Motorists and 2000 to 2500 heavy goods vehicles were stopped this Friday morning on the A36 motorway in Doubs.
The sharp drop in temperatures and the high risk of icy conditions stranded them overnight.
Although the situation began to improve at the end of the morning, traffic remains very difficult as illustrated by the testimonies collected by our teams.
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Snow and ice: France disrupted by bad weather
If it is difficult to maneuver in the snow, imagine with a 7.5 ton truck in the middle of a highway. 2000 to 2500 heavy goods vehicles found themselves stuck on the A36 motorway, in Doubs, during the night from Thursday to Friday. It was the plunge in temperatures between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. that trapped many truck drivers, and with them, many motorists on their way to work.
“Since 9 p.m. yesterday evening, it was blocked in Besançon, there was already an accident on the highway. I stopped there. The spirit is to wait for it to happen, there is no has only that to do”, testifies in the report at the top of this article a truck driver. “I won't be able to go to work, because I have an hour and a half drive to get there.” explains a motorist. Then a second: “I'm going to try to work a little bit. I'm going to telecommute on the highway.”
“Trucks are not supposed to be in the second lane”
According to the highway company, trucks used the A36 during the night, despite the prefectural ban. The situation began to improve at the end of the morning, with a notable evolution in two hours, as evidenced by the images at the top of this article, where we first see a line being cleared for cars, then the trucks moving slowly. However, traffic was still very difficult this Friday at midday.
“You see, we are at 0 km. There, it will be 45 minutes”, explains Michael Muller, driver, in the video above. The latter regrets poor communication since last night. According to him, the drivers were not sufficiently well informed, starting with foreigners. “The trucks are not supposed to be on the second lane, but the foreigners, since they don’t understand and there is no message in English, they are there anyway and they block traffic,” he explains.
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A few kilometers further, the gendarmes are stationed at the various entrances to the highway where, despite the prefectural ban, trucks try to use it, as our team on site notes.
Despite a gradual resumption of traffic, the motorway company still anticipates significant disruptions until Friday evening. Tow trucks could even be deployed to help truckers most in distress.
