Abstract
In 1998 a serious bus accident happened in Sweden where a bus went off the road, collided with a culvert and fell on to its side. Fire broke out in the engine compartment shortly after the impact, and burnt its way through the engine compartment and into the passenger compartment. The passengers were rescued thanks to a resourceful intervention from fellow road users.
The Swedish Board of Accident Investigation (SHK) carried out an investigation of the accident to find out the cause of the accident, especially the fire, and to find measures to avoid such accidents in the future. During the investigation, the interest was directed to the question on the reason why the bus went off the road. The driver experienced that the bus was being pressed off the road and that it was impossible to steer it back. The part of the road in question was largely straight and basically without a slope in the direction of travel. According to the measurement of the road surface made after the event, the camber was well within applicable limits, both before and along the skid. No technical fault was discovered on the bus that could explain the course of events.