Y2024-05 Road­way de­par­ture of tracked ve­hi­cle trans­port­ing con­scripts in Ivalo on 13 no­vem­ber 2024

18.06.2025

A tracked vehicle drove off the road in Ivalo on 13 November 2024 as it was on its way from the garrison to a training area. As a result of this accident, all 23 Finnish Border Guard conscripts on board were injured and the tracked vehicle was damaged beyond repair. The conscripts were not wearing seatbelts. The exercise was interrupted after the accident.

The handling characteristics of a tracked vehicle differ from those of a conventional wheeled vehicle. Drivers in Ivalo garrison have few driving missions and consequently build up little driving experience. At the time of the accident, the total load and number of persons on board exceeded the permitted limits. The higher centre of gravity caused by rear section loading affected the manoeuvrability of the vehicle.

Not enough time had been reserved in the training plan for the transition between the garrison and the training area considering the amount of people to be transported to the exercise area and the capacity of the tracked vehicle. This led to overloading. In addition, the planning of the transitions did not take into account the size of the group to be transported: Smaller groups could be transported as planned without overloading, while larger groups could not.

The Finnish Defence Forces’ traffic safety regulation obliges the driver to intervene when s/he observes deficiencies in safety-critical, such as overloading, excessively tight schedules and wearing of safety belts. However, questioning the assigned tasks and the prevailing operating culture may be difficult in reality. Currently, the operating environment does not actively support traffic safety in all respects.

Risk assessments carried out in connection with training plans do not currently include support functions, such as transitions. Consequently, the special features of the support functions are more likely to be overlooked.

The investigation also found that different actors did not have adequate knowledge of each other’s practices at the scene of an accident and at different stages of the treatment pathway.

To improve safety, the Safety Investigation Authority, Finland recommends that:

1. The Finnish Defence Forces and the Border Guard develop a continuous procedure with the parties providing emergency medical care and rescue services in each region to enable the various actors to have adequate and up-to-date knowledge of each other’s practices. [2025-S15]
2. The Finnish Defence Forces and the Border Guard as parties organising conscript training include other functions, such as transport and transitions, in the planning and risk assessments of exercises. [2025-S13]
3. The Finnish Defence Forces and the Border Guard develop active support provided by personnel and trainers to ensure traffic safety in conscript training. [2025-S14]

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