Report on the coach accident on county road 63 at Valldal in Møre og Romsdal county on 30 July 2016

The coach carrying 38 passengers, one tour guide and two drivers was heading west towards Valldal on Fv. 63, witch is a national touristroad and county road at Grønning. The passenger car and the coach met on a straight section of the road.

Both the vehicles chose to edge futher out to the right to avoid collision, but by passage there was a collision. This caused the bus to lose control and drove uncontrollably through the crash barrier and onto the verge where it rolled over and came to rest on its roof.

The AIBN's technical examinations showed that the bus was in good technical condition prior to the accident and that the steering worm only broke as a result of the collision with the passenger car.

The investigation has also shown that the available road width, which was marginal, was further reduced along a 200-metre road section. The road users was not warned of this conditions, and the AIBN is of the opinion that this was a contributory cause of the collision

AIBN's investigation showed that, neither before nor after the road was designated a National Tourist Route, were any risk assessments or safety inspections carried out of this road section.

The AIBN has chosen not to submit any safety recommendations on the basis of this investigation. AIBN makes reference to the analyze and conclutions in this report added to other published reports from AIBN from run-off-the-road accidents involving coaches.