Several Russian buses have now started heading towards Landstreff Stavanger, where thousands of Russians will gather for the weekend.
However, the joy of the bus was short-lived for a Russian group from Ålesund, who were stopped on Thursday during a check by the Norwegian Road Administration.
– The Swedish Road Administration discovered that the bus is a death trap in the event of an accident, states the Swedish Road Administration in a press release.
Dagbladet has tried to get in touch with the Russian group, but has so far been unsuccessful in getting a comment.
NOT ALLOWED: The rope on the roof must have been used by standing passengers to hold on. Photo: Norwegian Road Administration
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Hired
The check was carried out at the Hurtigrute terminal in Bergen, where the Danish ship departs for Denmark via Stavanger. A Swedish-registered Russian bus, hired by the Russian group from Møre og Romsdal, was stopped there.
The bus is approved in Sweden with 62 passenger places, of which 33 are approved standing places.
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According to the Swedish Road Administration, a number of loudspeakers and power generators were placed on the roof, despite the fact that the bus was not approved for roof loads. Headlights were mounted on the outside, which made the vehicle too wide for Norwegian roads.
– There was a slack rope hanging inside that should act as a holding device for 33 standing passengers, the inspection says.
All the seats were also side-facing and without seat belts.
MISSING: The bus’ roof hatches were not marked as emergency exits. Photo: Norwegian Road Administration
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Several are missing
There were only two windows that could function as emergency exits with an emergency hammer. It had two roof hatches, but these were not marked as emergency exits.
According to Norwegian rules, a bus with more than 61 passenger seats must, according to the Swedish Road Administration, have six emergency exit windows and three roof hatches.
To refuel the generators, one had to climb onto the roof through the hatches.
The Russian says: – Arouses emotions
The bus was also banned from driving, as the driver could not produce a community permit. This gave the bus company NOK 6,000 in fees.
The company is also reported as the tachograph had expired. The driver also had to remove the illegal roof load and the headlights which made the bus too wide.
Not enough May 17
Despite the bus trouble, the Russian should have got on the boat to Stavanger in time.
Before the bus can drive on, deficiencies and errors must be corrected. But the bus that the Ålesund gang has rented can only be used in Norway for 20 days, before it has to leave for four. In total, it can only drive in Norway for 30 days a year.
The bus in question has already been driving in Norway for some time, and according to the Swedish Road Administration, will not be able to drive legally until 17 May.
