Inattention has played a major role in several van accidents in Denmark.
This is the conclusion of the AIBN for Road Traffic Accidents in an investigation.
The investigation is based on 23 accidents in which vans have been involved.
According to the investigation, the inattention of the van drivers contributed to things going wrong in over half of the accidents.
Transport Minister Benny Engelbrecht (S) thinks it is frightening that van drivers have so prevalent a lack of attention and concentration when driving a car.
– I hope that the industry will use the opportunity to examine their transport, so that the drivers get the breaks and rest that may be needed, so they can concentrate on their driving and the traffic they drive in. Thus, we can again get the good habits and the right behaviors back on the roads.
– Accidents with vans are extra serious, and it is about our safety together in traffic, Engelbrecht says in a press release.
Accidents where inattention was crucial typically occurred on long straight stretches in simple traffic situations where the lorry driver drove up behind a vehicle that was stopping or driving slower in front of them.
Several different factors were behind the inattention. At least five truck drivers were distracted by cell phone use or other things unrelated to driving.
In several cases, fatigue and the experience of driving in a very simple and predictable traffic situation were probably contributing to the reduced level of attention.
A few drivers had turned their attention to overtaking and driving risky.
Fatigue and speeding were also contributing factors in a number of the accidents investigated.
The AIBN has thus found that fatigue on the part of the lorry driver had a certain effect on or was a direct contributing factor to eight of the accidents. The truck drivers were tired, for example because they drove at night, had long working days or had slept far too little.
In addition, 15 van drivers were driving too fast in relation to the speed limit in the time leading up to the accident. In the six of these cases, it led to the accident happening or the injuries becoming more serious.
Source: The Nordic Page