Five people died in Holiday traffic

E18E18.Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB scanpix

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42 people have so far lost their lives on Norwegian roads this year. In May, eleven people were killed in traffic accidents – five of them died during Pentecostal holiday traffic.

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This is three more than in the same period last year, according to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s preliminary review of fatal accidents.

-“The last part of May and especially the Pentecost holiday weekend have been bad. Nine people have been killed in traffic since the 17th of May and five of them since this past Friday beginning the three day Pentecost weekend,” says Guro Ranes, director of traffic safety for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

She fears the numbers will get worse as the summer season begins in earnest, a time when there are traditionally many more out on the road.

Bad numbers
“The figures from this Pentecost weekend are sad to see,” says Chief of Police Emergency Police (UP) Jon Steven Hasseldal to NRK.

“These are ugly numbers. Five pieces on a weekend is a lot,” says Hasseldal.

He says that UP has experienced a lot of traffic lately, but he hopes for a quieter summer than usual.

– “We hope this will not be a bad summer. We expect that there will be significantly more Norwegians on the roads. At the same time, there will be fewer foreigners. It will be exciting to see,” he says.

More MC drivers
Of the eleven killed on the roads in May, three of them were motorcyclists.

– “This is a vulnerable group of road users, where an accident can quickly have very serious consequences. With a lot of nice weather in southern Norway, there are obviously many who take a trip out to their motorcycle,” says Ranes.

35 men and seven women have died in traffic accidents in the first four months of the year. Nearly one-third of those killed have been aged 25-44.

Since New Year, twelve people have lost their lives in Viken, eight in Vestfold and Telemark, while six have lost their lives inland. In the capital, so far two people have died in road accidents. Vestland county is the only one without any traffic related deaths so far this year.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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