– Fortunately, this does not happen every day, but it is alarming that there are truck trains that drive around without having their brakes in order, says Øyvind Ivar Grotterød in the National Road Administration. He is station manager at Norway’s largest border station at Svinesund. Here, they have made an extra effort against wagon trains with bad brakes recently. On Thursday, they stopped a vehicle that was in shockingly poor condition. Øyvind Grotterød in the National Road Administration at Svinesund. Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke/news – In practice, the trailer on the wagon train had no brakes on any of the wheels. Then all the forces are transferred to the tractor, and it is not designed for that. It loses control and simply becomes a killing machine, says Grotterød. – The wagon train was on its way to Western Norway, and the roads there go up and down, to say the least. When the wagon train of more than 30 tonnes barely has brakes, it is very serious. Destroys the industry The authorities’ requirement for braking distance at 80 km/h is 58 metres. The Polish wagon train measured a braking distance of 673 meters in the control. Over half a kilometer more than the requirement. The vehicle was isolated on the spot and the driver reported. The driver risks both confiscation of the driver’s license and a hefty fine. The case is now with the police. Erik Graarud in the NLF believes that foreign truck trains with serious defects are destroying the industry. Photo: Benjamin Vorland Andersrød / news – It ruins the reputation of the industry. I would like to emphasize that it is mostly foreign wagon trains that are stopped at the border with major defects. Only 8–10 percent of the lorry trains across Svinesund are Norwegian, says Erik Graarud of the Norwegian Lorry Association. – The worst is when there are deficiencies in brakes and load securing. It is extremely dangerous, both for other motorists and the driver himself. Leakage of environmentally hazardous oil The border crossing at Svinesund is the busiest in the country. Around 2,000 trucks pass the border crossing every day. Of these, a small number are taken out for extraordinary control. Grotterød estimates that there are 4–6 truck trains per employee per shift. This wagon train weighed too much and was leaking large amounts of cutting fluid. This oil makes the road slippery and dangerous, in addition to being considered an environmental toxin. Photo: Statens vegvesen – But the number of lorry trains over our weight is far higher. We talk to the driver and do a cursory check. When we suspect that something is wrong, they are checked more thoroughly. During a shift, between 100 and 150 wagon trains may pass through which are assessed and not taken out for inspection. In addition to the trailer without brakes, another Polish truck train was stopped due to excessive weight. Here there was also a large leakage of cutting fluid, which is both an environmental and traffic hazard. – It’s a type of oil, and we don’t want that on the road. It will be very, very slippery and dangerous for traffic.
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Stopped wagon train without brakes at Svinesund – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
