Fatal accidents: these are the most affected

Statistics on the number of people killed on Norwegian roads so far this year reveal large differences as to which groups of road users are most vulnerable. A child and six women died. The lousy statistics are dominated by men with 45 deaths. The dead most often drove a car or motorcycle. Many of the men are in their 50s. Ten of the dead are motorcyclists and eight of them are men over 40

Many motorcycle accidents

– This screen is dangerous

– Six of the eight fatal accidents in June were with a motorcycle. Many of the drivers are adult men, explains department director Guro Ranes at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

– Six of the fatal motorcycle accidents so far this year are downhill curves and in many of these accidents, several have followed. This indicates that drivers have not mastered the vehicles and speed around the curve and have driven faster than they had the skills to do so. She believes that part of the large difference between the sexes can be explained by the fact that men are more often at greater risk in trafficking than women.

OLD MAN: – We now see that men between the ages of 45 and 70 account for an increasing proportion of the dead, says department director Guro Ranes at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
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Men 45 to 70 years

– So far we have focused a lot on young men who were previously extremely overrepresented in accidents. We have had a gratifying development here, which may be due to the fact that the information campaigns have worked. Now we see that men between the ages of 45 and 70 make up an increasing proportion of the dead, says Ranes.

Norway’s most furious drivers live here

– The trend is not new. We have seen the same thing for several years. Our task now is to act against the most vulnerable groups.

Norway best in Europe

Torkel Bjørnskau is a research leader in the Department of Transport Economics (TØI) and has investigated why so many men than women die in traffic. Point out that drunk driving is a major problem:

– First, it is important to say that we have had a very good development in terms of deaths and serious injuries in traffic in recent years. Norway is now the country in Europe that has the best road safety in relation to the population.

NORWAY BEST: Norway is the country in Europe with the lowest number of fatalities and serious injuries in traffic. Photo: Volvo
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No seat belt

– The reason why so many men and so few women die is complex. Men drive slightly more cars and motorcycles than women, but not enough to explain the difference in the death toll. It has more to do with the fact that men are more frequently involved in risky activities behind the wheel.

The speed limit will be standard from 2022

– Our research shows, among other things, that men drive under the influence of drugs to a significantly greater degree than women. Many of the men who die in traffic are under the influence of alcohol. We also see that many of the dead have not worn seat belts, says researcher Bjørnskau, who also sees that men often drive at higher speeds:

Youth better

– Furthermore, we know that men drive more frequently than women on high-speed roads. They also drive more at night than women. Both of these represent a risk. The latter with, among other things, the danger of falling asleep at the wheel.

MEN ARE AT RISK: Men tend to take greater risks behind the wheel than women. Therefore, they often end up in accidents of this type, according to research leader Torkel Bjørnskau from the Department of Transport Economics. Photo: TØI
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The reason why youth accidents have decreased, he believes, is due both to the fact that the authorities have implemented measures aimed directly at the very young, and because young people have also become better at negotiating who will drive when they go to a party.

Speed ​​lock requirement

Bjørnskau believes that relatively simple measures can further reduce road accidents. Most important of all is to reduce drunk driving. Cars that are prepared for the installation of alcolocks, the introduction of an active cruise control that reads traffic signs and automatically adjusts the speed of the car to them, and the safety belt locks that are connected to the lock of on, can be important measurements. The first two have already been adopted by the EU and will be mandatory on new cars from 2022.

The worst roundabout in Norway