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– A very obvious example of what we do not want on Norwegian roads.
This is how Øyvind Grotterød from the Norwegian Public Road Administration describes the train that was stopped for inspection in Svinesund on Wednesday.
As head of the outdoor control section at Norway’s largest border crossing, Grotterød sees daily trucks with flaws and deficiencies.
But on Wednesday afternoon, one of the inspectors entered his office. The message was clear; this you must see.
Outside the checkpoint was a Polish-registered truck loaded with glass panels and steel frames. The eight-ton cargo was more or less unprotected, according to Grotterød.
– The driver made an attempt with straps that preferably should have been in the trash. We often see issues with cargo securing, but this was one of the worst we’ve seen. Both the knowledge and the right material were completely absent, he says.
The train was loaded with eight tons of glass and steel. According to the inspectors, the load was so loose that it was about to slip.
Photograph: Statens vegvesen / Båtvik Øyvind
– A killing machine
In addition to the lack of restraint, the trailer had poor brakes and lacked a parking brake. The errors led to the driver being denounced and deprived of the right to drive in Norway for three months.
But when he received the message on Thursday, he simply nodded and returned to the vehicle.
– It has been a lot of work during the night to make him understand what this is about. Today he received a very clear message that he had been deprived of his driving license. That didn’t matter to him and it got out of hand, says Grotterød.
Øyvind Grotterød is the head of external inspection for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration in Svinesund.
Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke / NRK
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration received help from the police to catch up with the man on the E6. Now you can expect a much harsher punishment than previously thought.
Grotterød is happy to have been able to prevent the vehicle from going further into the country. He calls the incident “extremely serious.”
– This was simply a killing machine. Nothing was functional and the steel frames were completely loose. With a strong brake, they would cut through the canopy and, in the worst case, cause extensive damage to other vehicles, he says.
