In March this year, lorry driver Kristian Weiseth (49) is on his way on the E6 outside Ballangen in Narvik municipality in Nordland.
As he turns around a bend, he experiences all the drivers’ nightmares.
– He came like a cannonball and I thought this was not going well, says Kristian Wiseth, driver at the company Meyership Logistikk at Mo i Rana.
Weiseth’s trailer was pushed out of the way and ended up in the ditch.
– I closed the islands and when I opened them I was on a trip off the roads. You get both scared and angry at the same time, the experienced driver tells TV 2.
He has a dashboard camera and filmed the foreign lorry coming towards.
The photos show that the semi-trailer gets thrown on the trailer and hits Weiseth’s car in the front.
– CRITICAL: – The fine of 10,000 kroner is ridiculously low, says Kristian Weiseth, driver at Meyership Logistics. Photo: Private
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His car was smashed in the front and sent straight into the ditch. Eventually the car also started to burn.
The car is so badly damaged that it is considered a total wreck.
He immediately checked the tires of the foreign trailer and was right in his assumptions.
– The tires had a rolling pattern, which is not feasible on winter roads in Norway. It is very important to have good tires at this time of year, he says.
He receives support from the company he works for.
– The tires that were used on the trailer of the train that collided with Kristian belong on a race track in Germany, and not on Norwegian winter roads, says Tommy Lyngmo, general manager of Meyership logistics to Rana Blad.
– How were the conditions on the roads that day, Weiseth?
– This was in March, but there was no ice on the roads, only water. Suddenly the trailer came sailing and hit me in the middle of the front. I have been driving for 30 years and this is definitely the worst I have experienced, he says.
Ridiculous fine
A few weeks ago, the police finished the investigation, and then came another shock.
– MAJOR DAMAGES: The damage was so great that it was considered to condemn the car. Photo: Kristian Weiseth
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– The driver of the foreign lorry has received a fine of 10,000 kroner, says Ragnhild Normann, head of investigation at Narvik police station to Rana Blad.
The driver has been fined for violating section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, which states that:
“Everyone must travel considerately and be vigilant and careful so that no danger or damage can occur and so that other traffic is not unnecessarily hindered or disturbed.”
Kristian Weiseth reacts strongly to the low fine.
– It’s ridiculously low. If I drive off the road, I get a driver’s license seizure, a scorching fine and possible recourse claims from the insurance company, Weiseth says.
– I think the police take it too lightly when it comes to punishment for foreign lorry drivers, he says.
– HEAVY COLLISION: Seconds later it slams and the car ends up in the ditch. Photo: Private
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The police consider themselves finished with the case.
Weiseth commutes between Mo i Rana and Narvik and he drives this stretch around 20 times a month.
On the chopped
He is extra careful where the accident happened.
– Most recently yesterday, I experienced that a trailer was stuck with problems on Saltfjellet. I refuse to drive trailers that have bad tires and do not have equipment for the conditions in northern Norway. This is also the company I work for, Meyership Logistics, fully focused on, says Weiseth.
The winter season has really come to Northern Norway now and he fears a little for the foreign lorry companies and drivers who will travel on the roads.
– I experience that the car inspection is more on the cutting edge now, and that is good, says Kristian Weiseth.
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