Black week in traffic – six young people dead
School graduation is approaching and many are longing for time off.
At the same time, the accident statistics are grim – in just over a week, six young people have died in traffic.
– That’s six too many, says Bengt Olsson, press manager at the Swedish Transport Administration. Latest news clips from Expressen.
On May 29, a 15-year-old boy died in an accident with an A-tractor in Götene. A total of four young boys were in the car and all were taken to hospital.
Another 15-year-old boy died when a tractor collided with a freight train on Tuesday, and most recently on Friday, a man in his 20s died after a car collided with a tree outside Gävle.
– It’s tragic. It’s young lives that are being taken away completely unnecessarily. We want to reach zero in the statistics as much as possible. But unfortunately that’s not the reality, says Bengt Olsson, press manager at the Swedish Transport Administration.
Many young people on the roads
Young people are overrepresented in accident statistics in general, and young men in particular cause more traffic accidents than other groups.
– There is a debate about this, where some point out that consequential thinking is limited before the age of 25, says Bengt Olsson.
In these weeks at the beginning of June, many young people are out on the roads, according to Bengt Olsson, in connection with school graduations and other celebrations.
– Summer is approaching and many young people are out on the roads testing speeds, he says.
However, he cannot answer whether more young people are involved in traffic accidents at this particular time.
Poor road surface
From Easter onwards, the Swedish Transport Administration is working to repair winter damage to roads around the country, which can cause road surfaces to become uneven.
At the same time, the substrate is affected by the rapid cooling and thawing, when temperatures move back and forth around zero degrees.
– It breaks up the roads and the surface changes all the time because it moves. It can cause cracks and potholes on the roads. This places demands on those who drive, says Bengt Olsson.
There is no special monitoring of these problems, it is something that the drivers have to keep track of themselves.
– It is up to those who travel on the roads or drive to keep an eye on and adjust their speed. You can’t say that it has had an impact in these cases, but you can say that the risk of accidents increases in April and May, says Bengt Olsson and continues:
– In short, it has been a dark week. Six young people too many have died.
Black week in traffic
In the past week, at least six young people have died in traffic accidents in Sweden.
On May 29, a 15-year-old boy died after an A-tractor overturned outside Götene. A total of four young people were in the car and all were taken to hospital. A man in his 20s was arrested, suspected of, among other things, aggravated manslaughter.
On June 3, a young man aged 18 died in a motorcycle accident outside Söderköping.
On June 3, a 15-year-old boy died after a work tractor collided with a freight train at a railway crossing in Hylte.
On June 3, a man in his 20s died after a motorcycle accident in Tyresö.
On June 5, a woman in her 20s died when the car she was in collided head-on with a truck outside Gnosjö.
On June 6, a man in his 20s died after a car crashed into a tree north of Gävle. A woman in her 25s has been arrested for, among other things, aggravated drunk driving and causing death. She is suspected of having been under the influence of drugs during the journey, writes Gefle Dagblad. Two more people were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Traffic fatalities January-April
2014 75
2015 57
2016 70
2017 61
2018 68
2019 70
2020 60
2021 48
2022 48
2023 56
2024 39
Figures from the Swedish Transport Agency.
Figures from the Swedish Transport Agency.
