Several highways were affected on Saturday January 4 by freezing rain, which led to several accidents, causing the death of a 20-year-old man on the A6, in Burgundy. No more departments are on orange alert for snow and ice this Sunday, January 5.
A 20-year-old man died on Saturday January 4 on the A6 in Burgundy, in a road accident probably caused by bad weather which affected the north and east of France, reported BFMRMC. If 30 departments had been placed on orange snow and ice alert on Saturday evening, this Sunday morning Météo-France reported that no more departments were affected by a weather alert. The man died in the pileup of three cars on the A6, in the Paris-Lyon direction. Four other people were slightly injured, including a 6-year-old child, firefighters said.
In several regions, the authorities had limited the speeds authorized on the roads in the early evening. The A6 motorway was closed towards Lyon at kilometer 311 due to an accident. Around 9 p.m., it reopened in the Beaune sector (Côte d'Or), but only on the right lane, according to APRR, manager of this highway. However, the roads still remained icy and the road was very congested. Other accidents took place on the A31 and A3 motorways, according to the APRR. According to a report at 9:30 p.m., sixteen accidents were recorded in Côte-d'Or, causing sixty victims including, in addition to the deceased man, two seriously injured.
Limited speeds
Bison Futé called on road users to “find out about changes in weather and traffic conditions before leaving“. In Côte d'Or, traffic was prohibited for around fifteen kilometers on the A38, west of Dijon, freezing rain having made the roadway very slippery, according to the prefecture. In several regions, the authorities have limited the speeds allowed on the roads.
In Île-de-France, the speed was lowered by 20 km/h from 5 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, on the entire network, except the ring road. The police headquarters then recommended favoring public transport, equipping your car with snow tires and providing a “minimum equipment (warm clothing, food, water)“.
In Hauts-de-France, between Saturday 7 p.m. and Sunday 6 a.m., vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tonnes had to limit their speed to 110 km/h on sections of motorway normally limited to 130 km/h and at 90 km/h on sections of motorways and national roads normally limited to 110 km/h.
