Where to start? With this driver rushing towards a departmental road service agent to force him to pull over? By these three motorists each uttering death threats, such as “if you don’t move from there, I’ll run you over” and “I’m going to get my gun and I’ll smoke you”? Or with these daily invectives and insults, which have become so commonplace that workers wearing yellow vests no longer even pay attention to them?
But perhaps we should start with the afternoon of November 13. Near Ponts-Neufs, in Morieux, the road is blocked. A team from the departmental service is carrying out construction work on a roundabout. The rest is told by Alain Émery, a works technician for 30 years: “I came to check that the site was closed for the night. Because the next morning, very early, we were pouring curbs. Except that, when I passed, I saw some crazy people…”
“I’m not leaving my guys in the middle of this mess”
In front of him, the site manager discovers a real road riot. Exasperated at not being able to pass, motorists pushed the imposing red and white markers blocking their way into the middle of the road. “It was a game of bowling. There were cars everywhere, with blocks in the middle. Some were driving in the wrong direction. » Alain Émery and his team then try to restore order… at the risk of their lives. “I finally called my manager to say I wasn't leaving my guys in the middle of this mess. It was the first time in my career, but it was getting too dangerous. »
Ten days later, the work is nearing completion. But for the road officials present, the Ponts-Neufs construction site will remain as one more step taken in terms of the behavior of motorists.
“We may have yellow vests, but we are sometimes in danger of death”
“We had setbacks during all phases of the work,” explains Franck Bourdais, the director of infrastructure for the Departmental Council. “During the two nights we had to close, there was unacceptable behavior. As people were not happy to be diverted, they removed the blocks and arrived on the site,” continues the service manager, before reminding: “They put themselves in danger, but they especially puts workers at risk.”
Why did the situation escalate to this point? Perhaps due to the duration of the project, started last January, on a route usually used by 15,000 vehicles per day and allowing access to Pléneuf-Val-André, Erquy and Cap Fréhel.
But in general, Franck Bourdais observes “an increase in incivility on construction sites. We feel people are more aggressive. They cannot tolerate the slightest discomfort in their daily movements. Even though we wear yellow vests and are visible, we are sometimes in danger of death on the side of the roads.”
“When they see we’re trying to film them, it makes them even crazier”
And faced with these behaviors, there are very few solutions. “To file a complaint, you must have proof and the identity of the driver. However, when a motorist rushes at you, you think above all about your safety, not about taking their license plate,” explains André Coënt, vice-president of the Department in charge of infrastructure.
And there is no question of using a camera: “When they see that we are trying to film them, it makes them even crazier,” laments Alain Émery. There remains the call to the police. “We do it sometimes and it usually calms down right away. But we cannot systematize it,” concludes Franck Bourdais.
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