The emergency police (UP) believes that a new law that allows confiscation of the car itself should be considered, similar to Denmark. – Over the course of three years now, they have confiscated several hundred vehicles. Typical for speeding offenses where you drive 100 km an hour too fast, or if you drive over two in the alcohol limit, says UP chief Knut Smedsrud to news. Rising trend – We take it very seriously. It is very dangerous to drive that fast. The consequences of a collision at those speeds can be catastrophic. This is what operations manager Jan Kristian Johnsrud in the South-East police district told news. Around midnight on the night of Sunday, the police had a speed check on national highway 7, below Gol in Hallingdal in Buskerud. Three drivers were stopped and taken for reckless driving. Two of them were men in their late teens. – At these speeds, driving licenses will be confiscated for a long time. According to the operations manager, it is part of a growing trend, also elsewhere in the country. – There will be many accidents. Therefore, we must recommend to all road users that they take it easy and drive carefully, says mayor of Gol, Herbrand Jegleim (Sp). Possible racing There has been a lot of hard and rough driving, especially among young people in this area, according to Johnsrud. – We had three cars driving straight after each other and we perceived it as a race, says operations manager Johnsrud. All of them were measured at high speeds: The first car was measured at 131 km/h in the 80 zone The second car was measured at 172 km/h in the 80 zone The third car was measured at 172 km/h in the 80 zone The two who drove in 172 km/h are men in their late teens where both have a probationary period on their driving licence, says Johnsrud. All drivers are reported for the conditions, and their driving licenses are confiscated. – We have had several accidents in the region just last night, and we would prefer not to have any more, says operations manager Johnsrud. Speed sign on national highway 7 at Gol in Hallingdal in Buskerud. Photo: Stine Bækkelien / news – This is not acceptable at all. I think this is about attitudes, says acting mayor of Gol, Herbrand Jegleim (Sp). He says that it is a busy road with a good deal of heavy transport. Often boys and young men Young boys are often involved in these accidents, according to the operations manager. Young men have a significantly higher risk of being killed or seriously injured in serious traffic accidents than the average motorist, shows the TØI’s risk analysis from 2018. – It has something to do with the fact that young men are generally willing to take higher risks, says department director Guro Ranes in the Norwegian Road Administration . – This does not only apply in traffic, but is about the fact that the brain is not fully developed until well into the 20s. She encourages everyone to be considerate in traffic, especially now in the summer. Many drive faster now as a result of dry weather and bare roads, says Ranes. More people drive faster in the summer, when it is dry, clear visibility and the road is bare, says department director of the Swedish Road Administration, Guro Ranes. The picture is of national highway 7 at Gol in Hallingdal. Photo: Stine Bækkelien / news During Saturday and the night to Sunday, several police districts reported traffic accidents. Late on Saturday evening, the police received a report of a traffic accident between a motorbike and a car in Larvik. The driver of the motorcycle was taken to hospital with serious injuries. In Skien, three people were injured after an ATV accident on the night of Sunday. One of the men is seriously injured and has been sent to Ullevål hospital. A trend of ugly driving So far this year, 40 people, 33 men and seven women, have died on Norwegian roads. After several years of decline, the National Roads Administration now sees that the number of young people who die on the roads is increasing. It has been ten years since the figures for the group 16 to 24 have been as high as they are now, according to the Swedish Road Administration. The death toll is highest for the age group 45 to 64. Operations manager Johnsrud believes there has been an upsurge in reckless driving in recent months. – Unfortunately, there has been a trend of a lot of ugly driving lately. Not only here, but also in other police districts. Young motorists have a higher risk of being involved in a traffic accident than other groups, says press manager at Trygg Trafikk Christoffer Solstad Steen to news. They have also been the group with the greatest reduction in risk up to now, he adds. – What has happened this year, and how big the increase has been, is too early to say. – Do more of what we have been doing Head of Department Guro Ranes in the Swedish Road Administration says that good driver training is among the most important preventive measures. – We know a lot about what the challenge is, so it is about doing more of what we have done, says Ranes. She mentions campaigns around speed and speed limits which are particularly aimed at young men. The police have observed an increasing tendency towards reckless driving, particularly among young men. The image is an illustrative image. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth – No matter how nice the road is, how nice the car you have, or how good a driver you are, if you end up in an accident and the speed is high, the human body cannot withstand these forces, says Ranes. Steen in Trygg Trafikk says several actors have worked against the young road users for several years. – We actors who are concerned with traffic safety must adapt to young people and work even better to reach out with good messages to this vulnerable group, says Steen. Double point loading during the trial period, and the organization of safe car meets, are some of the measures Steen believes have a good effect. Serious speeding violations During the night to Sunday, serious accidents and speeding violations were reported in several police regions. In Stavanger, among other things, a driver was caught driving in the 146 km/h 90 zone. In Møre and Romsdal, a driver was caught in the 143 km/h 80 zone. Three drivers were measured in the 129 km/h 80 zone on national highway 9 in Valle in Agder, in the morning hours on Sunday. On the first Saturday in May this year, ten young drivers lost their license plate in Vestfold after the emergency police carried out a speed check in connection with a car collision in the district. There, the highest speed was measured at 230 km/h in the 110 zone.
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