Ghyvelde english summary

On Wednesday 8 August 2007, at about 05:00 p.m. at night and in heavy rain, a coach registered in Poland, travelling on the A16 motorway from Belgium to France and carrying forty nine people (two drivers and forty seven passengers) entered the slip road to the "Les Moëres" rest area (in the commune of Ghyvelde, Nord) and turned over on to a safety barrier on entering the car park.

The final toll of the accident was three fatalities and 30 injured, including eight in hospital.

This accident led us to examine three factors likely to result in preventive measures : the behaviour of the driver, informing the emergency services and wearing safety belts.

The immediate direct cause of the accident was the excessive speed of the coach in very heavy rain.

Three other factors are likely to have influenced the seriousness of the accident :
- the failure to wear safety belts which resulted in the ejection of the three people killed in the accident,
- the lack of initiative by the driver in informing the emergency services,
- the random nature of informing the emergency services on the border which delayed the arrival and deployment of the emergency services.

Two recommendations were made :
- one for the attention of the "Association Française du Transport Routier International" aimed at reminding road passenger transport companies of the essential part drivers play in the event of accident in altering and informing the emergency services, and
- the other for the attention of the Nord Prefecture intended to improve the coordination of the Belgian and French emergency services on the border.

Furthermore, this report was an opportunity to recall the need to reduce speed according to weather conditions and that of wearing safety belts and the interest in the implementation of the eCall programme for the localisation of accidents.

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