Måbødalen bus accident

Måbødalen

The Måbødalen bus accident was a bus crash on 15 August 1988 during the descent 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 crash.

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 four were parents, one of them being the driver. 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.^[1][2]

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 kilometres (2.5 mi). 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 to 100 kilometres per hour (40 to 62 mph).

Vehicle brakes frequently overheat along the steep road in the Måbø Valley, with a number of lorries catching fire and at least one fatal truck accident in 1998.^[3]

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.

Maj A.J Phelan, UK A of IN Div and his two sons Robert aged 12 and peter aged 15, were among the first to reach the accident area. Maj A J Phelan and his sons helped carry out the dead and injured from the wreck, taking part in the rescue work until midnight, five hours after the crash. It was forty five minutes before the first ambulance reached the scene.

References

1. ^ Ulykkesvitnene føler seg glemt Bt.no, 15 August 2008 (Norwegian)
2. ^ Pårørende fikk store seinvirkninger Bt.no, 15 August 2008 (Norwegian)
3. ^ Bremser til det brenner Dagbladet.no 18 July 2000 (Norwegian)

• Snorre Sklet Summary of major Norwegian disasters. Page 147 (Norwegian)
• Måbødal-ulykken 20 år etter (Måbødalen disaster, 20 years later) bt.no, 15 August 2008 (Norwegian)

Coordinates: 60°25′29″N 007°14′06″E / 60.42472°N 7.235°E / 60.42472; 7.235