The number of traffic related injuries among foreign travellers increased dramatically last year, the local newspaper Morgunblaðið reports. The increase is particularly dramatic in South Iceland, where the number of injuries and accidents involving foreign travellers grew by 140% between 2014 and 2015.
Read more: Fatal road accidents spike in 2015 after a record low in 2014 — Many involve foreign motorists
Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson, the Chief of Police in South Iceland, told Morgunblaðið that traffic in the district has grown significantly in recent years, thanks to increasing tourism. Unfortunately too many foreign motorists don’t drive according to conditions and take unnecessary risks. He points out that more than 60% of motorists who are stopped for speeding are foreign travellers.
Read more: A few tips about driving in Iceland
The main reasons for accidents in the district is similarly a failure to assess conditions correctly. Drivers, especially foreign drivers who are unfamiliar with Icelandic roads and weather, are particularly likely to lose control of their vehicles on gravel roads, when the roads are covered in ice and while speeding along long stretches of relatively straight stretches of the highway. These are also the most common types of accidents he tells Morgunblaðið.
The number of traffic related injuries among foreign travellers increased dramatically last year, the local newspaper Morgunblaðið reports. The increase is particularly dramatic in South Iceland, where the number of injuries and accidents involving foreign travellers grew by 140% between 2014 and 2015.
Read more: Fatal road accidents spike in 2015 after a record low in 2014 — Many involve foreign motorists
Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson, the Chief of Police in South Iceland, told Morgunblaðið that traffic in the district has grown significantly in recent years, thanks to increasing tourism. Unfortunately too many foreign motorists don’t drive according to conditions and take unnecessary risks. He points out that more than 60% of motorists who are stopped for speeding are foreign travellers.
Read more: A few tips about driving in Iceland
The main reasons for accidents in the district is similarly a failure to assess conditions correctly. Drivers, especially foreign drivers who are unfamiliar with Icelandic roads and weather, are particularly likely to lose control of their vehicles on gravel roads, when the roads are covered in ice and while speeding along long stretches of relatively straight stretches of the highway. These are also the most common types of accidents he tells Morgunblaðið.
