ØYGARDEN (VG) In November 2013, Andrea Andersen was hit at the same bus stop where a twelve-year-old boy lost his life in a traffic accident on Tuesday this week.
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– It could have been me, Andersen says to VG.
She herself was 12 years old and on her way to middle school. She had music on her ears and it was dark.
There is an 80-zone on the stretch, and to cross the road – while buses, cars and trailers are speeding – you have to find a loophole and run over to the other side.
– I was about to catch the bus and ran across the road, suddenly I was hit by a car. It is limited how much I remember, I do not know if the driver had a light or not, says Andersen, who is now 21 years old.
–She got the car’s side mirror in her stomach and her foot was completely broken. For over eight weeks she had to wear plaster.
– It was very close. Luckily, I escaped with “only” a broken foot.
Bergens Tidende has also mentioned Andreas’ story.
Andersen is still plagued after the incident. She can not stand on her feet for long, has to wear compression stockings and has a scar on her stomach.
– The hospital said that she had received life as a gift, says mother Kari Andersen to VG.
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It was Tuesday this week that a twelve year old boy lost his life after being hit by a car at a bus stop at Torsvik in Øygarden municipality. The accident happened when a car passed a bus that was at the bus stop. The driver of the car is charged.
Andreas’ mother Kari Andersen believes that much could have been done on the stretch to secure children and young people, for example to lower the speed limit.
– Most people who live here have tried, and contacted the county council to make room for measures. This is a notified event. It’s so pointless, she says.
–– Our worries have gone to deaf ears. It is incredibly sad that nothing has been done after so many messages, says the daughter, who says she gets sick from thinking that a boy lost his life where she herself was injured several years ago.
Dina Lefdal, department director for infrastructure and roads in Vestland County Municipality, confirms that there have been several inquiries about the county road in question.
– It has done so over the years with similar issues, even though it has not come specifically to the accident point, Lefdal says to VG.
Keylinn Langhelle (21) lives just a few minutes away from the place, and took the bus to and from primary and secondary school in all years. There were several children present when the collision occurred.
On Thursday, Langhelle herself visited the accident site:
– Security is not good at all. I have witnessed near misses there several times. They must put in place, for example, traffic lights or lower speed limits, says Langhelle to VG.
– Tragic
The 12-year-old who lost his life this week was hit by a car that passed a bus that was at the bus stop in Torsvik. Tommy Normann (37) has worked as a bus driver for 15 years, and drives a lot past the stop in question.
– It is not certain I would have been behind the wheel now, if I had driven the bus that day. What a tragic accident, Normann says to VG.
–Cecilie Bryner, communications manager at Trygg Trafikk, tells VG that soft road users are in a potentially dangerous situation when there is no bridge or underpass on a stretch at high speed. It is not possible to have a transition field in an 80-zone.
– You have to make arrangements for soft road users and where they can cross the road, Bryner says on a general basis.
Assessment in 2019
Section manager in Transport Administration west in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Frode Moen Aarland, tells VG that a speed limit assessment was made in 2019 following inquiries from residents in the area, who wanted a 60-zone on the stretch, which is located on county road 561.
The conclusion was that there was no basis for lowering the speed limit.
– Why was there no basis for lowering the speed limit?
– I do not have the assessment in front of me, so I have to come back to that. It will be natural for us to go through the case, and if there is something we should have done differently in 2019, says Aarland.
On Thursday evening, VG will receive the justification. It states, among other things, that: “County road 561 is mainly located outside densely populated areas, and nearby buildings, kindergarten and Toftøy school are sheltered from the road.” It is emphasized that signage of the speed limit must correspond with the surroundings, so that motorists have an understanding of the speed limit.
The accident on Tuesday this week will be investigated by the policeand the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s accident group will analyze what happened.
–A few kilometers away from Torsvik, on Rong, a boy died in a traffic accident in 2006 – on the same county road as Tuesday’s accident. After the fatal accident, measures were implemented on the spot, confirms Aarland in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
Lefdal in Vestland County Municipality says that they want to look at the safety of the stretch at Torsvik. In the regional transport plan, funds have been proposed for measures from 2027.
– We will focus on improvements such as exits, intersections, intersections and bus pockets, but what measures are to be carried out is not yet planned.
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