The 39 single lane bridges along Highway 1, the “ring road” are extremely hazardous to foreign travellers who are unaccustomed to single-lane bridges and don’t recognize the road signs alerting motorists of the bridges. A Chinese traveller died in a head-on collision on a single-lane bridge over the 2015 Christmas holiday.
The vice chairman of the Icelandic Automobile Association FÍB tells the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV the road signs used in Iceland to warn motorists of an upcoming single-lane bridge are unique to Iceland and not internationally recognized.
Other signs which warn motorists of an upcoming single-lane bridge in Iceland are similarly confusing or used in ways not recognized in other countries, causing problems for foreign visitors. To make matters worse the bridges even these signs are either lacking or not placed according to rules. The conclusion, he argues, is that the 39 single-lane bridges along the ring road are all potential death traps. Many are located in South Iceland along the road to popular tourist destinations like the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon.
Ólafur Guðmundsson with FÍB told RÚV that the long term goal should be to eliminate all the single lane bridges along the ring road. In the meantime, however, the rules governing driving on the bridges should be made more stringent and logical, for example by giving traffic coming from one direction the right of way. This he argued is crucial to ensure the safety of the growing numbers of foreign motorists on Icelandic roads.
The 39 single lane bridges along Highway 1, the “ring road” are extremely hazardous to foreign travellers who are unaccustomed to single-lane bridges and don’t recognize the road signs alerting motorists of the bridges. A Chinese traveller died in a head-on collision on a single-lane bridge over the 2015 Christmas holiday.
The vice chairman of the Icelandic Automobile Association FÍB tells the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV the road signs used in Iceland to warn motorists of an upcoming single-lane bridge are unique to Iceland and not internationally recognized.
Other signs which warn motorists of an upcoming single-lane bridge in Iceland are similarly confusing or used in ways not recognized in other countries, causing problems for foreign visitors. To make matters worse the bridges even these signs are either lacking or not placed according to rules. The conclusion, he argues, is that the 39 single-lane bridges along the ring road are all potential death traps. Many are located in South Iceland along the road to popular tourist destinations like the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon.
Ólafur Guðmundsson with FÍB told RÚV that the long term goal should be to eliminate all the single lane bridges along the ring road. In the meantime, however, the rules governing driving on the bridges should be made more stringent and logical, for example by giving traffic coming from one direction the right of way. This he argued is crucial to ensure the safety of the growing numbers of foreign motorists on Icelandic roads.
