Seven die in collision in poor road conditions in Southern Finland

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Extremely poor road conditions late on Friday night caused one of the most serious accidents in Finland in the recent past. Seven people were killed in a collision between a minibus taxi and another car in Loimaa, in Southern Finland. Neither the taxi driver nor any of the six teenagers, aged 15 to 18, in the other car were using seat-belts. The taxi driver was alone, apparently returning home to Urjala after taking some customers to Turku.
      The accident took place on Highway 9, about 12 kilometres from Loimaa towards Tampere. According to police, the cars came from opposite directions and collided in the middle of the snow-covered road.
     
Apparently, the teenagers' car suddenly veered to the left into the oncoming lane when driving downhill. According to Antero Aho of Liikenneturva, Finland’s expert organization in traffic safety, the rear-wheel drive car was tail-heavy as four of the passengers had squeezed themselves into the back seat. Hence the car was obviously too difficult for the inexperienced driver to manoeuvre on the slippery, snow-covered road.
     
According to the Finnish Road Administration (Finnra), the road maintenance measures in Loimaa were not sufficient prior to the accident. At the time of the accident, the road was apparently covered by as much as 10 centimetres of slushy snow and ice.
      An investigation board has been set up to look into the collision.


Links:
  Liikenneturva
  Finnish Road Administration (Finnra)

Helsingin Sanomat