Kolberg fell asleep behind the wheel – Lost his licence
Member of Parliament for Labour, Martin Kolberg, fell asleep behind the wheel, but both he and his grandson escaped scot-free from a collision with a tunnel wall while on their way to the family cabin in Sunnfjord this summer. As a bonus, he will learn how the excellent public transport service is in «Tigertown».
The accident happened on July 6th in Lærdal in the 6.6-kilometre long Fodnes Tunnel on Highway 5. With him in the car was his grandson, who was asleep at the time. When the Labour veteran fell asleep, the car swerved into the opposite lane and collided with the tunnel wall on the lefthand side before bouncing back to the other side, writes NRK.
– Then it came to a halt with the front against the tunnel wall. Thanks to fortune, and a brand new Volvo, we escaped from it with minimal personal injury, Kolberg says.
The grandson came totally unharmed from the accident, while Kolberg escaped from the dramatic event with a contact burn on his forearm from the airbag. Both were taken care of by health personnel and taken to the local Hospital.
Separate cars
– I first checked that my grandson was unharmed, and then that I too was relatively unharmed. But those were some scary seconds for the wife, Kolberg continues. His wife, Aud, was just behind driving her own car.
– The car braked and notified the emergency services on its own accord. As we sat in the car with smoke drifting into it, there was a Swedish voice on the speakers who asked how we fared, Kolberg goes on, praising both the car, emergency services and the hospital in Lærdal for the fortuitous outcome.
Loss of license
Kolberg was fined NOK 8,000 and deprived of his driver’s license for six months after the incident.
– I have accepted both the fine and the loss of license. You can call it an accident, but this ought not to happen and I have learnt a lesson. Fortunately, there was no cars headed in the opposite direction, he exclaims.
Two and a half hours after the accident, the family was back on their way to the cabin, presumably with the wife in the driving seat.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
