Accidents rise as Sweden's teenagers drive souped-up cars intended to be slow and safe

It began as an agricultural necessity and grew into a beloved rite of passage for teenagers in rural Sweden. Invented in the early 1900s by farmers who were short on equipment, the A-traktor lives on as the vehicle of choice for motorists as young as 15.

- Viktor Sunnemark

But the cars, which are supposed to have been modified to have a maximum speed of 19mph (30km/h), are increasingly causing concern. Guidance introduced in 2020 made it easier to convert almost any car into an A-traktor and the change appears to have led to a sharp rise in related injuries and deaths.

Despite the vehicles' popularity, there are growing calls for them to be banned. Petter Magnusson, the head of traffic police in the Swedish city of Karlstad, which has a high number of A-traktors, said he could see no other solution.

Between 2020 and 2022 there were 931 A-traktor accidents, almost 2.5 times the number recorded in the previous three years. The risk of dying or getting injured in an accident with an A-traktor is more than four times higher than with a regular car, Guardian analysis of 2022 data from the Swedish authorities shows. Eight in every 10 injuries involve a person under the age of 17.

Experts put the rise down to the 2020 rule change that made it easier to convert almost any car into an A-traktor by capping their top speeds electronically. The only thing that identifies an A-traktor on the road is an orange triangle at the rear marking it out as a slow-moving vehicle.