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🇮🇸 Iceland /Crime & Justice

Speeding without seat belts is becoming a trend, police say

From Morgunblaðið · () Icelandic

Translated from Icelandic and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Icelandic police are examining speeding and other factors after three young people died in the country’s deadliest road crash since December 2018.
  • Police have heard reports of gatherings involving young drivers on lightly trafficked roads, including possible speeding and driving without seat belts, though they have not confirmed those details in this crash.
  • Unions representing Limburg provincial employees are seeking an independent investigation into alleged intimidation and a culture of fear.

Police are investigating whether speeding played a role in the crash on Iceland’s Krýsuvíkurvegur road that killed three young people. The crash ranks as the country’s deadliest since December 2018.

Sævar Guðmundsson, chief inspector with the capital-area police, said young people and others have increasingly met in cars and other vehicles on Krýsuvíkurvegur, Nesjavallaleið and other locations. He described talk of a trend involving informal gatherings and, in some cases, relaxed driving, but said it was unconfirmed whether that happened at the crash site.

The worst thing is that if young people or people in general want to get an outlet through their driving, it should not be done anywhere other than in areas designed for it.

— Sævar GuðmundssonThe capital-area police chief inspector argued that people seeking an outlet for driving should use designated areas.

Witness interviews are next in the investigation. Police plan to summon witnesses for questioning, potentially after the weekend, although they have not decided how many people will be called. Other cars carrying young people were in the area, and police believe those occupants probably knew one another.

We cannot confirm anything in this particular case, but unfortunately this is somewhat in fashion among many people today.

— Sævar GuðmundssonHe discussed reports that some young people drive without seat belts, while stressing that police had not confirmed this in the crash under investigation.

Sævar said police had not received many complaints about speeding on the Krýsuvíkurvegur route and had not increased patrols there because of the discussion. He said the route and Nesjavallaleið are quiet, particularly at night. “The worst thing is that if young people or people in general want to get an outlet through their driving, it should not be done anywhere other than in areas designed for it,” he said, pointing to motorsport clubs.

He could not confirm whether the victims had been wearing seat belts, but said driving without them appears to be popular among some young people. “We cannot confirm anything in this particular case, but unfortunately this is somewhat in fashion among many people today,” he said. He called such behavior “risk-taking that is completely crazy” and questioned whether authorities need to improve road-safety education in cooperation with the Icelandic Transport Authority and others. Flowers and candles have been placed at the crash site, where photographs also showed a tire and other debris. Police said they would examine why the site had not been fully cleared, since the usual practice is to remove all wreckage.

If this is the reality, then it is risk-taking that is completely crazy.

— Sævar GuðmundssonHe described the reported combination of speeding and failing to wear seat belts.
About this summary

Originally published by Morgunblaðið in Icelandic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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