Accident investigations: A comparative perspective on societal safety in Norway and Sweden, 1970–2010

Abstract

The topic for the article is the growing awareness of risk and safety in Norway and Sweden during the last decades of the 20th century, and how the two Scandinavian states have organized investigations of accidents. In many western states accident investigations have moved from sector specific boards to permanent multi-modal commissions. This has also been the case in the two Scandinavian states. But this comparative study reveals different paths and varying speed towards a ‘safety culture’. The Swedish Accident Investigation Board was established in 1990, while its Norwegian opposite partner was established in 2008. Common for the two countries is that reorganization of investigation boards has taken place as political actions after major accidents, rather than as a consequence of risk assessments.