Bus accident at Konginkangas
The bus accident at Konginkangas [ ˈkoŋːiŋˌkɑŋːɑs ] ( Finnish: Konginkankaan linja-autoturma ) was a serious traffic accident on State Road 4 in the municipality of Äänekoski in central Finland . It was one of the worst disasters in peacetime Finnish history , with 23 fatalities .
Course of events
In the early morning hours of March 19, 2004, the trailer of a truck trailer heavily loaded with paper rolls slid head-on into a fully occupied coach on a slippery wintry road . Of the 36-strong youth group with snowboarders and skiers who were on their way to the Ruka winter sports center , 22 passengers were killed, all the others were injured. The bus driver also lost his life, but the driver of the truck was uninjured. In addition to the physical injuries, many people involved in the accident suffered trauma .
The articulated train was heading south and had left Viitasaari around 1:30 a.m. for Helsinki . The bus started in Helsinki at 8:53 p.m. and had several short stops - some to pick up more passengers. The temperature dropped below zero during the night; in addition, a light drizzle set in so that black ice could form. After the accident, the truck driver confirmed that the road was slippery. According to the tachograph, both vehicles were traveling at around 70 km / h when the vehicles met, but had previously driven significantly higher speeds above the winter maximum speed of 80 km / h. On the one hand, a lower speed would have given the bus driver more time to apply the brakes, which would have reduced the impact energy. On the other hand, there would have been time to think about an evasive maneuver on the open field. Both would have demonstrably required fewer victims. Alcohol tests and tests for mind altering drugs were negative for both drivers.
In the days before the accident, both drivers exceeded the driving times and fell short of the break times. In the company for which the truck driver worked, it was customary to drive the 750 km Helsinki – Viitasaari – Helsinki route in one shift. This was only possible if the break times were not observed and the truck was allowed to roll on inclines with no gear engaged at 105 km / h, since a higher speed than 90 km / h by "accelerating" was not possible due to the speed limiter . The driver of the bus had driven the last shifts without a speedometer, so that it was not possible to check compliance with break times. No irregularities could be found in the shift schedule. According to the official Finnish investigative authority Onnettomuustutkintakeskus , it is impossible to make the trip from Helsinki to Ruka with a driver, as the driver cannot cover the 910 km distance in one day without exceeding the speed limit and violating the driving times. The commission appointed to determine the course of the accident came to the conclusion that the bus driver was overtired. During his free shift, he only slept five hours a day and also fell well short of the mandatory 45-minute break at 10:45 p.m. by eight minutes.
According to the extensive investigation report by Onnettomuustutkintakeskus , the truck had lurched over the last 100 meters before the collision and was therefore out of control of the driver. The right rear wheel of the trailer was up to four meters away from the road - also in the direction of oncoming traffic. So the trailer hit the bus head-on.
The Scania tractor, which had been registered three quarters of a year earlier and was almost ten meters long, was loaded with 17 paper rolls weighing 13.4 t ; the 13.5 meter long trailer was loaded with 32 rolls with a total weight of almost 25 t. The total weight of the train unit was almost 60 tons. The Volvo brand bus had a gross weight of 16.2 tons. The force of the impact loosened part of the strapped paper rolls, which hit the inside of the bus almost unhindered, as they were about the same height above the road. Only the last and penultimate row of inside seats remained in their anchorages; on the side of the bus facing away from the accident, it was the last three rows and the back seat, i.e. 13 of the 48 passenger seats. From the point of impact, the bus was carried away 25 meters in the opposite direction of travel by the much higher weight of the heavy truck.
The driver of the accident vehicle alerted the emergency services at 2:08 a.m. He said that part of his load had slipped into the bus that he had previously collided with. He stated that the bus driver could have died. As a result, four ambulances and four other fire brigade rescue vehicles were set in motion. A second call, which came a few minutes later from another uninvolved truck driver, revealed that it was a fully occupied coach with probably forty occupants. As a result, 14 more ambulance and rescue vehicles were ordered to the scene of the accident, which arrived half an hour after the accident. Only two passengers had been able to get off the bus alone.
consequences
The bus accident was the worst traffic accident in the history of Finland. Since 1979, when 27 people were killed in a fire in a retirement home, it has been the accident with the highest death toll.
The public prosecutor's office initiated a case of dangerous interference in road traffic, which was supported by 97 co-plaintiffs. The 42 claims asserted against the defendants ranged from 3,000 to 50,000 euros. The total damage was estimated at 900,000 euros.
The district court sentenced Äänekoski on 31 May 2006 the truck driver to a prison sentence of three months on probation as well as the transportation company to a fine for violation of EUR 10,000 occupational safety regulations. In the grounds of the judgment, the court stated that the driver had endangered traffic due to excessive speed. The driver should have adjusted his speed to the prevailing road, weather, visibility and traffic conditions as well as the type and size of his load. Both the driver and the defendant shipping company appealed against the judgment . The judgment, which was announced on January 23, 2007 by the competent Vaasa regional court as a court of appeal , confirmed the judgment of the lower court.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Report by Onnettomuustutkintakeskus (PDF; English translation from Finnish)
- ↑ Helsingin Sanomat International Edition of March 19, 2007 ( Memento of the original of September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Helsingin Sanomat International Edition of June 1, 2006
- ↑ Report on the appeal process (Finnish)
Coordinates: 62 ° 46 ′ 42 " N , 25 ° 46 ′ 55" E