Parents and Norwegian Public Roads Administration told to get hands-on with russ

Road safety organisation Trygg Trafikk has said parents, police and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration need to get hands-on with russ buses this year.

Russ is the period before final exams for high school students in their final year. A large part of the celebrations involve driving around in customised buses to gatherings.

Christoffer Solstad Steen said the buses are often old, in poor condition, and unsafe. They are also normally full of inebriated drunk people.

Christoffer Solstad Steen from Trygg Trafikk pointed to traffic accidents, fires, and fumes from diesel generators kept on the buses as some of the safety issues.

More also needed to be done to ensure that the people driving the buses were safe and responsible and that their pay and tax obligations were in line with Norwegian standards.

EU opposition in Norway shrinks

More than six in ten people in Norway are in favour of its agreement with the EEA, and opposition to EU membership has shrunk, according to a survey from Ipsos carried out for the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO).

“The EEA agreement means predictability and opportunities for Norwegian companies, which in turn ensures jobs and value creation in rural and urban areas,” Ole Erik Almlid, director of the NHO, said.

The proportion of people who would vote “no” in an EU referendum has fallen from 48 to 45 percent.

However, the number of people who would say “yes” has remained stagnant at 34 percent.

Norway is the worst Nordic country for condom use

Norwegians are the worst in the Nordics for using condoms, according to a recent survey. However, the country has taken steps in the right direction.

The survey was run by the Swedish sexual health orginisation Riksförbundet för sexuell upplysning.

“For several years, we have seen a positive development in terms of condom use throughout the Nordics,” RFSU marketing manager Anette Otterström said.

Some 37 percent of Norwegian respondents to the survey said that they had used a condom during the past year, compared to around 40 percent in the other Nordics.

Out of the Nordic countries, Norway saw the largest increase in the number of young people using condoms.

Potential bus firm bankruptcy could hit Norway

Issues with Oslo’s electric bus fleet during the winter could cause the municipality a 1.2 billion kroner loss if the public transport firm Unibuss goes bankrupt.

Ruter, the company responsible for organising public transport in Oslo and Akershus, is demanding 200 million from Unibuss due to delays and cancellations this winter. Sporveien, which owns Unibuss, has said that the bus company would go bankrupt if it had to pay this money.

“If Ruter insists on this, the board of Unibuss will have no choice but to bankrupt the company,” Sporveien’s CEO Birte Sjule wrote to the government in a letter obtained by the newspaper Avisa Oslo.

A potential bankruptcy would lead to 2,200 jobs being lost and would cost Oslo municipality 1.2 billion kroner.