So far this year, 73 people have died in traffic. This is 33 more than at the same time in 2021. However, it will take some time before the speed limit reduction becomes a reality.

– It has been a very difficult and sad summer for everyone who works with traffic – it has made a deep impression. Behind every accident there is a great tragedy, said the press manager of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Kjell Bjørn Vinje.

In June and July this year, 27 people were killed in traffic. In 2021, the figure for the same period will be 16.

Last Wednesday, VG wrote about the fatal crash in Valdres.

In late June, the Norwegian Public Road Administration and other agencies held a “crisis meeting”, where they came up with various measures to counter negative trends.

Then VG made a status update on various measures less than three weeks ago, it emerged that it was being considered to implement speed reduction on the following roads:

• E6 at Støren in Trøndelag – from 90 to 80 km/h over a four kilometer stretch
• E6 at Bardu in Troms and Finnmark – from 80 to 70 km/h via Brandvollkrysset
• E6 at Troms and Finnmark – from 90 to 80 km/h on a 8.5 kilometer stretch from the Larsberg tunnel to Indre Nordnes
• E39 at Agder – from 80 to 70 km/h on a 14.2 kilometer stretch from slightly north of the Flekkefjord crossing and north to the bridge crossing the river Sira

The speed reduction process has not yet been completed, Vinje said. Beyond this stretch, the Swedish Road Administration was unable to determine anywhere else where speed reductions were being assessed.

– We are in dialogue with the local council and local police, with a view to resolving this.

Vinje said the Swedish Road Administration could lower the speed limit on national roads where the speed is 90 kilometers per hour or lower. However, there is a procedure that must be followed, so it is “not done quickly”.

– We are following developments from day to day and considering immediate action. We carefully analyze all traffic fatalities, and it is this knowledge that we use to continue to have the best road safety in Europe. This is not a “quick fix”.

This summer there’s also more speed, drink and seatbelt checks, in addition to the fact that there’s a longer permanent opening time for speed cameras on risk-prone ranges.

– Emergency police have tried to be as comfortable as possible for the safety of road users, and as a warning that illegal behavior will be dealt with. We at the Swedish Road Administration have tried to strengthen our information and campaign work.

DANGEROUS MANUVERS ON E6 – WATCH VIDEO: