Report on a meeting accident on E6 at Kongsvoll in Oppdal municipality 25 October 2019
Road traffic report 2021/01
Three people were killed instantly and one person was seriously injured when a passenger car collided with a cement truck between Grønbakken and Kongsvoll in Oppdal municipality on 25 October 2019. It was snowing and there were demanding driving conditions when the accident happened. The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Norwegian Public Roads Administration strengthen its efforts to improve winter maintenance at accident-prone points and sections where extra road grip is required for reasons of road geometry, weather and driving conditions and other special circumstances.
A passenger car on its way north on the E6 skidded and came over in the opposite lane. The car hit a truck in the front with its right side and was severely deformed as a result of the impact.
The NSIA's investigation has shown that the contractor had implemented operational measures in the form of ploughing and salting before the accident. However, the intensity of the weather, with wind and a significant amount of snowfall within a short period of time, gave demanding driving conditions at the scene of the accident.
Several coinciding factors contributed to the accident. Demanding driving conditions, the downward incline, varying curve radius and insufficient cross-fall could all have contributed to the passenger car skidding at the current speed.
The accident happened in an area with several and different types of transitional factors. The boundary between the sections of road covered by the two maintenance contracts in the area and the county border were just south of the accident site, where both the geometric road design and the weather and driving conditions changed character. The adjacent maintenance areas were assigned to different winter maintenance classes, and therefore subject to different requirements concerning measures to be implemented in connection with weather events.
The accident happened at a place where the road conditions demanded more of the passenger car driver than he was able to handle in the situation in which he found himself just before the accident. Both this investigation and previous investigations conducted by the NSIA have shown that accidents typically occur in locations that are more demanding in terms of speed adjustment and road grip for manoeuvring due to the geometric road design and weather and driving conditions.
The NSIA submits one safety recommendation in connection with this investigation.
Published 15.02.2021
Safety recommendation
Safety recommendation ROAD No 2021/01T
The investigation into the accident that occurred just north of Grønbakken in Oppdal municipality on 25 October 2019 has found that the driving conditions were highly demanding when a passenger car skidded and collided with an oncoming concrete mixer truck on the partially snow-covered road. Three of the car's four occupants died in the accident, while the fourth was seriously injured. Both this investigation and previous investigations conducted by the NSIA have shown that accidents typically occur in locations that are more demanding in terms of speed adjustment and road grip for manoeuvring due to the geometric road design and weather and driving conditions.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Norwegian Public Roads Administration strengthen its efforts to improve winter maintenance at accident-prone points and sections where extra road grip is required for reasons of road geometry, weather and driving conditions and other special circumstances.
Facts
| Location | E6, Kongsvoll, Trøndelag |
| Occurrence date | 25.10.2019 |
| Accident type | Head-on collision |
| Road class | European road |
| County | Trøndelag |
| Police Disctrict | Sør-Trøndelag |
| Vehicle type | Lorry, Passenger car |
| Type of Transportation | Freight transport |
| Road region | Central Region |
| Accident category | Ulykke m/ kjøretøy over 7500 kg |