Sweden’s Department of Transport is examining the need for stricter laws to regulate the operation of commercial trucks on Swedish roads in winter, following a 100-vehicle accident on the E4 motorway that left one person dead and 46 injured on 15 January.

Preliminary investigations by police have found that the accident was caused when three trucks, including two foreign-operated vehicles, collided while heading north across the Tranarps Bridge, north-east of Helsingborg when driving conditions at the time of the crash were hazardous, with icy roads and dense fog. It was three days before the E4 was fully cleared and re-opened to traffic. The outcome of the official investigation, which is headed by the Swedish Transport Administration, is likely to influence the imposition of any new special winter rules covering traction system standards, HGV speeds on motorways, as well as mandatory use of high-spec winter tyres.

Source: Lloyds

Photo: Tranarps bridge