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The proposal for amendments to the regulations on universal design of motor vehicles in licensed transport is intended to strengthen collision safety for buses through new requirements for frontal protection. The background is several serious head-on accidents in which bus drivers, passengers and other road users have been killed or seriously injured.
Yrkestrafikkforbundet are positive about the proposal of statutory requirements for increased bus safety. The association believes it is crucial that safety is regulated through law and regulations, and not left to tender systems where price often outweighs safety. Without clear requirements, there is a risk of large differences in safety levels between different parts of the country.
At the same time, it expresses YTF Concern that the proposed requirements do not provide sufficient real crash safety. The association lacks a clear justification for why the proposed pendulum test according to ECE Regulation 29 is considered sufficient, especially in light of the Accident Investigation Board Norway's recommendations following serious accidents.
YTF points out three issues in particular that need to be considered in more detail. These include requirements for the design and strength of the bus's A-pillars, requirements for underrun barriers, and requirements that better address accidents with small overlaps between vehicles. Such collisions have proven to be among the most serious, and in the association's view, today's proposal provides too little protection in these situations.
In conclusion, I emphasize YTF that any improvement is a step in the right direction, but that the goal must be to prevent accidents like those at Nafstad, Bergen and Tangen from having equally serious outcomes in the future. The association therefore requests that the requirements be strengthened where possible, and that further improvements be investigated and implemented as quickly as possible.
