Kljub temu je sodišče dokazalo, da so se pri Volvu popolnoma zavedali, da zavorni sistem na tem tipu avtomobila ni popoln, saj so na sistemu naredili več določenih sprememb, vendar podjetje ni bilo zmožno najti ustrezne tehnične rešitve.

Reuters je napisal/-a:Volvo fined in France for brake fault in accident
Thu Jan 31, 2008 4:28am EST

SAVERNE, France, Jan 31 - Swedish carmaker Volvo was fined 200,000 euros ($297,400) by a French court on Thursday after a deadly accident in which the brakes could have been at fault.

A driver lost control over her Volvo 850 TDI and knocked down three children on the pavement in the centre of Wasselone in northeast France in June 1999.

Two of the children died, the third was seriously injured.

The driver, a school teacher who was 49 at the time, received a suspended jail sentence of six months, a 300 euro fine and a one-year suspension of her driving licence.

She claimed the brake had become very rigid and she could not stop in time.

Volvo Car Corporation, a unit of Ford (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research), has rejected the theory that the incident was caused by a mechanical defect the car and the firm is expected to appeal the court decision. (Reporting by Marine Jobert and Gilbert Reilhac; Editing by Louise Ireland)

blazp je napisal/-a:..... in tudi če servo ne dela, je še vedno mogoče bremzati.

But an investigating magistrate has decided that Ms Kohtz is herself an innocent victim of Volvo's failure to correct a serious problem in the braking system of 180,000 cars, sold all over the world ­ a quarter in the UK. Representatives of Volvo France have been summoned to a meeting with the magistrate, Gabriel Steffanus, on 30 May. It is expected that the company will be placed under formal investigation ­ one step short of a charge ­ for "involuntary homicide" or manslaughter.

This would be the first time that a car company has faced a criminal investigation of this kind in France.

Volvo documents seized by police at the Strasbourg dealership that sold Ms Kohtz's car indicate that the manufacturer was aware of a brake defect of "very great importance" in some Volvo 854s. A rubber pipe in the hydraulic braking system was capable of tearing or detaching itself.

Instead of recalling the cars, it is alleged, Volvo asked its dealers in July 1997 to correct the fault during routine service visits. The Strasbourg garage carried out the work ­ without informing Ms Kohtz's husband, Hartmut ­ in 1998.

Investigators say that the instructions from Volvo were so vague that the work was carried out incorrectly. Ms Kohtz says that when she tried to brake on 17 June 1999, as she drove at about 25 mph down a street in Wasselonne, the pedal failed to respond. The more she pumped the pedal, the stiffer and more unresponsive it became.

RED_line je napisal/-a:valjda da je kriv volvo. sam kaj češ. tudi honda ima za en kura* bremze. in folk se zaradi njih ubija. sam jim ne moreš nič. vedno je kriva hitrost, sej veste.

BAZO je napisal/-a:A ni bilo pri Fordu Pintu tako, da se je lahko vžgal oz. eksplodiral, če se je kdo vanj zaletel od zadaj. To so pri Fordu vedeli, ampak so baje zračunal, da jih ceneje pridejo odškodnine, kot pa popravilo vseh avtomobilov, ki so jih prodali oz. izdelali.
Mogoče je bilo tako tudi v tem primeru, ne bi pa vedel. Naj raje kdo o tem več pove, ki več o temu ve.

Jorgi je napisal/-a:. 25milj na uro ni nobeno tiščanje, otroci pa so zelo nepredvidljivi. Če te v takem trenutku izda zavorni sistem, ki je bil redno vzdrževan pač ne more in ne sme biti samo odgovornost voznika.

Ms Kohtz says that when she tried to brake on 17 June 1999, as she drove at about 25 mph down a street in Wasselonne, the pedal failed to respond. The more she pumped the pedal, the stiffer and more unresponsive it became.