200 to 250 trucks were blocked on the A84 motorway in the Caen-Rennes direction near Grainville-sur-Odon this Thursday, November 21, 2024 in the evening. A decision taken by the prefect of Calvados due to snowfall. Traffic restrictions were lifted early Friday afternoon.
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They spent the night in their trucks. At the request of the Calvados prefecture, and due to the Caetano storm, 200 to 250 truckers had to stop on the A84 motorway near Grainville-sur-Odon this Thursday, November 21, 2024 in the afternoon , and stay there until early afternoon today.
From the start of this Thursday afternoon, all vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes traveling on the A84, the A13 and the RN13 had a break imposed on their journey. While most of them were able to park in motorway areas, others were stored in the left lane of the motorway.
The decision, taken jointly by the prefecture of Manche and that of Calvados, sparked strong reactions among truckers.
In Grainville-sur-Odon, many of them expressed their anger last night at the microphone of Franck Bodereau, journalist at France 3 Caen.
“We were blocked there, for whom, why, we don't know. And now I just learned that we were going to stay here until noon”, one of the drivers gets angry.
We were stopped too early because I've been stuck since 1:30 p.m., even though at that time things were going really well.
For its part, the Manche prefecture has banned heavy goods vehicle traffic throughout its department.
Despite the announcements from the two prefectures, some drivers defied the ban and got back behind the wheel, as one of them noted: “it was going very well, I don't understand, and there, I see trucks passing, I don't know why”.
“We could have been very far away a long time ago… Yes, there was snow, but now it has clearly melted, we don't really understand”, exasperates another truck driver.
Others resigned themselves and quickly prepared to spend the night in their cabin.
I have the TV, I have the microwave, I have the coffee maker, I have food, I have everything I need! The only thing missing is the toilets, that's going to be the big problem but hey we'll do like everyone else, we'll hold back
After a long night spent in their cabin, the drivers hoped to gradually get back on the road during the day. But as of midday Friday, the ban had still not been lifted.
At the start of this Friday afternoon, the Calvados prefecture finally announced the end of traffic restrictions for heavy goods vehicles weighing 7.5 tonnes.
