MFL To Appeal Latest Competition Ruling – Pole of Cold Exhibition

Posted on May 20, 2014

NEWS: MyFerryLink has been barred from operating on the Dover-Calais route, again. An exhibition of the Pole of Cold expedition is on display at the Royal Geographical Society this week. Luxembourg and German police start a cross border speeding campaign tomorrow while Austria Fernpass is closed for resurfacing, and some of Italy’s major mountain roads will close this week and next for the Giro d’Italia.

GIBRALTAR QUEUE WATCH: delays built to 1h30 by lunchtime, dipped in the afternoon, then reached two hours in the evening.

MYFERRYLINK TO APPEAL LATEST COMPETITION RULING

Ferries barred from Dover-Calais; not allowed to operate independently of Eurotunnel

MyFerryLink: not going anywhere just yet

The original Competition Commission decision that barred the Eurotunnel-owned MyFerryLink ferries from the Dover-Calais route has been confirmed – yet again – but the saga looks set to continue for a while yet.

MyFerryLink managing director Robin Wilkins told Dover Express this morning, ‘I think this was entirely expected. It’s not 100 per cent confirmed yet but we obviously will appeal if it is.’

Announcing its provisional findings in a statement earlier today, the Competition and Markets Authority said, ‘MyFerryLink is making losses and being funded by Eurotunnel. This is causing the current level of competition on the Dover–Calais route to be unsustainable and is likely to lead to the exit of a competitor.

‘The interest of cross-Channel customers, both passengers and freight, will not be well served if Eurotunnel ends up as one of only two ferry operators in addition to owning the competing rail link.’

Meanwhile, Eurotunnel – who had said any further confirmation of the CC’s findings would see the fixed link operator bow out of the situation – called the CMA’s market analysis ‘erroneous’.

The fixed link operator had attempted to argue that the market had grown much more than anticipated to the point that a fresh enquiry was needed. While acknowledging that the market had grown, the CMA said that ‘at least’ two operators were still making ‘substantial losses’.

The CMA also provisionally rejected an alternative proposal from MyFerryLink to operate the service independently from Eurotunnel. It said this would require substantial new financing which would be subject to too much uncertainty and delay to be an effective solution.

Under an earlier ruling from the French competition authorities Eurotunnel is anyway barred from selling the vessels until 2017.

A final decision is expected next month. If confirmed, and absent any appeals, the implementation of the ban would be deferred for six months.

The Pole of Cold Land Rover Defender - complete with 35,000km of filth from its expedition to the far east of Russia, in the middle of -60 degree winter - on display outside the Royal Geographical Society in London

The Pole of Cold Land Rover Defender – complete with 35,000km worth of grime from its trip to the far east of Russia, in the middle of -60 degree winter – on display outside the Royal Geographical Society in London this week. The exhibition of the expedition is in the foyer, with photos from the on-board pro-photographer Manu Palomeque. Team leader Felicity Aston gave the RGS Monday Night Lecture which we are really hoping will appear on YouTube at some point.. Hopefully more later.

roundup: LUXEMBOURG/GERMANY. The two police forces carry out a combined cross-border anti-speeding campaign Wednesday and Thursday (21-22 May). Meanwhile, the very first fixed speed cameras will make their debut in Luxembourg’s accident hotspots in the middle of this year. The country has seen two successive years of rises in fatal road accidents. The locations of mobile radar traps are published here daily. AUSTRIA. The scenic B179 Fernpass between Reutte and Fussen across the German-Austria border, past the fairy tale Neuschwanstein Castle, is shut all day tomorrow, Wednesday 21 May, for resurfacing. Cars can detour via Garmisch but trucks over 7.5t will have to cross via the A14 and S16 at Bregenz. ITALY. Meanwhile the Giro d’Italia cycle race finishes in Trieste on 1 June. See the full road closures here but Stelvio and Gavia Passes will be closed Tuesday 27 May and San Pellegrino on Thursday 29 May.

Major Bridge Upgrade Germany – Balkans Floods

Posted on May 19, 2014

NEWS: Germany announces a major push to tackle the parlous state of its bridges. Flooding devastates parts of Bosnia, Serbia and now Croatia. Paris plans a massive new Low Emission Zone. Finland thinks driving fines and bans are against Human Rights law. Bulgaria unveils an ambitious new border crossing strategy, and wheel clamps made their debut in Flanders.

GIBRALTAR QUEUE WATCH: after a quiet day, and weekend, delays reached two hours this evening.

MAJOR BRIDGE UPGRADE GERMANY

New money from foreigner vignette and new truck tolls?

The majority of Germany’s bridges are more than 40 years old. Fifteen percent are in an ‘insufficient state’. Photo: A3 at Passau, towards the Austria border.

Figures published last year said half of Germany’s bridges were in need of renovation plus twenty percent of autobahns and forty percent of federal roads.

The situation was brought into sharper focus last Thursday when the transport ministry admitted that, of the 39,000 bridges across the main road and motorway network, 15% are in an ‘insufficient state’ and the majority were more than 40 years old.

Truckers are already well used to long diversions due traffic restrictions on Germany’s bridges, particularly in the Ruhr. Increasingly these restrictions apply to car drivers too.

Now the government has announced an extra €400m – on top of its existing €600m budget – to tackle the problem, to be spent 2015-17.

Reading between the lines it appears the new money is revenue anticipated from next year’s foreigner vignette and extension of the truck toll system to all vehicles over 7.5t. The extra €200m per year is exactly the amount they expect to raise from the foreigner vignette alone.

In practice, drivers should expect many more overnight and weekend road closures. Already, according to the @ADAC, a quarter of all motorway construction sites are bridge refurbishments, around 90 in total.

The work will be concentrated in the following states: North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony.

BOSNIA: More than 3,000 landslides across the northern part of the country - and neighbouring Serbia - yesterday closed roads and displaced mine fields left over from the conflict in the 1990s. The rain has now stopped but the rivers are expected to peak in the next couple of days. Miraculously the YoGypsy tour around the western Balkans last week escaped unharmed. More later.

BOSNIA: More than 3,000 landslides across the northern part of the country yesterday. In the words of Mia Farrow, ‘Nearly a third of the country.. is now a huge muddy lake.’ It has been just as bad in neighbouring Serbia with floods reaching Croatia now too. The rain has stopped but the rivers are not expected to peak for a couple of days. Miraculously the YoGypsy tour around the western Balkans last week escaped unscathed. For the latest on the situation – which also now includes displaced mine fields from the Yugoslav War – see the links at the top of the page.

roundup: PARIS. Stricter measures in the event of another ‘pollution crisis’ were presented at a meeting at a meeting of the City Council today, as reported last week: diesel buses will be eradicated, drivers switching to petrol cars will get a year’s free public transport and the fine particulates level that triggers remedial actions has been reduced, among other things. One new detail is that the Low Emission Zone will extend out to the A86 ‘Super-peripherique’ ring road. FINLAND. Legal bods say fining and banning errant drivers violates EU Human Rights rules as it goes against the principle of not being punished twice for the same offence. The Finnish Supreme Court ruled in 2012 however that such penalties were acceptable. BULGARIA plans to open eight new border crossing points by 2017 – one more with Greece, two with Serbia, three with FYRO Macedonia and two with Romania. No locations given as yet. The Makaza border point in far north west Greece reopened last September after 68 years. BELGIUM. Wheel clamps make their debut in Flanders this month to tackle persistent parking offenders. Menen has been blighted by serial dodgers particularly from across the nearby French border. Five offences in six months will see the clamp deployed – the penalty will be removal costs plus outstanding tickets. Two other towns in the vicinity are considering using clamps too. Other regions in Belgium have agreements with inter-EU agencies to collect parking fines.

News Digest: France, Gibraltar, Mille Miglia, Transfag

Posted on May 18, 2014

WEEKEND: digesting the week’s news, on the road safety ‘crisis’ in France, the seemingly unending queues at the Spanish frontier in Gibraltar and four of the best from Mille Miglia 2014. Finally, good news: Romania’s Transfagarasan road will open for much longer in future.

Mille Miglia 2014: Jaguar team mates Jay Leno (@LenosGarage) and @IanCallum at 100mph in their 1951 Ecurie Ecosse XK 120 roadster.

France has not suddenly become a dangerous place to drive. By European standards it remains exactly average. But the French road safety strategy is not working as new figures, released on Thursday evening, confirm. The question is how will the authorities respond?

One crumb of comfort is that their fundamental assertion that speeding is a significant cause of accidents is clearly correct. The dramatic falls in fatalities immediately after the introduction of unmarked police camera cars last March proves that. But driver’s fears quickly evaporated. By the start of this year the number of road deaths were starting to rise again and – entirely predictably – increased significantly for the last two months.

Absent a new dastardly method of controlling speeding, the answer in France will undoubtedly be increased traffic police presence. That’s already been announced for the Ascension and Pentecost holiday weekends at the end of May/beginning of June.

An awful lot depends on this month’s accident stats. The camera cars saw fatalities drop by 29.5% in May 2013. The French media has so far ignored March and April’s steep rises but if the figures show a near 30% jump this month, as looks increasingly possible, will they continue to be so understanding?

Mille Miglia 2014: Jaguar team mates @MBrundleF1 and @BSenna at speed in their Long Nose D-type. Another competitor said on Twitter, ‘It’s crazy, the police just tell us to go faster!’

The queue misery at the Spanish frontier in Gibraltar goes on, and on, and on. The ever present threat of hour’s long delays must be truly debilitating for those living and working in the area though, interestingly, a spokesman for the Gibraltar government told us on Thursday that everybody now keeps an eye on the @RGPolice twitter feed, and border webcam, and nips across when it’s quiet. Life goes on.

There’s no way to check the relatively recent phenomenon of long delays on the Spanish side unfortunately which, we’re told, have averaged an hour every day for the last fortnight.

This week saw the end of the European Commission’s six month deadline for improvements to the border flow. The Spanish authorities left it until the last minute to reveal a €5m overhaul of their traffic lanes, to be implemented by the end of this year. Bearing in mind how the Spanish have dragged their feet so far the announcement was greeted with a hefty degree of scepticism in Gibraltar and the UK.

Meanwhile, the big initiative on the Gibraltar side is a consultation on joining the EU’s borderless Schengen Zone. Taken completely by surprise, the official opposition was slow to respond but the argument is now starting to rage. As a way to get the EU firmly on side, and to circumvent the border queues, the Schengen idea is inspired, and it has the support of the British government. Whether it can or will work is another question.

Mille Miglia 2014: Franz Jung and Armando Pirola Fumanelli – in a 1939 BMW 328 Berlinetta Touring – pull into Bologna on Friday night after a long day driving from Rome.

Much, much better news is that Romania’s flagship mountain road Transfagarasan will open for up to nine months a year, from three months currently. It might take a few years but by then Transfag should also be joined seamlessly with the wider European motorway network. Annual fortnight jaunts to the deep Balkans will be easily achievable.

It’s been a good week all round for Balkan roads – notwithstanding the once-a-century flooding in Bosnia, Serbia and now Croatia too – with fresh impetus for the rest of Romania’s much needed motorway ‘network’ and a date finally set to start work on completing the east-west Hemus Highway in Bulgaria.

Most exciting – almost too, too exciting – is news from Serbia that the Belgrade-Adriatic motorway will be ready in four years. Whizzing down to the sea through the Montenegrin mountains while we’re still – almost – young enough to enjoy it? Yes please!

There hasn’t been so much good news in Italy however. The Pordoi Pass in the High Dolomites re-opened quite quickly but the poor old Gardena Pass, down to the A22 Brennero motorway at Barbiano, is still shut following over 1,000 lightning strikes last Sunday..

The Weekly News Digest is a small selection of the stories on @DriveEurope this week. See our Daily Brief blogs for more.

Mille Miglia 2014: The overall winners were Stefania Biacca and Giordano Mozzi in a 1928 Lancia Lambda Tipo 221 Spider. There’s no blaze of publicity about how the Jaguar boys and girls got on yet – as far as we know – we gave up looking after seeing Jodie Kidd and David Blakeley in 132nd place, beating development driver Mike Cross by 17 places!

From the Archive: Foreign Ferry Routes

Posted on May 17, 2014

WEEKEND: Foreign ferries, the point being crossing the English Channel opens up a Continent’s-worth of other ferry routes. Miss out the boring bits, get to Europe’s far flung regions a bit quicker, arrive in style or break up a long journey with an enforced rest, dinner, drinks and a sunset. A small sample: to Greece, Finland, Sweden and back to Blighty.

Standing less than twenty feet away as the 55,000t Minoan Lines Cruise Olympia reversed onto the berth made us seriously wonder what we were letting ourselves in for. Apart from having permanent access to the car throughout the 18 hour voyage – from Ancona in east central Italy to Igoumenitsa in western Greece – the experience was exactly as per the long ‘cruise ferry’ sailings between the UK and the Continent. Olympia is quite glitzy inside with its marble reception area and fine dining restaurants. The real surprise was how many other Brits there were on board, many with dogs. It would have been much cheaper had we not wasted money on an outside cabin – just go up on deck – and brought at least some of our own food. Two+car can cross for £250. Waking up the next morning cruising between the Albanian mountains and the coves and beaches of Corfu was amazing.

You can get the Oresund Link between Denmark and Sweden but for almost the same price there’s the Stena Line ferry between Frederikshavn and Gothenburg. The 3.5 hour sailing costs from €50 two+car and sails right into the city centre at the Swedish end, under the Alvsborg Bridge, finish line for the Volvo Great Ocean Race (Gothenburg is Volvo’s home town). Frederikshavn is a ship building port, just clawing its way back from a devastating recession. Despite the Palm Beach, with trees bred to withstand -20 degrees, it’s unlikely to be somewhere you would want to stay (don’t!). Less than an hour’s drive away are the shifting sand dunes of Skagen, on Denmark’s northerly tip and one of its most popular holiday regions, on the junction of the Kattegat and Skaggerak Seas, outflows of the Baltic, where the waves lap against each other. You can also catch a ferry to Oslo from Frederikshavn, or other places in Norway from Hirtshals, about the same distance from Skagen in the opposite direction.

Maybe, just maybe, in about a decade’s time there will be a Chunnel-busting Tunnel underneath the Gulf of Finland between Finnish capital Helsinki and Estonian capital Tallinn. Meanwhile, to avoid the 500+ mile round trip and the visa hassle and expense of driving through Russia, you can catch a ferry. It only takes two hours and there are so many operators – Tallink, St Peter Line, Eckero Line and Viking Line – it’s like catching a bus. Just roll up to the check-in booth, swipe your card and you’re on. Directferries.co.uk has a special offer at the moment of €72 each way. We paid €97 but have seen advance fares at €49. The terminals are conveniently just off the city ring road in north east Tallinn – you can also catch boats to Stockholm and St Petersburg – and within a few hundred metres of Helsinki centre. From the sea, flat Tallinn looks nothing special but picking your way through the Helsinki archipelago is a great way to arrive in Finland.

Atmosphere. It’s not something you have time to appreciate on short or even medium length ferry trips, the agreeable bonhomie among fellow travellers either departing on or returning from their Continental adventures. The one thing all our long sailings have had in common is the relaxed feeling aboard. Maybe it’s all the booze. Alcoholic benders and road trips do not normally mix. The only chance you have to get properly wasted is an overnight crossing. The boat might not leave until late but you can generally board early. The bar is the first thing to open, quickly followed by the – proper – restaurant with an extensive wine list. Truly civilised. Drink in hand, there’s nothing quite like a sunset at sea. That’s why it’s so tragic that the Esbjerg-Harwich route, above, closes in September. Not just because it’s the last direct ferry link between the UK and Scandinavia – that’s bad enough – but because the finale of any hoon in and around the Baltic will now be a slog across the most boring, and congested, parts of Germany. Not relaxed at all.

To find out more about the European ferry network Google ‘ferry’ – most of the big internet sites book routes throughout the Continent. We’ve used www.directferries.co.uk and www.aferry.co.uk. The latter has a great smartphone app. Tap, tap, tap and you’re done. Be aware it is not always possible to book fares for immediate travel.

France: Another Big Rise In Road Deaths – Mille Miglia D2

Posted on May 16, 2014

NEWS: As predicted, fatal traffic accidents in France rise significantly for the second month in succession. Plus, the fallout from the Paris pollution crisis, weekend road closures in France, Luxembourg and Germany, dastardly manoeuvres to slow EU plans for safer trucks, and a pan-Europe rally for electric cars gets underway tomorrow, as Mille Miglia 2014 moves into day two and Jaguar reveals the prototype of its upcoming XE compact sports saloon.

GIBRALTAR QUEUE WATCH: no queues for most of the day then 45mins all evening. The queues we list here are all Gibraltar>Spain because there’s no way to check on the Spanish side (click the link to see Gibraltar queues or see @RGPolice). A spokesman for the Gibraltar government told us this week the average delay crossing from Spain to Gibraltar has been 60mins in the last fortnight.

FRANCE: ANOTHER BIG RISE IN ROAD DEATHS

More police on the roads for Ascension and Pentecost holidays

Traffic accident deaths increased significantly again last month though the rise was not as great as might have been expected.

After falling 15% in April 2013 compared to the year previously, fatalities rose by 8.1% in April 2014 according to the latest figures from Securite Routiere.

This follows an increase in fatal traffic accidents of 28% in March 2014.

Acknowledging the significant rise, Securite Routiere says, ‘The fight against road accidents must be permanent. Any relaxation in behaviour has consequences on safety.’ It warns of increased traffic police presence on the long holiday weekends of Ascension (Thursday 29 May) and Pentecost (Monday 9 June).

As previously reported, the introduction of unmarked police radar cars in March 2013 led immediately to big falls in serious traffic accidents. However, the effect quickly wore off. No new enforcement initiatives this year inevitably means big rises are to be expected.

The cut in April 2013 was modest compared to the months either side. Fatalities fell by 27% in March 2013 and 29.5% in May 2013. Still, nobody could say Franc is a dangerous place to drive. At 53 deaths per million inhabitants last year it’s dead on the European average.

Meanwhile: did the one-day car ban during March’s ‘Paris Pollution Crisis’ work or not? Depends who you read. Speaking to The Connexion yesterday, NGO Airparif said the resulting 6% fall in particulate emissions was a ‘quantifiable and visible impact’. To RFI English however the pollution body said next time a ban on heavy emitting vehicles would be needed to ‘improve the results’. As previously reported, new mayor Anne Hidalgo will present a new anti-pollution plan on Monday 19 May.

Martin Brundle and Bruno Senna line up in their Jaguar D-type ‘Long Nose’ for day two of Mille Miglia 2014, a minimum 500km Padua-Rome: ‘Waiting for first time trial of a 15.5hr drive,’ says @MBrundleF1, ‘Battery issues so mustn’t stall car, but mustn’t overheat.’ See #JaguarMille

roundup: FRANCE. The A75 Millau Viaduct in the south will close from 08:30-13:30 on Sunday for a running event. LUXEMBOURG. Both the A4 and A7 will be closed at times over the weekend, see full details here. GERMANY. Meanwhile the A8 Stuttgart>Munich is closed for a total of nine weekends this summer starting tonight, from J59-61 Mulhausen-Merklingen, from Friday at 22:00 until Sunday 21:00. That’s on top of 350 other road work sites across the country, on main routes, but none are closures, this weekend anyway. TRUCKS. France and Sweden, home to Volvo and Renault trucks respectively – both belong to the same company – are reportedly behind a move to hold up the new EU plan for safer trucks. The countries are said to be lobbying to have the new standards – which include new rounder cabs to lessen wind resistance and improve fuel economy and visibility – postponed for ten years, until 2025. ELECTRIC RALLY. Over 1,000 EVs are expected in Munich tomorrow to start a nine country, nine-day 2,500 mile rally around the continent. See etoureurope.eu

It must be Jaguar week. Anyway, ahead of its launch in paris in October, jaguar has revealed the latest image of its new XE compact sports saloon.

Ahead of the launch in Paris in October, Jaguar has revealed the basic look of its upcoming XE – as in sexy – compact sports saloon. Powered by a range of four cylinder, two litre diesel and petrol new generation ‘Ingenium’ (aka ‘hotfire’) engines, with two or four wheel drive, the XE will start at less than £30,000 says Autocar.

Mille Miglia 2014 Picture Special

Posted on May 15, 2014

NEWS: Mille Miglia 2014 starts today, 500 historic cars racing 1,000 miles Brescia-Rome-Brescia. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland will bring its drink driving limit into line with most of Europe. A Viennese taxi driver was ripped off after a 1,000 mile trip to Dubrovnik. Higher fares Rosyth-Zeebrugge could mean millions of extra truck miles on Scottish roads, Brittany Ferries finally makes some money and there’s a winter tyre warning from Italy.

GIBRALTAR QUEUE WATCH: after being free-flowing for most of the day, delays reached 1h20 in the evening.

MILLE MIGLIA 2014 IS GO:

Mille Miglia 2014 starts today in Brescia, Italy, on a 1,000 mile route to Rome and back. Hundreds of historic cars take part including ‘works’ teams from Jaguar and Mercedes. See #millemiglia2014 on Twitter.

Mille Miglia 2014 starts today in Brescia, northern Italy, on a 1,000 mile route to Rome and back. Hundreds of historic cars take part including ‘works’ teams from Jaguar and Mercedes. See #millemiglia2014 on Twitter.

The event takes place over four days, Thursday to Sunday. Most of today is taken up with scrutineering; the first car won’t leave Viale Venzia in Brescia until six o’clock this evening and isn’t expected arrive in Verona until eleven o’clock tonight. Via the A4 motorway the route is around 150km but using, as much as possible, the original roads stretches that to around 225km. Competitors lose points for being either early or late at check points. Mille Miglia 2014 isn’t a race as such but a succession of 74 ‘regularity tests’.

Nearly 500 cars in total will compete. Any car which raced in or registered for the original Mille Miglia races, 1927-57, is eligible. Official sponsor Mercedes-Benz fields five historic cars, from the SSK 27 in which Rudolf Caracciola won the 1931 race (top) to the W 196 S 300 SLR that Stirling Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson drove to victory in 1955 (at an average speed of 157.65kmh). See #MBMille for more.

Meanwhile Jaguar’s entry will be piloted by a team of racing and showbiz celebs including Martin Brundle and Bruno Senna in a 60 year old ‘Long Nose’ D-type, Jay Leno and Jaguar designer Ian Callum in an Ecurie Ecosse XK 120 roadster, model Jodie Kidd and actor Jeremy Irons both in regular XK 120s and AC/DC singer Brian Johnson and racer Andy Wallace in C-type racers. See #JaguarMille

roundup: NORTHERN IRELAND. The drink driving limit with be reduced to the common European level of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood from the UK’s 80mg, one of a number of new driving rule proposals expected to become law in 2015. AUSTRIA. A taxi driver was left empty handed penniless after driving a customer 1,000 miles from Vienna to Dubrovnik. The customer was getting cash from an ATM to settle the £800 bill but disappeared. ROSYTH-ZEEBRUGGE. New emissions rules next year will see fares rise on the DFDS freight-only ferry route and could mean hauliers driving millions of extra miles on Scottish roads as they divert to shorter ferry routes from England alleges the Scotsman. DFDS recently cancelled the Harwich-Esbjerg passenger ferry route, partly over increased costs due to the new emission rules. However a spokesman tells the Scotsman DFDS ‘has no other plans for further route closures at the moment’. BRITTANY FERRIES. After four years of losses, the Western Channel UK-France ferry operator finally made a profit (of €1.6m) in 2012-13 compared to losing €17m in 2011-12 according to industry reports. ITALY. Today marks the official changeover from winter tyres. While most drivers can continue to use them beyond 15 May, any with speed ratings L, M, N, P + Q (up to 160kmh) must switch else risk a hefty fine. Finally, Gardena Pass, to the A22 Brennero motorway at Barbiano is still shut following its 1,000 lightening strikes at the weekend.

Doubts on Gibraltar Schengen Bid – Lisbon-Lincoln

Posted on May 14, 2014

NEWS: Gibraltar contemplates joining the EU’s borderless Schengen Zone to escape long frontier queues. An original Model T is due to start a charity run from Lisbon to Lincoln. GPS will still work in Russia after 1 June, apparently. Telling social media contacts the location of speed cameras can earn a hefty fine in Switzerland. Dartford Crossing closures go on for the rest for the month. Dutch truckers hold another motorway go-slow today while the future of the French Ecotaxe truck tolls is still very much undecided.

GIBRALTAR QUEUE WATCH: 1h30 delay at the Spanish frontier at lunchtime.

EXPERT CASTS DOUBT ON GIBRALTAR SCHENGEN BID

Joining border free zone would need unanimous EU agreement

An application by Gibraltar to join the Schengen Zone would likely fail said an expert today.

Earlier this month the Chief Minister of the British Overseas Territory, Fabian Picardo, announced a consultation on whether Gibraltar should join the border-free area in an effort to tackle the often hours long delays at the Spanish frontier.

In an almost unreservedly pro-EU speech made on Europe Day, 9 May – including a reference to the ‘sterile flames of Euroscepticism’ – Picardo said, ‘Gibraltar needs to address whether the decision of the United Kingdom to stay out of the Schengen Area is the right one for us.’

There are already parts of Schengen countries which are not part of the Schengen Zone. However, Steve Peers, Professor of EU law at the University of Essex told @DriveEurope today it would be difficult for Gibraltar to join without the rest of the UK.

He said, ‘The Schengen rules themselves give special status to bits of France (and also other Member States) whereas the Council Decision on the UK and Schengen deals with Gibraltar. [It is] hard to see the Council amending that by unanimity to suit Gibraltar.’

However, it seems a bid by Gibraltar to join Schengen would have the support of the British government. As well as the consultation announcement being made in the presence of the UK Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, Mr Picardo said the British government has already indicated it would be ‘willing to consider and analyse any proposed change of status in these areas with Gibraltar’.

Update 15 May: ‘Spain has finally confirmed plans to improve traffic flow into Gibraltar’ says today’s Olive Press. The €5m plan to remodel the car lanes across the border should be finished by the end of 2014. Today is the final day of the European Commission’s six month deadline to improve border flow. The UK Foreign Office later said it was ‘deeply concerned by the delay by the authorities in Spain in responding to the European Commission’s recommendations’.

Update 16 May: in a letter to the European Commission, as reported by Gibraltar’s GBC News, Spain says that because tobacco smuggling across the border has worsened it has no choice under its EU external border obligations but to intensify border checks.

Lisbon-Lincoln: three men will drive this almost entirely original Ford Model T – just the brakes have been modified – on an historic route from Lisbon to Lincoln, for charity, starting next week. The trio are hoping to raise £10,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by driving 2,000km via sites important to The Treaty of Windsor, a marriage alliance between Philippa, the daughter of John of Gaunt and King Joao I of Portugal in 1387. The treaty still exists making Portugal England’s oldest ally. See www. justgiving.com/ Model-T-Drive for more.

roundup: RUSSIA. GPS will still work in Russia after the threatened cut off on 1 June says Radio Free Europe. The ‘reference stations’ on Russian territory are only used for accuracies of centimeters. Meanwhile the satellites will still send a general signal. SWITZERLAND. Broadcasting the location of a speed camera on Facebook earned one Zurich woman a 1000CHF fine says thelocal.ch. Police say they regularly trawl social media for warnings about cameras. ‘Broadcasting’ is messaging more than 50 people. DARTFORD CROSSING. Overnight closures to install new remote payment gantries start tonight and continue for the rest of the month. See this day by day run down from Kent Online. HOLLAND. Truckers protesting about low wages and ‘social dumping’ from Eastern Europe held a go-slow on the A58 between Breda and Tilburg this morning. The disruption was minimal but is one of a number of similar protests in recent months. FRANCE. Ecotaxe truck tolls should still be implemented but with free mileage allowances for certain industries like farming says a parliamentary report today. The govt reportedly wants to scrap the system entirely. A final decision on the scheme’s future is due early next month.

Strange but true, the story of Frane Selak, the unluckiest/luckiest man alive, from Croatia:

Swiss Motorway Vignette Update – Maggiore Blue

Posted on May 13, 2014

NEWS: While we wait to hear what the Swiss government does next, we round up all you need to know about the famous motorway vignette, plus: an Italian lakeside debut for Rolls’ new Phantom Drophead Coupe. The Pordoi Pass has reopened. GPS might not work in Russia from 1 June. VW has bought Scania. The Dartford Crossings go cash-free in October. A Turkish trucker loses work thanks to a nesting pigeon. Belgian truck tolls are on course to start in 2016, and the ADAC says the minimum 60kmh speed on autobahns is a myth.

GIBRALTAR QUEUE WATCH: a consistent 40mins today.

SWITZERLAND MOTORWAY VIGNETTE UPDATE

A roundup of everything you need to know

Much anger, a campaign, demonstrations, a petition and finally a nationwide referendum. After all that, what ultimately changed with the Swiss motorway vignette? Absolutely nothing, since 1985 in fact.

Under the Swiss system of Direct Democracy, laws can be subject to a referendum if more than 50,000 signatures are collected within 100 days.

After the government decided last year to increase the price of the annual motorway vignette to 100CHF, bring in a two month tourist ticket for 40CHF, and take hundreds of kilometres of local roads into the national network – making them subject to the vignette – citizens collected a record 100,000 signatures inside a month.

When the referendum was held last November, the government’s plans were rejected by 60% of those who voted.

We are still waiting to hear a new set of proposals from the Swiss government as it wrestles with the thorny issue of how to pay to maintain and upgrade its motorway network. In the meantime, certainly for this year, the arrangements for the vignette remain as they have done since it was first introduced in 1985, including the price.

It costs 40CHF (€33) and is valid from 1 December of the year prior to the year printed on the front until 31 January the year after to allow for Christmas/New Year holidays.

It can be bought from filling stations in the vicinity of the border, from customs officials at the border – paying in either Swiss Francs (CHF) or Euro, Sterling or Dollars notes (change in CHF) – or from post offices/filling stations, etc, in Switzerland. You can also buy one in advance from Swiss Railways.

Simply attach the sticker to the left side of the windscreen, clearly visible from outside. The penalty for not having a valid vignette – even for one attached incorrectly – is 200CHF, and that applies to any that have been transferred from other vehicles (they are deliberately almost impossible to unstick intact). If you need a new windscreen you can apply for a free replacement.

The referendum defeat also means that the chargeable road network remains as it was, basically all motorways with the odd exception marked in yellow above (click to enlarge).

Those not intending to use Swiss motorways – and why would you when their main roads are so good? – do not need to buy the vignette.

Switzerland fuel watch, 13 May 2014: average price unleaded 95 €1.427, diesel €1.513.

New for 2014: daytime running lights (or dipped headlights) are now mandatory in Switzerland.

Into the Blue: Rolls-Royce debuts the new Phantom Drophead Coupe Waterspeed Collection at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como later this month. Built to evoke Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird K3 – which, powered by a Rolls-Royce engine, set a world speed record of 137.33mph on nearby Lake Maggiore in 1937 – the new car has many bespoke new features, not least the paint itself, nine layers of ‘Maggiore Blue’, hand sanded and powder lacquered, and applied as accents on the unique wheels and in the engine bay. The colour symbolises pushing boundaries. Meanwhile, the teak decking of the standard car has been replaced with hand brushed steel, an innovative material in Campbell’s time and used to build the Bluebird boats. Only 35 Phantom DHC Waterspeed Collection cars will be made priced at £435,000.

roundup: ITALY. Pordoi Pass has re-opened after Sunday’s 1,000 lightening strikes but SS242 Gardena Pass down to the A22 Brennero motorway at Barbiano is still shut today. RUSSIA is threatening to close all GPS stations in Russia from 1 June if the US does not allow Russia’s GLONASS satnav stations on its turf says TASS news agency. VW has finally completed its bid to buy Swedish truck maker Scania says thelocal.se. DARTFORD CROSSING. Cash payments will stop in October and be replaced by a pre-post pay system similar to the London Congestion Charge. HGV LEVY. 90% of foreign hauliers have paid the correct fee so far says @HGVLevy. TURKEY. A self-employed trucker in Sanliurfa, southern Turkey, hasn’t worked for 20 days because a pigeon has nested at the back of the cab. ‘God will compensate me for my loss,’ he says. BELGIUM. The electronic truck toll system is still on for 2016 after a consortium including UK supplier T-Systems was last week awarded preferred bidder status to build and operate the system. GERMANY. The 60kmh minimum speed on the autobahn is a myth says @ADAC.

Transfag Opening Time Doubled – Overview Stockholm

Posted on May 12, 2014

A spruce up for Tranfagarasan will see it open for much longer in future. The long closure of the Gotthard Tunnel yesterday was caused by a fatal crash involving a biker, apparently on the wrong side of the road. Pordoi and Gardena Passes in the Dolomites remain closed after a flash of lightning strikes while the Mail on Sunday reveals the upcoming eCall devices are actually tracker chips.

GIBRALTAR QUEUE WATCH: just 30min delay crossing the Spanish frontier, at lunchtime.

TRANSFAGARASAN OPENING TIME DOUBLED

And connected to West European motorways by Summer 2016

TRANSFAGARASAN, MID-MAY 2013. INCHIS:CLOSED.

TRANSFAGARASAN, MAY 2013. INCHIS:CLOSED. Photo @DriveEurope

There only thing wrong with DN7C Transfagarasan is its narrow operating window.

Romania’s blue chip mountain pass – described by Jeremy Clarkson in 2009 as ‘the best road in the world’ – only opens from 1 July to 1 November in 2014.

Renovations about to start however will see the opening time more than doubled. Regional roads director Adriana Nicula told Romania Insider today, ‘When the work will be completed, we hope Transfagarasan will be closed maximum three months per year.’

Much of the work will be done on the northern section, before the tunnel at the summit. As well as repairing the road surface, drainage channels and ditches will be cleared. The work could take up to four years in total but the road will remain open throughout.

Meanwhile, Tranfagarasan will be fully connected to the European motorway by summer 2016. Currently there is just 100 miles of the A1 left to build between Sibiu, a few miles from the north entrance to DN7C, and the Hungarian border. It is almost exactly 1,300 miles from Calais to Sibiu.

Transfag Tips: it’s generally held to be better north to south. Even if the summit is closed, at 60 miles long you can still drive most of it. Don’t forget nearby Transalpina, or the newly opened Transbucegi.

BALKANS ROAD BUILDING ROUNDUP: the Romanian govt also announced last week that motorway across the Carpathians, parallel to Transfagarasan, would be finished in 2019. The sections south from Sibiu and north from Pitesti, not including the mountains, will open in 2017. It is also tendering for feasibility studies for another 10 projects of 1,000km in total. Despite A1 linking Romania to the rest of the European network, PM Ponta insists the Comarnic-Brasov motorway in the east is the priority project and says construction will start this year. Meanwhile, the Bulgarian tranmin is promising work on plugging the large gap in the Hemus Highway – between Sofia and the Black Sea across the north of the country – will start at the end of this year. Of the three lots, west to east, Lot One, from Yablanitsa where the existing road ends to the junction of the Lovech/Pleven road will be first. There is much more to do but Hemus will finish the basic national motorway network. Finally, new Serbian PM Aleksander Vucic says the Belgrade-Bar motorway, to the Adriatic via Montenegro, will be ready in four years.

Stockholm: 57 bridges connect the 14 islands on which the city is built. Photo via @VisitStockholm

Overview: Stockholm has 57 bridges to connect the 14 islands on which it is built. You never know when that info might come in handy. Photo via @VisitStockholm

roundup: ITALY. More than 1,000 lightning strikes yesterday afternoon saw both SR48 Pordoi and SS242 Gardena passes closed temporarily. Both roads run east-west roughly between Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites and Barbiano, on the A22 Brennero motorway. Both were still closed Monday evening. Will update. SWITZERLAND. A German biker apparently on the wrong side of the road tragically died in a crash inside the A2 Gotthard Tunnel yesterday morning. The two-way single lane tunnel has a strict no overtaking rule. Long queues, especially northbound, lasted until the early evening. The alternative Gotthard Pass is not expected to open until 23 May. EU. Much controversy after the Mail on Sunday said the upcoming eCall devices – a SIM card that automatically alerts emergency services after an accident – are actually tracker chip bugs. Here’s why we think you don’t have to worry.

Race Around The Baltic P2: Gulf of Finland to UK

Posted on May 11, 2014

Can you drive around the Baltic? Would you want to? How long does it take? Does it require months of planning, and military-style execution?

Part Two, Still Single After All This Time: Gulf of Finland to the UK.

Helsinki-Umea-Jonkoping-Esbjerg-Harwich.

See Part One here.

*work in progress*

The enormity of what we have left to do hits home in the bar of the Helsinki Holiday Inn.

That might sound melodramatic but we’ve covered 1,750 miles in four days so far with the same distance to go but a day less to do it in. We’re both already absolutely exhausted. There follows a brisk discussion of the options. They include a boat from here direct to Stockholm, another boat from Turku on the west coast to Stockholm – which at least means we see a bit of Finland – or, best of all in that respect, a boat from Vaasa quite far up the west coast across to Umea in northern Sweden.

In fact there’s a dense network of ferry routes around the Baltic, we could go straight to Germany if we wanted…

None of the options includes the original plan, to drive over the top of the Gulf of Bothnia, the tall thin Baltic inlet between Sweden and Finland, which tops out a few miles from the Arctic Circle.