire change will take place tomorrow, says Gjerde.
ttn-69
