Måbødalen disaster

The Måbødalen disaster was a bus accident which happened 15 August 1988 during the decent from Hardangervidda on its way to Bergen, Norway. The bus collided with the concrete arch at the exit of the Måbø tunnel on Norwegian national road 7. Of the 34 passengers aboard, 15 were killed. In addition, the bus driver died from his injuries 12 days after the accident.

The bus was chartered for a school trip, carrying fifth graders from Kista in Sweden to Bergen where they were scheduled to continue to Shetland. Twelve of the passenger fatalities were children, while three were parents. The fact that many of the fatalities were children made the impact of the tragedy deeply felt both in Norway and Sweden.

The psychological effects on the survivors were studied up to twenty years after the accident, unusually long for an accident of this nature. Several of the survivors, as well as the witnesses who arrived immediately after the disaster, continue to suffer from the traumatic experience. [ [http://www.bt.no/lokalt/hordaland/article612198.ece Ulykkesvitnene føler seg glemt] Bt.no, 15 August 2008 no icon] [ [http://www.bt.no/lokalt/hordaland/article612286.ece Pårørende fikk store seinvirkninger] Bt.no, 15 August 2008 no icon]

Cause of crash and investigation

The main cause of the crash was determined to be faulty brakes on the bus. Only two of the four wheels had brakes, and an auxiliary electric brake was not functioning. The road through the Måbø Valley features fairly steep gradients over a long stretch, as much as 8% over a distance of 4 km. The heavy use of the braking system caused it to gradually overheat, finally failing completely. An attempt from the driver to switch to a lower gear failed, and left the wheels entirely decoupled from the engine. Without anything to slow the bus down, the bus gathered speed on the downhill stretch. At the time of collision, at about 18:30, the bus was estimated to be moving at 64-100 km/h.

The problem of brakes overheating along the road has been an all too common occurrence in the Måbø Valley, with a number of lorries catching fire, and at least one fatal truck accident in 1998. [ [http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/2000/07/18/211830.html Bremser til det brenner] Dagbladet.no 18 July 2000 no icon]

Additional causes were the driver's lack of experience in driving in long downhill stretches, and the lack of adequate warning signs along the road.

Police investigations concluded that no person could be held accountable for the accident.

References

* [http://www.sikkerhetsdagene.no/kapitler/7Sklet.pdf Snorre Sklet] Summary of major Norwegian disasters. Page 147 no icon
* [http://www.bt.no/lokalt/hordaland/article612227.ece Måbødal-ulykken 20 år etter] (Måbødalen disaster, 20 years later) bt.no, 15 August 2008 no icon