In one of many accidents on Europe’s roads over the last few days, a lorry driver was injured in an HGV accident on Sunday morning, reports German police.
As illustrated in the photo above, the truck’s cargo was effectively a write off, while half of the the road had to be closed during the rescue and clean up operation.
The accident occured when a semitrailer driver from Poland skid on black ice near Kassel. As a consequence, the semitrailer hit the right-hand side barrier of the road, slid approx 100 metres on the road and ended up on the left side of the road – overturned and landing on the roof.
The driver was injured in the accident and was transported by ambulance to a Marsberg hospital.
An estimated 800 litres of diesel fuel spilled onto the ground from the damaged tractor unit, therefore, the excavation of the accident site was ordered to avoid further damage to the environment.
The semi-trailer of the articulated lorry was loaded with fruit and vegetables, which could not be saved.
The total road and environmental damage is estimated at around 150,000 euros, say the police.
Photo credits @ Police Headquarters Bielefeld
“Catastrophic” road conditions in Lithuania
Elsewhere, in Lithuania, several roads were buried under snow over the weekend as 15-20 centimetres of snow fell in a short period of time, reported Trans.iNFO’s Lithuanian news service.
On Saturday, an HGV travelling from Kaunas towards Alytus slid off the road due to the icy road surface. While the lorry was being pulled from the roadside by technical assistance, the road at the Punia roundabout was temporarily blocked on Sunday afternoon, and police officers were directing the traffic.
Another accident happened on Saturday morning in Vilnius – a tractor-trailer crashed into road barriers. After the accident, the trailer was unhooked from the lorry. The driver did not get injured.
Also, a terrible accident happened on Saturday near Šiauliai. The driver of an HGV lost control of the vehicle, which then crashed into the barriers of the road and was left hanging on the edge of the overpass. The accident happened on the A12 road Riga–Šiauliai–Tauragė–Kaliningrad, near Bubiai. The driver was taken to the hospital.
Jackknifed lorries in France
Winter 2022/2023 also debuted in France, with snow and traffic disruption during the weekend. Several parts of France were paralysed by snowy and icy roads. To mention just a couple of examples, two HGVs jackknifed and blocked a road while another one skidded down the road for Geneva, causing severe traffic disruption.
More snow is coming today in the Haute-Savoi region, Lyon and the Rhône area, therefore drivers are asked to be cautious and patient.
A lorry has already had an accident this morning, injuring two people in Cantal, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The HGV skidded, causing a car to crash into a snowplough.
⚠️🍌Nouvel épisode neige-verglas sur nos routes, nous renouvelons nos conseils de prudence❄️
🛞Parlons PNEU parlons bien : adaptés et correctement gonflés
👀Dégivrez votre pare-brise, vitres, rétroviseurs et phares
🥚Conduite rime avec anticipation & douceur
Bonne route👮🏻👮♂️ pic.twitter.com/vePBp3sgKo
— Gendarmerie de la Haute-Savoie (@Gendarmerie_074) December 13, 2022
7-9 hours standstill on the M25
It is not just mainland Europe that has been hit by snow; motorists in many parts of the United Kingdom had to face difficulties due to wintery weather conditions.
The most severe disruption happened near London. Between junction 23 and junction 28 of the M25 motorway, traffic was at a standstill due to heavy snowfall on Monday night and Tuesday early morning.
My friend is flying out for a few days in the sun with hubby but is stuck on the M25 – which has not been gritted.
Did National Highways not read the weather reports?
In addition no one seems to know if @STN_Airport is open or closed.
A bit of snow and this country truly melts 😬 pic.twitter.com/Q0GbKT077E— Lorraine King (@lorrainemking) December 12, 2022
Some people spent 7 to 9 hours on the motorways, according to My London’s report on the situation.
Gritter driver shortage in the UK – council “redeploying” staff
Snow also arrived in Northern Wales during the weekend – a little earlier than in London and eastern England. According to North Wales Live, motorists have been complaining that roads had not been gritted properly.
While councils are trying to do their best, it seems many of them struggling to take care of the slippery roads.
According to the Local Government Association’s (LGA) annual weather resilience survey, 63 per cent of councils in England are worried they can’t recruit enough HGV drivers to run their gritting lorries this winter.
Therefore, councils are using agency workers or retraining and redeploying existing staff in order to tackle these shortages.
Council workers have been out gritting the main roads this morning and will continue to treat the roads during the day. Cold weather is forecast throughout the day so please take care if you’re going out. More information on our website: https://t.co/Rp2LzeWz7E pic.twitter.com/kNjjKSmWh2
— Cyngor Gwynedd (@CyngorGwynedd) December 9, 2022
