Predictions that the Migrant Crisis would spread to other ports finally come true though the situation at Calais is not yet completely under control.

Also, Land Rover recreates Silverstone in the Arctic. Remarkable road safety news from Norway (and not so great Portugal). New rules on reversing and third lane driving in Switzerland. Mega fines for disabled parking Luxembourg.

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MIGRANT TROUBLE SPREADS TO DIEPPE

Thirty migrants break into ferry terminal and pelt police with stones.

It has taken longer than expected but migrants are finally making their presence felt at ports other than Calais and Dunkirk.

So-called ‘displacement’ was high on the agenda when the British and French home secretaries signed a new security agreement in August.

It failed to materialise initially but last night (Thursday) thirty migrants broke into Dieppe ferry port at Dieppe, nearly 120 miles south of Calais.

The group threw stones at police who responded with tear gas.

‘They broke through the fence into the Transmanche terminal and damaged the tarpaulins on several trucks. There were no injuries but it is deplorable,’ said the Normandy Departmental Directorate of Public Safety to a local news website.

It marks the end of another torrid week at the Channel.

Overnight Tuesday-Wednesday, migrants again blocked the A216 port access road. Unlike last week police were able to reopen the road within a few hours but the knock-on effects lasted into mid-morning.

Ten police were injured and five truck drivers reported damaged vehicles.

This latest episode finally prompted a tough response from the local authorities. From Wednesday morning, all pedestrians were banned from the port road, subject to a €7500 fine and/or six months in prison.

Meanwhile, two migrants have been killed on the A16 motorway in the past two days reports La Voix du Nord.

On Wednesday night a man was knocked over while trying to cross the A16 between Calais and Eurotunnel. The second victim, a 16 year-old boy from Sudan, died on the same stretch yesterday evening.

The speed limit has already been cut to 90kmh following similar incidents over the summer. The street lighting is due to be switched back on in the coming months.

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Land Rover recreated Silverstone race track in the Arctic to test its new 550bhp Range Rover Sport SVR. The full size replica of the British Grand Prix circuit – which, incidentally, is under consideration as Jaguar Land Rover’s new headquarters – is carved into Lake Uddjaur near Arjeplog in northern Sweden. ‘Brand ambassador’ and polar explorer Ben Saunders was tutored in the art of ice driving by former rally champion Minna Sillankorva. ‘The first thing is, be very careful with the throttle,’ she says. Watch part one of the resulting film here, and part two. Part three is out Tuesday 15 December.

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roundup: NORWAY. Not a single child has died in a traffic accident this year reports the Trygg Trafikk road safety council (via The Local Norway). In the first eleven months of the year 113 people were killed on the roads compared to 147 in the same period last year, a decline of 23%. Meanwhile in PORTUGAL fatal traffic accidents are up almost 4% so far this year reports The Portugal News.com. Road deaths have fallen in Lisbon and Oporto but tripled in Aveiro in the northwest and have risen by 40% in the Algarve in the south. SWITZERLAND. As of 1 January 2016, reversing manoeuvres should be ‘kept to the strict minimum’ thanks to a disproportionate number of fatalities says an update from the Federal Council (via @TCS) continuing, ‘Reversing will only be permitted if it is impossible to continue or turn around’. Also, as of the same date, on three lane motorways the left lane may only be used by vehicles allowed to drive faster than 100kmh (up from 80kmh now). LUXEMBOURG. The fine for improperly parking in a disabled space will rise to €145 says Wort.lu. The current fine ranges from €24-74.

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The closure of France’s sporty Col d’Izoard marks the end of this year’s extra-long mountain driving season.

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Photos @DriveEurope. More photos, and map, below.

Around six weeks later than usual, Col d’Izoard finally closed for the winter yesterday.

The 2360m (7743ft) mountain pass in south east France normally opens at the beginning of June and closes in October.

Izoard runs 34km between Briancon and the Guil Valley through the region known as the Queyras.

The southern end is within a few miles of Col Agnel which crosses the Italian border towards Cuneo and Turin.

The unusual landscape of fine scree slopes punctuated with tall spikes of rock (cargneules) is called Casse Deserte (Broken Desert).

Being relatively remote, with few fiddly hairpins as such, but a huge variety of corners – and lots of them – Izoard is a favourite among sports car manufacturers.

BMW was putting the finishing touches to the M2 and M4 GTS when we were there in September.

Also, Col du Galibier in the French Alps closed for winter this week meaning all the high roads are now shut (except says ADAC Allos and Cayolle). At the same time, according to Switzerland’s TCS, Furka, Gotthard, Great Saint Bernard, Grimsel, Klausen, Nufenen, Oberalp, San Bernardino, Splügen, Susten and Umbrail are all now closed until the spring. Albula closes on Monday. See which roads stay open all winter, or find all these passes in PassFinder.

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Next year’s Tour Auto misses out most of the mountains on the route from Paris to the Cote d’Azur – but it will feature its first ever night stage.

Also, a quick look at Lithuania’s ‘Garage Towns’. French driver group particularly upset after motorway operators demand road toll increase for next year.

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TOUR AUTO 2016: PARIS TO CANNES AROUND THE ALPS

Next year’s classic French tour sticks mostly to the flat.

Tour Auto prides itself on a different route each year.

Now in its twenty fifth year as a regularity and timed stage test – it was formerly the Tour de France Automobile sports car race – next year’s event runs from 18-14 April on the 1995km between Paris and the Cote d’Azur.

The direct route would take drivers straight over the Alps. However, the organisers have opted to mostly avoid the mountains though the central stages do include the Massif Central.

After the traditional exhibition start at the Grand Palais in Paris, drivers head off to Cannes via Beaune, Lyon, Valence and Marseille.

As well as a succession of timed closed-road stages the tour calls in at Circuit de Dijon-Prenois, Circuit de Bresse, Circuit de Ledonon and Paul Ricard.

Instead of the usual Saturday afternoon finish Tour Auto 2016 finishes later, with its first ever night stage, in a loop around Cannes (which might well include more mountains).

A full itinerary and stage details will be published shortly.

To mark the 25th anniversary, the event will honour previous legends of the tour, the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta, Jaguar MK II 3.8L, Ligier JS2 and Matra MS 650.

Last year’s Tour Auto headed south from Paris to Clermont Ferrand and the Pyrenees before finishing in Biarritz.

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Beauty Remains: so-called ‘Garage Towns’, a relic of late Socialism, on the outskirts of many towns and cities in Lithuania – sometimes so far away drivers had to catch buses home – are the subject of a new photo series by Agne Gintalaite. ‘Clearly,’ she writes, ‘such garages were not just a matter of convenience, but rather homes for cars, which in turn were not so much a means of transport, but rather mechanical pets, that required time, attention and an array of extraordinary tools to fix them.’ This particular Garage Town is on Prusu Street, south Vilnius. More at Gintalaite.com

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roundup: FRANCE. Outrage today from campaign group ’40 Million Automobilistes’ when it emerged road tolls will increase in 2016. They were frozen this year after an inquiry into ‘excessive profits’ at the operating companies. Under normal circumstances, tolls would rise at 70% of the inflation rate though as that stands at 0.06% the increase should be effectively zero. However, the operators have requested rises ranging from 0.82% on Cofiroute roads in the northwest to 1.63% on the ASF network in the west and south (raising the price of the 246km Bordeaux-Toulouse from €19.10 to €19.41 according to Le Parisien). The operators say a tax deal in 2012 allows them to raise rates from 2016. 40 Million Automobilites said it, ‘Denounces this abusive pricing policy and calls on the Government to refuse the increase, to be voted at a forthcoming meeting.’ It has set up a petition at StopAuxPeagesTropChers.com (To Stop Too Expensive Tolls). Ecology minister Segolene Royal said she was surprised by the announcement since, ‘The commitment was made ​​not to outpace inflation, given the bonanza that had amassed to companies in years past.’

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Why is Europe’s most expensive fuel all in the Northwest and Southeast?

Also, Nurburgring 2016 calendar on sale. Tyson Fury’s triumphant homecoming via P&O ferry. Balanced view from The Guardian on trucker’s Calais swerve video. ‘Has Putin Met His Match In Russia’s Truck Drivers?’

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EUROPE’S MOST EXPENSIVE FUEL: NORTHWEST + SOUTHEAST

Geographic spread of Europe’s most expensive fuel undeniable.

France September 2011: €1.67 per litre unleaded95. Now around €1.293. Photo @DriveEurope

European fuel is noticeably at its most expensive in clusters around the Northwest and the South East of the Continent.

The UK, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands occupy the top spots for petrol while Italy is in fifth place. The top ten is rounded out by Turkey, Malta and Iceland.

Similarly, diesel sees the UK still in its now-traditional top spot followed by Norway, Iceland, Malta, Italy, Denmark, Albania and the Netherlands.

To really rub the point home, Israel – on the southern shore of the eastern Mediterranean – has the third most expensive diesel in ‘Europe’, and the sixth most expensive unleaded95.

Meanwhile, Greece is not cheap either. Currently it has the eleventh most expensive unleaded95 though – in 26th place – diesel is relatively much cheaper.

We filled up in Thessaloniki for less than €50 in summer 2013. The same tankful would cost €70 today.

Fuel has always been expensive in Turkey. With no domestic supply it is all imported. This is why the country is vulnerable to Vladimir Putin’s accusation of black market dealings with ISIS oil.

In general however, it is not that countries in northwest and southwest Europe have hiked taxes on fuel particularly but that prices have failed to fall as much as they have done elsewhere.

Last year, there was hardly any difference between the Netherlands and Belgium. Since then prices have fallen dramatically in Belgium – though not as much as in France, see above – but much slower in the Netherlands.

Perhaps it’s a variation on Professor Chris McManus’ theory on why countries drive on the right or left hand side of the road. It’s a choice most heavily influenced – he says – on what the majority of the neighbours do.

All rankings taken from Fuel Prices Europe on 30 November. Also see The Cheapest Fuel in Europe.

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The official Nurburgring 2016 calendar is now on sale. In extra large A2 format it costs €24.95 + P&P from the Nurburgring-Shop.de.

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roundup: CROSSING THE CHANNEL. Incredibly – considering he earned an estimated £5 million from his victorious fight with Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday night – newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion boxer Tyson Fury made his way home from Dusseldorf by car, and P&O ferry. The boxer was pictured on-board the Zeebrugge-Hull  ferry on Sunday, and also posted a characteristic sing-a-long session from the car on the way home. Meanwhile, The Guardian published a commendably balanced piece on the highly controversial video posted by a Hungarian truck driver from Calais. Watched by more than 2 million people so far, the video shows the driver swerving at migrants standing beside the road during the first day of last week’s trouble on the port approach road. While hardly congratulatory, the paper does at least include an apology from the driver. A later piece from the same writer ‘Lorry drivers warn of escalating violence with refugees in Calais‘ highlights the threats faced by professional drivers who use the port on a regular basis. RUSSIA. ‘Has Putin Met His Match With Russia’s Truck Drivers?’ asks Forbes today. It’s a good question. Hauliers upset with the new ‘Platon’ GPS-road toll system have been protesting for weeks and headed for Moscow this morning to stage a blockade. Police managed to disrupt the columns so the protest has been postponed until Friday 4 December says Meduza.io. Driver groups have a tradition of resistance in Eastern Europe. Russia’s ‘Society of Blue Helmets’ – mimicking the emergency lights used by self-important officials to speed around the capital – even dared to stand up to Chechen hardman Ramzan Kadyrov. Ukraine’s recent revolution had its roots in a group called Road Control, protesting police corruption. The only major demo in Belarus in recent years was by a group of drivers upset with a new road tax in December 2013. Putin has so far been reportedly quite dismissive of the truck protest. He should be careful.

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A worrying development at the Channel as, for the first time, migrants seemingly co-ordinate simultaneous attacks on Calais and Dunkirk, with some success.

Also, a new route for the 2016 Alpine Trial. Seems like Copenhagen is mulling a Congestion Zone, again. New paperless vignettes for Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The UK-Norway ferry project is definitely still on.

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FIRST DOUBLE MIGRANT ATTACK, ON CALAIS AND DUNKIRK

New tactics by migrants show immediate results.

Photo via The European Union

After several weeks of relative calm, for a second day in succession migrants blocked the Calais port access road this afternoon.

More worrying, for the first time ever there was simultaneous trouble on the A16 and N316 into Dunkirk port too.

Both roads were reopened couple within a few hours but in the meantime truck drivers and tourists were stranded as the migrants attempted to board vehicles and threw rocks at police who responded with tear gas.

On twitter following yesterday’s events, Calais mayor Natasha Bouchart repeated her call for the army to be deployed.

‘For me, it is now imperative and urgent that drastic security measures be taken in Calais,’ she said.

She also pointed the finger at the No Borders group which works in the Jungle camp and who she described as ‘agitators’.

Calais port road has been blocked on several occasions this month, most recently on Sunday 16 November shortly after police reinforcements were drafted in.

There has been migrant activity in and around Dunkirk port but the road has not previously been blocked.

If the migrants are co-ordinating simultaneous attacks in order to split police resources there may already be evidence the new tactics are working.

Kent Police said 22 migrants had been picked up off motorways in the county ‘so far’ this evening, a much larger number than has ever been previously reported.

Concerning for the officers involved is that scabies is now reported rife in the Jungle camp in Calais.

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After two years based solely in Annecy, the ERA’s revived Alpine Trial spends half the time next year in Divonne-les-Bains, a town in the Jura foothills, across the border from Geneva. Day one heads west, ‘across plateaux and deep limestone gorges’. Day two heads south to Annecy, across the Rhone, taking in the little known Col du Granier and Mont Revard before finishing on Semnoz, high above the lake. Day three is in and around Mont Blanc. Competitors stay at the Domaine de Divonne and Annecy’s Hotel l’Imperial Palace. See EnduroRally.com for more.

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roundup: DENMARK. The Freight Transport Association’s Natalie Chapman met with Danish officials at the Danish Embassy in London yesterday to ‘share our experiences with the London Congestion Charge’ according to @NewsFromFTA. Copenhagen’s last attempt at a charge zone was cancelled in February 2012 after a public outcry, as reported by Copenhagen Post. CZECH REPUBLIC. A new system of electronic road tolls will be up and running within three years reports Radio Prague, to combat counterfeit vignette stickers. The price of at least the annual charge will stay the same, at 1500CZK (£39). Neighbouring Slovakia will reportedly make the move next year. Hungary is the only EU country to use so-called ‘paperless’ vignettes. See more on road tolls around the EU. NORWAY FERRY. There’s no specific news to report but a new statement on BritishScandinavian’s website today at least shows the UK-Norway ferry project is still on. ‘The British Scandinavian team remains fully committed to the launch of a new service, and as soon as we are in a position to announce anything of substance it will be done in partnership with UK, Norwegian and port authorities,’ it says. ‘We are in negotiations, some advanced, with potential partners and funders who will work with us to make this a reality. Nevertheless, we are working with these parties under strict non-disclosure agreements. Thank you for your ongoing support.’ The last ferry link between the UK and Scandinavia, the DFDS Harwich-Esbjerg route, was withdrawn in September 2014.

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A deceptively innocuous scene as two still-at-large suspects stop at a service station ahead of the Paris Attacks.

Also, Italian Job Muira goes on sale. New M20 truck park to replace Operation Stack. Major road closures for next week’s Paris climate conference. Temporary Lake Chambon bypass opens on Grenoble-Briancon road.

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PARIS PAIR SNAPPED ON TERROR ROAD TRIP

Police still searching for Paris Attacks suspects seen filling up on the way to Paris.

Mohamed Abrini and Paris Attacks Renault Clio. Photo Police Federale, Belgium.

It was at a filling station many readers will have used themselves, on the A1 south towards Paris at Ressons just north of Compiegne.

Mohamed Abrini returns to the car, soft drinks in hand, at 19:00 on Wednesday 11 November.

No-one watching this commonplace scene could possibly have imagined he was part of a terrorist gang which, two days later and less than 100km away, murdered nearly 130 people.

Police are not clear what part, if any, Abrini played in the actual attacks. The car was found abandoned nearly a week later, on Tuesday 17 November, in the 18^th Arrondissement, due south of the Stade de France. He hasn’t been seen since.

However, one of the passengers on that Wednesday evening, Salah Abdeslam, is thought to have played a direct role.

A current theory says Abdeslam decided against blowing himself up, threw his suicide belt into a bin in Montrouge south west of the city centre, and fled back to Brussels.

He was checked by police at Cambrai on the A2 near the Belgian border at Mons at 09:10 the morning after the attacks.

Abdeslam might be a terrible terrorist but he has proven very slippery since.

Reports he was seen driving away from Liege on the E40 towards Germany on Sunday evening soon proved false.

However, police looking for Abdeslam did raid an address near Minden – between Osnabruck and Hanover in northwest Germany – on Tuesday afternoon though he was not found.

International Arrest Warrants have been issued for both Mohamed Abrini and Salah Abdeslam.

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Possibly the most famous driving in Europe car of all time – barring James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 – is for sale. Expect to pay around £2m for the 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 – chassis number 3586 – which starred in the opening sequence of the Italian Job. The mint condition Miura with 19,000km on the clock, in Arancio Miura with a white leather interior, was delivered to the first of its five owners on 2 July 1968, shortly after three day’s filming on the Grand St Bernard Pass between Switzerland and Italy. See Cheshire Classic Cars for more.

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roundup: OPERATION STACK. In the Autumn Statement today, Chancellor George Osborne announced £250 million for a new lorry park directly off the M20 to alleviate Operation Stack. The preferred site is at Stanford off J11 but alternatives will be subject to consultation. A local councillor told the BBC that having it in place by November 2016 ‘will be going some’. FRANCE. Major road closures mark the first two days of next week’s COP21 international climate conference in Paris. Both the A1 from Charles de Gaulle airport in the north, and the A6 and A106 from Orly airport in the south, will be reserved for delegates between 16-22:00 on Sunday and 06:00-21:00 (A1) and 14:00-21:00 (A6) on Monday. Detailed diversions and closures are available at the Prefecture de Police website (French only), otherwise driving in the French capital is probably best avoided on these days. Public transport will be free. Also, a temporary road around Lake Chambon has been opened ahead of the skiing season. The tunnel at Chambon on D1091 between Grenoble and Briancon, a major thoroughfare through the northern French Alps, closed in April after a landslide. The new bypass however is not suitable for vehicles weighing more than 3.5t – such vehicles will still have to make the onerous detour via Gap or the Frejus Tunnel though discount tickets for the latter are still available from resort tourist offices.

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Sea Marshalls, an SBS squadron on standby and ‘dozens’ of live exercises in northern Scotland all to keep ferry passengers safe at sea.

Also, Denmark reduces it swingeing registration tax. New 24-hour help line for Calais truckers. New online appeals for French traffic fines.

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SPOTLIGHT ON FERRY SECURITY

Exercises on-going to meet the threat of terrorists at sea.

Royal Marines from 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group conclude an underway boarding exercise in conjunction with the CALMAC Ardrossan Ferry. Photo Royal Navy.

One way or another security on the Channel has been high on the agenda this year.

But as Eurotunnel goes a month now without any migrant disturbances – and police reinforcements put a stop to blockades of the N216 Calais port access road – the Paris Attacks highlight the risk of a terrorist incident on a passenger ferry.

Armed ‘Sea Marshalls’ are under active consideration according to the Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, the SBS Special Boat Service, based in Poole, now has an entire squadron of more than sixty men on permanent standby – supported by RAF Chinook helicopters – ready to tackle any incidents at sea says the Daily Mirror.

In actual fact, planning for such eventualities has been on-going for some time. Since May last year commandos have practiced ‘dozens’ of assaults on ferries in northern Scotland.

One such exercise took place in March on the MV Caledonian Isles operated by Calmac Ferries, on a scheduled sailing between Ardrossan and the Isle of Arran with regular passengers on board.

The 308ft ship which carries 1000 passengers and 110 cars is small by cross-Channel ferry standards but is ideally suited to the exercise thanks to its high freeboard, the distance between the waterline and upper deck level.

Thirty Royal Marines from 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group, based at nearby HMNB Clyde, conducted what they call an ‘underway boarding exercise’ using skills originally developed for counter-narcotics and counter-piracy operations around the world.

Whatever the real risk of terrorists gaining access to a ferry – and with almost a thousand police stationed in Calais that will be hard enough in itself – the authorities are clearly determined not to be caught unawares.

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Last week’s budget cut Denmark’s infamous registration tax for new cars from 180% to 150% reports Copenhagen Post. It means Porsche’s 911 Carrera S can now be had for the bargain price of 2,006,250DKK (€268,000) compared to €110,000 in neighbouring Germany. However, because of the high 170,000DKK threshold when the registration tax kicks in the effect is less for cheaper cars. The entry-level VW Golf still costs a whopping €27,500 (compared to €17,650 in Germany). Photo @PorscheNewsroom

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roundup: TRUCKS. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has launched a 24-hour Calais incident reporting line. Drivers of any nationality suffering intimidation or incursions from migrants should phone (+44) 1274 863111. RHA chief executive Richard Burnett says, ‘The reporting line will provide the evidence and understanding needed to ensure we get the protection that the haulage industry is entitled to expect.’ Port of Dover, P&O and DFDS will be handing out credit card-sized wallet cards printed with the contact details, or see more here. FRANCE. Drivers can now contest traffic penalties through a new government website, with information available in six languages. Contestable grounds include the vehicle having being sold, the driver being someone else, or the penalty being wrongly applied. The site also includes links to methods of payment. The progress of any appeal can also be tracked. Remote fines do not yet apply to British, Irish or Danish owners of vehicles registered in their home countries though they do apply to drivers of hire cars. See Antai.gouv.fr for more.

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The fifth annual Operation Trivium gets underway, targeting foreign criminals on roads across Europe.

Also, perfect conditions on the road to Val d’Isere. Record low for Portuguese diesel (but still more expensive than Spain). Snowy satnav fail for Iceland visitor highlights ace official English info links. Increased freight capacity between the UK and Rotterdam. 

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EURO POLICE TARGET FOREIGN CRIMINALS ON THE ROADS

Twelve national police forces co-ordinate effort to crack cross-border crime.

Photo TISPOL

Specifically targeting foreign drivers might not sound very politically correct, but police engaged in this week’s Operation Trivium insist they ‘target criminality not the community’.

The driver picked up in Derby this morning for not having any documents, using a seatbelt or restraining a child properly might dispute that but the headline aim is to disrupt cross-border criminal networks.

Eight countries are taking part, from every force in the UK (and Wales) to Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Romania.

Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Sweden have just finished their own similar operation.

UK operations are being directed from the European Operations Command Centre (EOCC) at West Midlands Police with officers drafted in from each of the national police forces.

Intelligence is supplied by Europol while the police officer exchanges are organised by TISPOL, the European Traffic Police Network. 

TISPOL General Secretary Ruth Purdie says, ‘Many European Member States, including the UK, have been affected by high levels of crimes committed by members of mobile networks… In particular, we will be seeking networks with operational networks across borders, as these represent serious harm to some of the most vulnerable people in society, as well as to the communities and businesses they target.’

The operation runs until Friday 27 November.

By 13:00, Irish Garda said they had been involved in excess of fifty incidents including vehicle stops, arrests and seizures – by 06:30 the next morning they had dealt with 270 incidents, taken 13 people into custody, arrested seven disqualified drivers and one for unlawful possession according to TISPOL.

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French Alps: the first major snow fall of the season over the weekend resulted in a near perfect scene on the D902 to Val d’Isere and Tignes: a clear road way but verges – and pistes – fat with snow (winter tyres are still recommended however, and/or a set of snow chains in the boot). It was timely too since Val d’Isere opens officially next Saturday, 28 November. Photo @RadioValdIsere.

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roundup: CROSSING THE CHANNEL. DFDS will boost freight capacity again on its two routes between Rotterdam and the UK says Port of Rotterdam. From tomorrow (24 November), new ship Britannia Seaways adds an extra 300 trailers each week to the Felixstowe route with six departures per day Tuesday-Friday between three ferries. The Immingham route will receive an extra ship from 30 November which increases weekly departures to nine. DFDS previously announced extra sailings from Rotterdam in June. See the latest figures on buoyant freight movements between the UK and the Continent. PORTUGAL. Diesel dropped to a record low of €1.20 per litre in October says The Portugal News. That was 3 cents lower than at the beginning of the year though petrol has risen by more than 4 cents in the same period. The prices still compare unfavourably with neighbouring Spain according to Fuel Prices Europe where diesel is currently €1.089 and petrol €1.189. ICELAND. A tourist had to call mountain rescue after getting stuck in snow drifts thanks to errant satnav instructions reports Iceland Magazine. The man was near Gullfoss Waterfall in the south attempting to head north on F35. Iceland mag says F roads are not generally passable in winter and that visitors can check road conditions at the official Vegagerdin website, and the weather at Iceland MET Office, both in English.

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Also, a quick look at Italy’s Passo San Boldo. Security fencing now fully installed at Eurotunnel France, and a month without migrant trouble (outside, anyway). New more convenient ways to pay the M25 Dart Charge. Fines cut for new Russia GPS truck toll.

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On the radar since @AutoBant’s October Sunday Scenario – ‘Tunnel-hairpin-tunnel-hairpin, tackling driving’s greatest combo in a car of your choice’ – SP635 Passo San Boldo runs 17km between Trichiana and Tovena in north east Italy. Since it tops out at a modest 706m (2316ft), its defining feature is a series of five cascading hairpins and tunnels, and six bridges. It was built in 100 days by the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1918 to supply the Piave front. Traffic is one-way-at-a-time only, regulated by traffic lights. Photo via Mercedes-Benz Brand Club.

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roundup: CHANNEL. A stock market announcement no less from Eurotunnel says a new 37km security fence is now fully installed around its French terminal and that, as a consequence, there have been no migrant-related disruptions for four weeks now (though @2JZ_TRD says ‘truck drivers are still taking a battering from ‘refugees’ outside). Eurotunnel also says it had the busiest day of the year for trucks on Thursday 19 November when it carried 6768 vehicles. DARTFORD CROSSING. Two new ways to pay the Dart Charge, announces Highways England, either via Pay as you Go which deducts money automatically after registering a vehicle and payment details, or by using the Pingit smartphone app. This is on top of the existing pre-pay account, or the manual phone or internet method (which has to be paid before midnight of the day following). The charge applies between 06:00-22:00. RUSSIA. Fines for the newly introduced GPS-managed truck toll will be cut ninefold – from 450,000RUB (€6500) to 50,000RUB (€725) – after widespread protests, a hacker attack and a tragic incidents in which protestors were run down by an out of control truck reports Moscow Times. The system has applied to vehicles 12t+ since Sunday 15 November. See more.

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