Truck driver about this overtaking on the E39:

The overtaking took place north of the Vatlands tunnel on the E39. The tunnel is located on top of a hill, where there is one lane in the northbound direction and two lanes in the southbound direction.

– When the overtaking lane ended, all the cars had passed, and I had two trains behind me. Suddenly the train behind me starts to flash, and I see that the Posten car is above the barrier and the solid barrier line, says Sebastian Nysted.

– Terrifying

He himself drove a wagon train with a total weight of 50 tonnes. The wagon train that drove past him was a so-called modular trainmodular trainModular wagon trains can have a total length of up to 25.25 metres..

– The wheels on the right-hand side of the train that was driving past lay across my lane, and I almost had to squeeze my car into the guardrail and had to brake suddenly. There is a bend at the tunnel opening, and this could have gone really wrong, says Nysted.

– What do you think about an industry colleague making such an overtaking?

– It is incredibly stupid and frightening. It forms a negative image of what I would say is an incredibly great industry. It is stupid that a few should drag down the industry’s reputation, says Nysted.

Read what Posten Norge answers further down in the case.

– No free patrols

Nysted contacted the police to report the overtaking. The police confirm that they were notified about the driving.

– We received a report that a truck train made a dangerous overtaking and wobbled. The message came to us at 21.23, but at this time we had no available patrols in this area who could intercept the car, says operations manager Lars Hyberg at Agder police district.

Crystal clear rules

Police officer Aleksander Naley at the traffic and maritime section at Stavanger police station has seen the video and is aware of the reaction that applies if the police stop motorists who drive in this way.

Police officer Aleksander Naley at the traffic and maritime section at Stavanger police station

– This would at least result in a simplified fine of NOK 5,900 and three points for crossing and driving in a yellow restricted area. These restricted areas are there for a reason, such as if there is a hilltop where visibility is poorer. It is true that the truck train driver sits a little higher and has better visibility than a car driver, but there is still no reason to cross a solid barrier line. There is no room for judgment here, says Naley.

– What do you think about a professional driver driving in this way?

– I expect a better assessment ability from professional drivers than what I see in the clip here. I would like to remind you that there are great forces at work, it can quickly end in a fatal accident if a passenger car is hit by such a train in front, says Naley, who emphasizes that he has not seen the reason for the overtaking and does not know the speed of the vehicles.

Naley has the following advice for road users:

– When you see the signs that mark two lanes becoming one, you have to start planning whether the overtaking is possible or not. Then you have to consider whether you should withdraw and admit yourself. The narrowing down to one field rarely comes on suddenly. The advice is to be vigilant and follow the signs. And then I would like to remind everyone to be on the offer side and play each other well, says Naley.

– Totally unacceptable

“Such driving behavior is, of course, totally unacceptable in terms of how we want to appear along the roads,” writes press and communications advisor Aleksander Hømanberg in Posten Norge to Aftenbladet.

He says road safety is the number one priority for their drivers, from the first day they are hired.

“This is a clear breach of our guidelines,” replies Hømanberg.

Personnel matters

According to him, it is very unusual for the company to receive this type of feedback from other road users. He points out that they have many cars on the road and run hundreds of routes every day.

“We are a major player that is highly visible along Norway’s roads, which gives us a great responsibility to think about traffic safety in everything we do.”

The incident at the Vatlandstunnel is now handled as a personnel matter internally within the company.

“What we can say is that there will be a new review of our safety policy and how we expect our drivers to behave along the roads,” writes Hømanberg.

Random samples

– Do you have additional requirements for competence for drivers who will drive modular wagon trains than for those who drive ordinary wagon trains?

“To drive a modular train, you have to hold a class CE certificate. This allows drivers to drive with trailers or trolleys. This training is quite extensive with both theoretical and practical training. In addition, we conduct internal safety courses and take regular random samples with safety checks to ensure that safety is safeguarded among our drivers along the roads,” writes Hømanberg.

• In this episode of Trafikksentralen, we see several near misses and a dangerous overtaking on the E39:

• Fatal overtaking on the E39, near misses and reckless driving. See the Traffic Center: