Another ‘Europe’s most dangerous roads’ article, this time relying on the facts.

Also, Mercedes-Benz debuts its first self-driving bus. And, frustration after less than expected cut in swingeing Algarve road toll, no August amnesty on 25 April Bridge, and warning for Portuguese Pokemon players.

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EUROPE’S MOST DANGEROUS ROADS 

Ignore mountain passes – instead look to Europe’s most dangerous country.

Europe’s most dangerous roads are not the dizzyingly high mountain passes but regular roads in its most dangerous country. More later.

Travel websites are most amusing with their obligatory, clickbait ‘most dangerous roads in Europe’ articles.

Rarely are they the result of carefully analysing accident rates.

Mostly it’s about the size of any sheer drops, and whether the roads have barriers or not. All set off with a spectacular photo (mainly of Stelvio).

In the real world the most dangerous roads are much less glamorous, most likely single lane routes between large towns or cities where the need to overtake has habitually tragic consequences.

For Europe’s most dangerous roads it’s natural to look at the most dangerous country, Bulgaria.

Last year 95 people died on Bulgarian roads ‘per million inhabitants’ – the ‘road safety measure’ – compared to 29 in the UK (but 106 in the U.S.).

Bulgaria’s most notorious stretch according to the parliament’s transport committee this week – via Sofia Globe – is the windy, coastal E87 between the Black Sea cities of Bourgas and Varna.

Since the beginning of 2013 there have been 864 accidents on this road resulting in 22 deaths – nine of them last year alone – and 198 injuries.

Next up is E85 Byala-Rousse (Ruse/Russe), up towards the Danube and Romanian border between Sofia and Bucharest.

We can’t speak for Burgas-Varna but we have driven E85.

Ostensibly there’s nothing particularly remarkable about it. However it is dead straight in many places, a well-known hazard.

Rolling gently past vast cornfields and little else there is a large temptation to speed, as we found out to our cost.

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Mercedes-Benz has allowed the first glimpse of its new semi-autonomous bus prototype, the Future Bus with City Pilot. It uses ten cameras, two radar systems and traffic light phasing – based on the Highway Pilot system already seen on Mercedes trucks – to navigate routes, stopping automatically with ‘centimetric precision’. The firm says fixed bus routes are the ideal environment to develop self-driving technology. The vehicle has already been tested on public roads between Haarlem and Schiphol airport reports Dutch News today, and could be seen in service by 2020. Meanwhile, the German transport ministry has published draft legislation proposing a mandatory ‘black box’ on board autonomous vehicles reports Reuters, via Tech Crunch, to provide data after an accident and help apportion liability.

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roundup: frustrated drivers staged a go-slow protest at the weekend over a less than expected cut to the Algarve’s east-west A22 Via do Infante motorway. The government had hinted at a 50 percent cut but announced a 15 percent reduction instead reports The Portugal News. As well as fuel, road tolls are very expensive in Portugal. Our 765km north-south drive last year cost €95 – 12c per km compared to around 7c in France. Meanwhile the traditional August exemption on road toll’s on Lisbon’s 25 April Bridge has been called off again this year – it was cancelled by the EU’s economic ‘troika’ in 2011 and is yet to return. However, the bridge to the west of the city centre costs just €1.45 each way for cars compared to €2.70 on the 17.2km Vasco da Gama Bridge in the west (see official info on Lisbon bridge tolls). Finally, Portuguese traffic police have lead their colleagues across Europe in warning drivers not to play Pokemon Go behind the wheel.

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The latest terrorist outrage in France sees the return of border queues, exacerbated by heavy holiday traffic. Most affected so far is northern France and the UK side of the English Channel.

Also, a new sign for Spain’s most dangerous stretches. And, harsher penalties for dangerous driving in Poland. New advice to avoid stowaways in Belgium. Medical rules relaxed on EU driving licences.

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BORDERS DELAYS BACK IN WAKE OF NICE ATTACK

Most affected northern France and UK-side English Channel.

French authorities have actually closed E40 Ostend-Dunkirk/Calais at the border, forcing drivers off the motorway and through a security cordon leading to long delays in recent days. Photo @VID

Sadly it seems last week’s Nice Attack has picked up where the Euro 16 football tournament left off.

Within a few days of the competition’s end, and a day after President Hollande announced the end of France’s state of emergency, the latest terrorist outrage in France has seen border delays return as security is stepped up again.

Queues have been exacerbated by heavy holiday traffic.

So far, the worst affected region is northern France.

Drivers have been typically delayed by one hour on the E40/A16 Ostend-Dunkirk/Calais road over the weekend, and again today, though the wait died down to 30 minutes by lunchtime.

Since the Paris Attack last November, queues have never completely disappeared from the E17 cross-border between Lille and Kortrijk but waits have increased to a regular 45 minutes in recent days.

Delays on the E19 crossing between Mons and Valenciennes have been slightly less at around 20-30 minutes.

Curiously, the important freight route in between E17 and E19 – E42 Lille-Charleroi – has been relatively free-flowing.

Last Friday, on the morning immediately following the incident in Nice, Germany, Italy and Spain said they would step up border controls.

There is little evidence of queues today but the Atlantic border between France and Spain, Bordeaux-Bilbao, is anyway another crossing with consistent border queues since last November.

The place where British drivers are most likely to experience is on the British side of the English Channel.

French authorities have continued the 100 percent passport checks in place since before Euro16.

Delays have hit two hours at the busiest times, especially from first thing over the weekend, Friday to Monday.

See an update from Saturday 23 July, including on border delays through Dover. 

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As it looks to regain the momentum and make the final leap to among the safest roads in Europe (and the world), Spain unveils a new road sign to alert drivers to particularly dangerous stretches (and increased police presence). Like in most other countries, the majority of accidents happen on secondary roads and these are the focus of a new raft of measures coming on stream now. So far this year it looks like Spain is set – at best – for another year of stagnation. At the end of June, road deaths stood at 544 compared to 503 by the same point last year (an 8 percent increase). Photo @DGTes

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roundup: sentences for death by dangerous driving cannot be suspended says a new bill published by the transport ministry, and the statute of limitations will be extended from two years to three reports Radio Poland. The move has been welcomed by road safety campaigners though they also say speeding fines are too low. From being the bad boy of EU road safety, a higher profile for the subject, harsher penalties and better roads have seen Poland make considerable strides recently. Road deaths fell 8 percent last year, and by 25 percent 2010-2015 according to EU figures… with 5000 ‘transit migrants’ having being detained in Belgium so far this year – as they attempt to reach the UK – authorities handed out a leaflet to truck drivers at Zeebrugge today containing tips on how to avoid stowaways reports Flanders News, including advice on where to stop, and where to spend the night. The proportion of trucks containing migrants has jumped from 15-16 percent to 35 percent says the transport minister… the EU has tweaked the rules on driving licences for drivers suffering chronic health conditions. On cardiovascular diseases it says there is now make a clear and simple distinction between when drivers are, or are not, allowed to drive with more leeway for Member States to assess exceptional individual cases. Updated rules on diabetes help avoid bans for drivers under ‘adequate’ medical treatment.

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In the thick of holiday traffic now in many places – but nowhere near as bad as it will get.

Also, Scania names a date to debut its long awaited new truck. Car makers and telecoms want an EU cross-border driverless car trial. No France minimum wage fines for next fortnight. Brittany Ferries 2017 fares ready to book. Tourist dies in Finland elk crash. Selfie fines on Turkey’s new mega-bridge.

Skeleton service for the next week @DriveEurope – back on Monday 18 July.

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BUSY WEEKEND ROADS BUT MUCH WORSE TO COME

Be ready for delays but don’t get overly anxious, yet.

French Ecology minister Segolene Royale unveils an updated ‘Bison Fute‘ traffic app ahead of the holidays today. Available for iOS and Android, it contains traffic forecasts, and real-time info updated every 3-6 minutes.

The first proper Friday in July is one of the most difficult days of the year on the roads of the Ile de France capital region in France according to traffic monitor Bison Fute.

With schools breaking up, from this afternoon onwards drivers head en masse to the west coast but, particularly, south west towards Bordeaux (A10) and south east towards the Cote d’Azur (A6>A7 via Lyon).

The rest of the country joins in tomorrow but while it will be busy, bear in mind the truly horrendous Black Saturdays this year are the last weekend of July and first week of August.

The exception is the Mont Blanc Tunnel where it will be very busy Friday afternoon and – especially – Saturday mid-morning France to Italy (but very quiet in the opposite direction).

In general in France queues start early – drivers who aim to be south of Lyon from just after lunch miss the worst delays.

To get handle on what’s happening in the south see @VINCIautoroutes which publishes a regular graphic showing the delays on the major routes.

Germany will be very busy too this weekend – and including the entire country too, for the first time this summer says ADAC – but the really busy holiday traffic starts next weekend.

Similarly traffic continues to build in Austria but next weekend is when the rough stuff starts – though watch out for motorway queues into Germany thanks to border controls, in the early part of the day especially.

Likewise roads in Italy will be crowded, towards the coasts, but Black Saturday is not until next month.

Admittedly there is less comfort in Switzerland where Saturday sees the season’s first serious queues at the Gotthard Tunnel, and in both directions too.

Anyone who delays a journey until Sunday – in whichever country – will find much more congenial roads.

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Scania said today its very-long-awaited brand new truck will be launched on Tuesday 23 August. First up will be the units designed for the European long haul market. Other variants will follow. For the time being, the current generation will be sold alongside. It will be interesting to see how powerful the top model is – the highest output is currently 730bhp compared to arch rival Volvo’s 760bhp. The firm, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, is not providing any more information about the new truck at the moment, aside from this teaser picture of the cockpit. Photo @Scania

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roundup: a group of telecoms and car companies want the EU to fund a four year, cross-border driverless car test according to Euractiv. They specifically want to see how the cars react to mobile roaming and national radio systems but say it can’t happen without EU support and cash… the CETM Confederación Española de Transporte de Mercancías haulier group says it has been assured fines will not be levied on the new France minimum wage rule for commercial drivers until Friday 22 July – however, there were reports last week police had attempted to fine two truck drivers (though unsuccessfully)… Brittany Ferries 2017 schedule has been published today reports @BFenthusiasts – available to book up to and including November 2017… an Italian biker died after colliding with an elk in northern Finland reports Finland Times. The 62 year old hit the animal, which also died, near Pello on the Swedish border north of the Arctic Circle. Police suspect alcohol and speeding may have been involved… drivers stopping to take selfies on Turkey’s brand new Osman Gezi Bridge were each fined 92TL (£25) says Hurriyet Daily News. The bridge – the word’s fourth longest at 2682m, near Istanbul, a huge short cut for journeys down the west coast – opened with fanfare last week with a successful attempt on the land speed record for a production motorbike.

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Part of the reason behind France’s rocky recent road safety record is uncovered but we are no nearer to knowing why.

A quick look at Switzerland’s Lake Thun. Major work on Belgium E40 starts this weekend. The return of mega-queues on the Hungary-Austria border as migrant crossings leap. Weight limit cut for trucks in Ireland. Eco-plan for Paris peripherique as 30kmh zones spread.

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FRENCH DRIVERS FASTER AND MORE DISTRACTED

Study pinpoints the reasons for rising motorway fatalities but can’t say why.

The latest in a series of Securite Routiere adverts trying to impress on drivers the aftershock among family and friends following a road accident. They don’t seem to be working.

The most disturbing road safety statistic in France last year was that motorway fatalities had risen by 23.1 percent.

Along with the UK and the Netherlands, France has had the safest motorways in Europe, according to a 2014 study, even as secondary road safety dragged its overall record to below the EU average.

A survey published by autoroute operator SANEF last week suggests the increase is because drivers have suddenly got faster, and are more distracted by mobile phones.

The firm observed 140,000 drivers on part of the A13 between Caen and Paris in March.

SANEF says motorway speeds have been stable since the annual survey started in 2012 – at an average 127kmh – but rose to 129kmh last year, an increase it says is significant.

And the number of drivers exceeding the limit jumped from 37 percent to 43 percent.

The firm reckons speed is a factor in 70 percent of motorway accidents.

Meanwhile, the proportion of drivers visibly using mobile phones rose from 3.7 percent in 2015 to 4.9 percent last year.

However, more positively, tailgating has fallen by half, from 30 percent of drivers in 2012 to 17 percent last year.

The only thing the SANEF study does not pinpoint is why drivers have suddenly got faster and more distracted.

With a high profile increase in unmarked police radar cars and speed cameras the opposite should be true.

It also puts paid to our theory that the reason behind France’s sharp reverse in road safety in recent years is because recession-hit drivers avoided expensive autoroute tolls in favour of the free – but much less safe – secondary roads.

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Not as famous or glamorous as Lake Geneva and Lake Lucerne which it lies – roughly – in between, in the western half of Switzerland, but the clumpy-sounding Lake Thun does have something going for it, not least the road along the north shore (pictured). Add to that the comely town of Interlaken – which translates as ‘between the lakes’ – which lies not only right between Lakes Thun and Brienz but also alongside the River Aare, the whole lot surrounded by Bernese Alps. Chris Pointon is a big fan saying it’s a beautiful place to visit, summer or winter. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s steepest road at 28 percent is just to the south, up to Kiental and beyond. Photo Earth Pics

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roundup: fifteen kilometers of the coastbound E40 in Belgium – between Brussels and Gent – gets a thorough makeover from this Friday (8 July) starting at 22:00. The section is between Erpe Meer near Aalst and Zwijnaarde at Gent. The work is split into two main phases either side of Wetteren – from 8-17 July for the Gent end and 29 July – 14 August for the Aalst end. There will always be two (narrowed) lanes open in each direction but the R4 junction at Merelbeke will be closed during phase one, and the N42 junction at Wetteren is closed during phase two (and the parking at Wetteren too). In addition, overnight for twelve nights in August the fast lane will be relaid with only one lane open to traffic. Similar work last year on E40 caused regular 45 minute delays – consider the E42 route via Lille and Charleroi to get between the Channel ports and east Belgium… for the second day running, very long delays have built up on the M1-A4 Budapest-Vienna border crossing. Trucks waited up to six hours yesterday while the total queue peaked at 27km this morning before settling back to 12km in the afternoon with a waiting time of three hours reports Daily News Hungary. Cars are being let through but progress is slow. After a long period of relative quiet at the Hungary-Austria border the delays are blamed on ad hoc checks by the Austrian authorities. Update 6 July: there have been no queues at the Austria border so far today but with the current sharp growth in attempted irregular border crossings into Hungary they surely cannot be ruled out in the future – figures reported by Daily News Hungary today show more than 1000 in the past 24 hours compared to a daily average of 16 in January, 79 in February and 120 in June… the maximum weight for a two axle tractor unit towing a three axle semi-trailer in Ireland has been cut from 42t to 40t as of 1 July according to a press release from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. A derogation for the higher limit had been in place since 2003… trucks could be banned and other vehicles limited to 50kmh with space reserved for walkers and cyclists on the Paris peripherique in a plan endorsed by mayor Anne Hidalgo today, according to Le Parisien. However, nothing is likely to happen before 2030. Meanwhile, another 154km of 30kmh zones will be rolled out this year says the deputy mayor, in the north and south of the city, joining eastern Paris which is already almost all 30kmh. 

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Porsche races to catch up with the new world of digital driving services.

Also, A43 Lyon-Chambery closes overnight after tanker crash. Already fines for France minimum wage. Official driving guides published for Germany and Poland in English.

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FREE PORSCHE PARKING IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Car maker ‘working feverishly’ on internet driving services.

Porsche’s new digital division has already started rolling out what it describes as ‘value-added services’, just a month after its founding.

The subsidiary has invested a seven figure sum in Cologne-based start-up evopark which provides one stop shop parking services in Germany with the ambition to expand across Europe.

’We are working feverishly on including attractive value-added services so parking becomes a positive experience for our customers. The cooperation with evopark is our first systematic step in this direction,’ says Peter Jost, Director Sales Coordination & Strategy at Porsche.

In a three month pilot project, Porsche (and Audi) drivers get free parking for the first hour at Evopark’s 37 off-street parking partners spread across 16 German cities.

The evopark card replaces paper tickets and works automatically at car park barriers.

Charges are paid in a single payment each month while the associated app shows available space and directs the driver automatically.

Ultimately evpopark aims to become ‘an open platform for off-street parking in Germany and Europe.’

Car makers are rushing to exploit the internet connections in modern vehicles.

Porsche’s sister firm Audi already offers traffic light co-ordination in some markets to speed up city journeys by patching into municipal traffic computers.

Last week it announced three years of free Europe-wide data with the embedded SIM card in its new Q2 cross-over.

Porsche’s digital division may be quick off the mark but it has some catching up to do – but who would bet against it ultimately leading the field?

It sounds like there won’t be a long wait to find out.

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A tanker driver was killed and a car driver seriously injured this afternoon in an accident on the A43 towards Lyon. Local reports say a broken down truck near La Tour du Pin was hit by a jack-knifing tanker which also collided with the car. The three vehicles then caught fire. The road has been closed in both directions betwen J9-10 and is only expected to reopen at 06:00 tomorrow morning according to the local prefecture. Photo @Gendarmerie

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roundup: despite assurances police would be lenient in the early days of the new minimum wage rule for professional driver in France, reports have come in of drivers already threatened with fines. According to penalty specialist TIN Transport In Nood (‘Transport in Distress’), a Dutch driver was threatened with a €1500 fine in Lyon on the first day (1 July) – despite being on the way home from Spain, where he went before the law was introduced – and a Portuguese driver in Paris was presented with a €4000 fine. Both were apparently withdrawn after intervention from TIN. See more about the French minimum wage… by coincidence, the respective road safety agencies in Germany and Poland have published comprehensive driving guides in English today. The German version comes as an app, or downloadable pdfs while the Polish one is pdf only.

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Another eventful week on the French side of the Channel after technical trouble at Eurotunnel, migrants cause two serious crashes on the port road, plus strikes at Calais and Dunkirk.

A quick guide to the Tour de France route, on-going around France for the next three weeks.

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ANOTHER TORRID WEEK AT CURSED CALAIS

Technical trouble, migrants and strikes on the French side of the Channel.

A second serious overnight crash on the Calais port road this week. Photo : Les Calaisiens en Colere

A train stuck in the Channel Tunnel early on Thursday evening was only finally freed at 23:00.

It meant massive knock-on delays on Friday – up to five hours for cars on the UK side in the afternoon – which sparked anxiety among fans heading to the Wales-Belgium Euro16 match in Lille.

Luckily they ‘largely’ made it according to Eurotunnel (singer Cerys Matthews’ twitter feed has all the details).

The firm said later that any fans looking to stay longer in France to watch the semi-final match would be able to amend tickets without charge.

Meanwhile, first thing on Thursday, another ‘labour law’ strike blockaded Dunkirk for two hours and backed up traffic on the A16 autoroute.

It followed a strike in Calais port on Wednesday among freight processing staff which ultimately passed without any disruption.

Finally, following on from Steven Swinscoe’s crash with a migrant barrier on the N216 Calais port road overnight Tuesday-Wednesday – which luckily caused no injuries but wrote off his car – a British trucker was involved in an even more serious incident.

His truck was one of two which collided after hitting straw bales left on the road by migrants in the early hours.

The unnamed driver was shaken but unhurt according to campaign group Les Calaisiens en Colère, though he had to be cut out of the cab by CRS riot police and was taken to hospital for observation.

The latest incident reinforces our advice that drivers should be extra careful in and around Calais port at night.

Local resident @MadameMcWhy advises not to use the port road before 07:00. Head through Calais town centre if possible.

Incidents are much rarer at Dunkirk port though there are anxieties about the new camp at nearby Grand-Synthe, right beside the A16.

Again, @MadameMcWhy warns, ‘Give any walking migrants a wide berth on motorway.’

The local council is currently building a 600 meter fence between the Grand-Synthe camp and the motorway at a cost of €400,000.

There are also hopes of improved security after the finishing touches are completed on a similar fence along the Calais port road – and that the new public prosecutor in the region will take a tougher line with migrants than her alleged soft-touch predecessor.

Update Monday 4 July: the body of a migrant was found on the Calais port road at 07:00 this morning, apparently after being hit by a vehicle reports La Voix du Nord.

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The Tour de France kicks off today at Mont Saint Michel in north west France. Over the next three weeks the race runs broadly anticlockwise around the country – though it heads south via Limoges in central France. TdF hits the Pyrenees next weekend and the Alps a week later on Sunday (17 July) including a foray into neighbouring west Switzerland. See more at LeTour.com. Photo @TEAMSky, sponsored for the first time this year by Ford.

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The Paris old car ban starts today, and it does include foreign vehicles – as does the new minimum wage for professional drivers in France.

Also, Battle Bus tour marks Somme centenary. New low emission stretch of Austria A1. Driverless buses for Russia World Cup. Brexit doubts on Dover development. Switzerland wants to replace fuel taxes with road tolls.

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PARIS OLD CAR BAN STARTS TODAY

Includes foreign cars but fines held off for three months.

As of today (Friday 1 July) cars registered before 1 January 1997 – and commercial vehicles registered before 1 October 1997, and motorbikes before 1 June 1999 – are banned from central Paris during day time week days.

The ban also applies to foreign vehicles.

The area covered is inside the peripherique ring road – except the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes woods – from 08:00-20:00 Monday to Friday.

Outside these times and areas there are no restrictions except for 3.5t vehicles registered before 30 September 2001 which are banned permanently.

Fines kick in from 1 October 2016, at €35 for a car or bike (rising to €450 for a second offence).

From 1 July 2017 the fine increases to €68 for a car or bike and €135 for a commercial vehicle.

As of 1 September 2015 commercial vehicles 3.5t plus registered before 30 September 2001 were banned in central Paris, part of a rolling progressive ban on older vehicles set to run until 2020.

From 1 January 2017 the zone will be policed by windscreen ‘vignette’ stickers.

Until then, police may ask to see the registration document.

France: also today, the minimum wage for commercial drivers comes into force. The declaration form was finally published earlier this week (spool down for English). Firms need a representative in France – see EasyTrip.eu, for instance. The rules do not apply to self-employed owner drivers. Spanish hauliers have apparently been promised authorities will go easy initially.

Austria: the portion of A1 autobahn past Linz (Salzburg-Vienna) also has a new low emission requirement from today, though it applies only to trucks of less than Euro3 standard. See more at UrbanAccessReguations, including how to buy or order the correct windscreen sticker.

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Due to technical trouble the former London Transport ‘Battle Bus’ cannot make a tour of the Battle of the Somme front line this week as intended. Instead, the 102 year old B2737 – one of 900 such vehicles used to transport troops – is on display at Albert-Picardie airport, not far from Thiepval, site of the commemorations today to mark 100 years since the start of the battle. The five month conflict claimed more than one million lives including 19,240 Allied soldiers on the first day alone. B2737 is normally on display at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Follow along at @LTMBattleBus

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roundup: Moscow will, apparently, have driverless buses for the 2018 World Cup reports Moscow Times… Brexit naturally threatens further EU contributions to the ongoing redevelopment of Dover but the port’s chief executive Tim Waggott tells Kent Online today ‘the projects future is not, and never was, entirely dependent on EU funding.’ So far €36 million of a total €104 million EU grant to bolster the Dover-Calais route has been paid. The redevelopment shifts all cargo operations to the western port, freeing up capacity for existing ferry services at the Eastern Port. Ferry freight traffic is up 20 percent over the past two years at Dover and is expected to increase another 40 percent by 2030… Switzerland could abandon fuel taxes and the annual motorway vignette in favour of PAYG pay-as-you-go road tolls by 2030 says SwissInfo.ch. The government is looking to alter laws to allow for trials around the country though party-wide support is currently in doubt. Transport minister Doris Leuthard told a press conference earlier this week roads cannot cope with rush hour traffic. PAYG charges would see drivers priced off the roads at the busiest times. Governments all over the world are trying to square declining fuel tax revenues from more fuel efficient cars with increasing congestion.

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Believe it or not but prospective Aston Martin DB11 owners are actually paying for the test drive, albeit in Tuscany.

Also, Turkish daredevil breaks Land Speed Record on brand new Izmit Bay Bridge. Shirtless flip flop drivers in Spain should watch out. Luxembourg on look-out registration-dodging foreign resident. Jams up big time in the Netherlands. Early opening for Iceland mountain roads.

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Guests on Aston Martin’s Art of Living trip to Italy next month will be among the very first to drive the firm’s all-new DB11 grand tourer, though they will pay considerably for the privilege. 

Even journalists have only driven pre-production prototypes.

The two night, three day ‘At Home with Aston Martin: Drive DB11’ trip is based at the 15th century Villa Collalto, 45 minutes south west of Florence and not far from Siena.

On the morning or afternoon of the second day, drivers take the wheel through a landscape described as a ‘rural idyll of olive groves, castles and vineyards’ with a chance to ‘explore the winding routes, hilltop villages and stunning views of Tuscany.’

The rest of the time is spent wining and dining, or on a range of activities held at the Villa including cookery and painting classes, or yoga and meditation sessions.

Three dates are available, from the end of July to the beginning of August, priced at £3500 per person based on two people sharing or £5500 single occupancy.

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Daredevil World Supersport rider Kenan Sofuoglu broke the Land Speed Record on a production motorbike on Tuesday on the brand new Izmit Bay Bridge near Istanbul. Riding a Kawasaki Ninja H2R, Sofuoglu hit 400kmh (248.5mph) in 26 seconds (watch the video). The 2682m bridge is part of a new road connection between Istanbul and Izmir. When fully open in 2020 it will cut the current nine hour journey to just 3h30. Izmit Bay was officially opened today by Turkish president Recep Erdogan.

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roundup: driving in flip flops can be dangerous, and so can driving without a shirt. The latter can apparently cause seatbelt burns or other irritation which can lead to an accident. Either way the fine is up to €200 in Spain reminds GBC News… Luxembourg police are particularly on the lookout for foreign resident’s cars which have failed to register in the Grand Duchy reports Wort.lu. Four cars have been caught so far this week, including one UK car in the country since the end of last year. New residents have a six month grace period… congestion in the Netherlands is already up by a significant 10 percent so far this year overall says DutchNews.nl as the economy recovers. Queues are up by 12 percent in the morning and by 5 percent in the evening. Amsterdam is worst hit with delays up 49 percent, but Rotterdam has improved since the connecting stretch of A4 to Delft opened last year and the A15 was widened… Iceland mountain roads are open a week earlier than usual thanks to fine weather reports Iceland Magazine, except those north of Vatnajökull glacier. Drivers are warned however that 4×4 vehicles are essential. See the latest on road openings in English at Road.is…

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The latest migrant incident on the port road reinforces how dangerous Calais can be overnight.

Also, Stelvio closed – temporarily – due to south side landslide. Red light for Croatia’s Bosnia-bypass bridge, but slammer for Slovak drink driver. Fancy French speed cameras coming next year. Trabi slips on autobahn snail slime.

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TAKE EXTRA CARE IN CALAIS OVERNIGHT

Latest incident sees car written off after collision with migrant barricade.

Car written off after colliding with Calais migrant blockade. Photo courtesy of Steven Swinscoe

A car has been written off after colliding with a migrant blockade in Calais overnight.

Steven Swinscoe was heading into the port on the N216 access road at 01:00 this morning (Wednesday).

He told us, ‘At least two vehicles including ours fell victim. There were no street lights. It seemed to be logs/bricks/debris wrapped together to form a barricade.

I managed to limp to the ferry but the car is now written off. French police showed no interest whatsoever. A lucky escape as it could have been far, far worse.’

The incident happened on the N216 port access road off the A16, just after J3 with Rue Yervant Toumaniantz.

Mr Swinscoe says the lack of street lighting makes collisions almost unavoidable.

A new security fence has been built along the port road. As of last week it was waiting for lights and security cameras to be wired up.

While migrant trouble in Calais during the day time is rare – last week’s incidents aside – it is a different matter overnight.

Truck driver Colin Petts tells us, ‘I see it as I come out of Calais, a tree and bushes across the road. It happens every night.’

This is borne out by regular reports in the local press, and by campaign group Les Calaisiens en Colere.

While trucks are the focus of most of the trouble, private vehicles are – seemingly – increasingly vulnerable too.

In the early hours of last Saturday morning, a biker was injured after colliding with a migrant barricade on the A16 autoroute.

Meanwhile, French president Francois Hollande made it clear today the Brexit vote will not see the UK border moved back across the Channel. The migrants are in Calais permanently it seems.

Update 30 June: @TrafficBasher witnessed more trouble in Calais early this morning.

On twitter at 06:00BST he said, ‘Trucks being stopped by migrants on Calais port approach road. Lead truck has 3+ on roof, other trucks held up behind being stormed. Approximately 30-50 migrants on the carriageway. Police running down to deal with it.’

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Rock fall overnight has closed the southern stretch of the Stelvio Pass. The landslide cut SS38 between the Bagni Vecchi Hotel on the Bormio side, up to the turning for Umbrail Pass. Stelvio is apparently still open from the north. Ultra-runner ‘Run Geordie Run‘ – on a round the world endurance run – says the local mayor told him the road will reopen at noon tomorrow (update: Stelvio has now reopened). Photo @ValtellinaTweets 

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roundup: a Slovak bus driver with a full complement of passengers was found to have a blood alcohol content of nearly 2.4g per litre in Dubrovnik, Croatia this week reports b92.net. The limit for car drivers is 0.5 – compared to the UK’s 0.8 – but is zero for professional drivers. He was banned for two years and sent to prison for 49 days. Meanwhile, tendering has started for Croatia’s Peljesac Bridge which will bypass Bosnia’s land corridor at Neum. The €526 million project is being 70 percent funded by the EU says World Highways. The 2.4km crossing to the Peljesac Peninsula was highly controversial for many years since it might have limited access to Bosnia’s only port. But the latest version is 268m at its widest and 55m high, enough to accommodate most ships. Drivers heading to and from Dubrovnik through Neum often face long waits and, since Croatia joined the EU, uncertain requirements on car insurance… France takes delivery next year of sophisticated, high tech Mesta Fusion speed cameras which can photograph up to 32 different vehicles across eight lanes of traffic in high resolution images. They can detect drivers going too fast but also those who go too slow, tailgaters, entry into closed lanes, red light jumpers or monitor no-overtaking sections and turning restrictions reports The Connexion. However, since Brexit, it seems there is no danger of the British government signing up to the EU’s cross-border directive on traffic fines as it was supposed to by May 2017… a vintage Trabant was severely damaged after skidding on ‘snail slime’ and crashing into the barriers on the A33 autobahn near Paderborn this morning. The driver was unharmed in the incident reports The Local Germany which occurred after the man crossing what police described as ‘a whole caravan of snails’. It’s not clear if snail slime is a common hazard on German roads. Take care.

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Germany wastes no time putting its €260 billion roads plan into operation – but it means certain misery for drivers on some major holiday routes (and not just this year).

Also, Modballers run into trouble in France. A very close shave on Fluela Pass. Another all-day delay on Germany A2. Eurotunnel forecasts more migrant trouble in Calais.

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GERMANY SUMMER ROAD WORKS UP 50 PERCENT

Popular holiday routes caught in major network overhaul.

The A9 Nuremberg-Munich at Pfaffenhofen gets the works this summer: narrow lanes, contraflow and reduced speed limit. Avoid at all costs. Photo Bayern Info

Road works on Denmark’s Storebaelt Bridge caused such huge traffic jams yesterday they were called off in the afternoon and will now be completed at night, or postponed until August.

Sadly there is no chance of the same thing happening in Germany this summer.

The network is already reaping the benefits of the €260 billion infrastructure plan announced in March.

Maintenance spending jumped from €5.1 billion last year to €6.2 billion this year.

All that extra cash sees the length of active road works grow from 740km in summer 2015 to 1000km now says ADAC, a rise of 50 percent.

Among the hundreds of on-going projects, five stand out.

The longest at 18.2km is the on-going widening works on the A9 Nuremberg-Munich at Pfaffenhofen.

Next is the 15.7km overhaul on the A9 Leipzig-Berlin at Dessau.

Then two 14.9km sections, on the A8 Stuttgart-Ulm at Merklingen and A7 Wurzburg-Ulm at Marktbreit.

The redevelopment of the Berlin A10 ring in the south west at Potsdam seems minor in this company at just 11.3km.

All five have already seen delays of up to 90 minutes at busy times.

Aside from these, the road to beware is the A2 past Hanover which has a series of road works from Gutersloh in the west to Magdeburg in the east. It is also exceptionally accident-prone

German roads certainly need the work. Just one summer might be worth it. But spending tops €6.6 billion in 2018.

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Six drivers on this year’s Modball Rally were caught speeding according to French police while three had their driving licences confiscated. @Gendarmerie tweeted pictures today of a Mercedes-AMG GT, Lamborghini Hurracan and BMW X5, all emblazoned with the rally stickers. Licences are typically taken away for speeds of more than 40kmh above the speed limit. Modball started on Pall Mall, London, on Sunday. The organisers claim 180 teams from 28 countries on its seven day adventure with stops in Paris, Lyon, Monaco, Barcelona and Valencia. Photo @Gendarmerie

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roundup: a very close shave for a motorhomer on Fluela Pass in east Switzerland on Saturday. The German driver lost his brakes and had to career into the barrier on a hairpin reports The Local Switzerland. The brake failure was apparently caused by overheating brake fluid. Police praised the man’s actions… for the second time in less than a week, drivers on Germany’s Dortmund-Berlin A2 motorway have been caught in all-day delays. An accident yesterday morning at Lauenau west of Hanover saw ‘severe’ damage to the road surface from spilled diesel reports Der Spiegel. The road was closed for seven hours though the disruption lasted for 24 hours. Police apparently had to wake up sleeping truck drivers when the road did eventually reopen, and wait for others to return from a nearby service station, adding to delays. Drivers leaving vehicles on an autobahn can be fined €10, and have points on their licence. Last week, drivers were stuck almost as long on the A2 at Brandenburg near Berlin… as it unveiled the drones it will use to bolster security at its terminal in France, Eurotunnel warns about ‘increased migrant pressure’ this summer. In widely quoted remarks, boss Jacques Gounon said the Brexit vote could make migrants think an ‘almost impossible to overcome wall’ will be built leading them to try ever harder to reach the UK while they still can. Eurotunnel has been trouble free for many months but Calais saw four separate incidents last week after a long period of quiet (in the day time). At the same time, presidential hopeful and current French economy minister Emmanuel Macron said Brexit was an opportunity to revise the Le Touquet treaty, the agreement which allows UK border controls on French territory and keeps the migrants in France. ‘[Brexit] reopens these issues and we have a right to be more demanding to our British partner,’ he told AFP on a visit to the Calais region yesterday. In the wake of the Brexit vote last week, both the Calais mayor and the regional president called for the treaty to be cancelled though it stands outside the EU’s remit.

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