Author Archives: driveeuropenews

Zonnebeke pileup

Last updated 23:00 GMT.

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Channel delays: Eurotunnel France: 90mins, tech fault in tunnel in process of being resolved. Freight, UK, +90mins, 4hr transit time. France 3h30 transit. DFDS Calais-Dover 20min delay 01:00. P&O Hull-Zeebrugge/Rotterdam, ongoing tech issue at Hull affecting services, including some departing early.

Weather alerts: Amber severe weather alerts for avalanche, high winds northern Norway, storms southern Italy, Sicily. High winds, storms Greece.

Weather: Mainly fine and dry. Windy in the north, showers in the Mediterranean.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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ZONNEBEKE PILEUP.

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BELGIUM. A fifty vehicle pile up in dense fog this morning saw one person killed and more than sixty injured. The accident happened at 09:30 on the A19 eastbound at Zonnebeke near Ypres. The road is closed in both directions for the time being. Damaged vehicles extended for almost one kilometre. The British Embassy @UKinBelgium issued a telephone number for those concerned about relatives: +00 32 (0)924 18 932. Also see @CrisisCenterBE.

Update 15:00: in fact 132 vehicles were involved in three separate accidents – two eastbound, one westbound – on this 10km stretch of the A19. Sixty seven people injured, eight seriously and five critically.

Update 05.12.13: police eventually four separate accidents. Southern West Flanders is apparently notorious for thick fog. The road reopened at 04:00 this morning having been closed for 18 hours. Six people are in critical condition out of 22 still in hospital.

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LITHUANIA. Zydunas Savickas sets a new word record for pulling cars on Sunday. The 38 year old strongman dragged twelve Nissan Notes weighing 12.9t five meters in 32.9 seconds at Druskininkai in southern Lithuania (yes the car in front has an Estonian licence plate).

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roundup: SPAIN. Junkies, alkies and the mental ill face have their driving licences taken away under plans unveiled by Catalunyan authorities today. Nearly half of all road deaths in Spain are caused by drivers under the influence. Doctors can already object to patients holding licences. MOLDOVA. The first European standard road opens today. Built with loans from EU banks EIB and EBRD, the M14 stretches 85 miles between the capital Chisnau and second city Balti through the centre of the country, with 56 miles of that now overhauled. RUSSIA. Police handed out a dozen violations to street racers holding a 40-car rally in honour of film star Paul Walker in Omsk on Tuesday night. KAZAKHSTAN. Baikonur Cosmodrome in south central Kazakhstan is set to become a tourist attraction. As well as the Space City facility, local govt plans to build a health resort.

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France Ecotax demos – Puymorens reopens

Last updated 19:45 GMT.

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Channel delays: P&O Hull-Zeebrugge, sailing at later time of 23:00 this evening. The Rotterdam service leaves early at 19:45, latest check-in 19:00. Brittany Ferries Portsmouth-Santander leaving early tomorrow at 09:45.

Weather alerts: Amber severe weather alerts for avalanche north Norway, high winds Baltic States and storms Italy and Adriatic region down to Greece.

Weather: Cold, settled. Gales, heavy showers in the Mediterranean. Snow Eastern Europe and Greece.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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ITALY. Landslides caused by continuing heavy rain and storms have blocked local roads near Pescara on the central east coast. Two roads in the Sangro Valley near Chieti, about 10km south west of Pescara, have been blocked. Much of Italy has been under amber alert for heavy rain over the weekend, now concentrated in the south (see above). Meanwhile, around 1,500 residents have been evacuated from Pescara itself due to flooding. There have been two incidents now of drivers barely escaping flooded underpasses in Pescara.

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FRANCE. Ecotaxe protests.

Initial turnout was poor and thepolice were well prepared. By mid-morning it looked like it was all over. By lunchtime however, protestors were firing up the barbeque on the southbound carriageway of the A25 neat Lille. How long will it go on for: some jhave vowed to stay as long as it takes to get the Ecotax system cancelled completely.

Initial turnout was poor and the police were well prepared. By mid-morning it looked like it was all over. By lunchtime however, protestors were firing up the barbeque on the southbound carriageway of the A25 near Lille. How long will it go on for? Some have vowed to stay as long as it takes to get the Ecotax system cancelled completely… Pic via @laudecotte

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More Ecotaxe blockades planned today, particularly the A25 Lille-Dunkirk. Organisers from Spinelli Collectif National de Preservation du Transport Routiers Francais plan to block this road between the N41 and Rocade Nord Ouest (Bypass North West) north of Lille indefinitely if necessary, until the Ecotax system is cancelled.

More actions planned around Paris and Marseilles. Updates as we have them.

17:00 GMT – A1 southbound now clear, as is the A55 at Marseilles.

15:40 GMT – the A25 protestors have stopped at the Ecotaxe gantry on the A1 southbound from Lille at Phalempin and, according to @laudecotte, set up camp. Traffic is backed up to Lille. Meanwhile, the blockade on the A55 at Chateauneuf les Martigues near Marseilles in both directions is still on-going.

14:20 GMT – definite signs of movement on the A25 southbound now. @laudecotte tweeted to say the convoy was moving off ‘en Escargot’ to Phalempin on the A1 south of Lille. Phew, so it doesn’t look like they’ll be there until Christmas then!

13:30 GMT – No change on the A25.

12:15 GMT – There is still a substantial queue on the A25 up to the bypass/N14 interchange.

11:30 GMT – @laudecotte has just tweeted a picture of protestors firing up the barbeque on the A25 (above).

11:10 GMT – big queue southbound on A25 up to the Rocade Nord Ouest bypass/N41 interchange. Perhaps they are not quite ready to give up yet. Situation in Paris and Marseilles much improved.

10:35 GMT – A25 Lille-Dunkirk now fully reopened in both directions.

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09:50 GMT – The blockade west of Paris – now easing – is caused by a separate demo about increased VAT on equestrian activities. The northbound A25 Lille-Dunkirk has now reopened from the north bypass (Rocade Nord Ouest). The southbound lanes are still closed. The situation on the A55 at Chateauneuf les Martigues near Marseilles in both directions is on-going.

08:45 GMT – There is still a blockade on the A55 at Chateauneuf les Martigues near Marseilles in both directions. The A25 is still closed between Lille and La Chapelle d’Armentieres in both directions though there are diversions in place. Major roads to the west of Paris are still very busy, plus the inbound A4 in the east.

08:30 GMT – Reports that the blockades have been called off around the country, or maybe just Paris. Police were well prepared and the turnout was poor. Will confirm.

08:00 GMT – Disappointing turnout for A25 blockade according to @laudecotte, a journalist with the convoy. Could be all over by lunchtime.

07:50 GMT – A25 northbound is closed from Lille to N41/Bypass North West (Rocade Nord Ouest) interchange.

07:15 GMT – the A25 southbound is closed from La Chapelle d’Armentieres to N41/Bypass North West interchange with diversion in place.

06:30 GMT – still no major disruption though journalist @laudecotte is onboard a convoy of fifteen trucks heading to Lille on the A1.

06:00 GMT – protest scheduled to start at 07:00 local time but no sign of much disruption on A25 so far though it’s definitely busy southbound.

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Drive me: 100 driverless Volvos take to the streets of Gothenburg in 2017 to mark the beginning of the end stage in autonomous vehicle development. The project is endorsed by the Swedish government as the home grown hero seeks to maintain its edge in car safety and establish leadership in the increasingly competitive race to market self-driving cars. Google, Toyota and Mercedes are all trialling similar vehicles. Around 50km of roads around Gothenburg, including motorways and traffic blackspots have been selected for the experiment.

Drive me: 100 driverless Volvos take to the streets of Gothenburg in 2017 to mark the beginning of the end stage in autonomous vehicle development. The project is endorsed by the Swedish government as the home grown hero seeks to maintain its edge in car safety and establish leadership in the increasingly competitive race to market self-driving cars. Google, Toyota and Mercedes are all trialling similar vehicles. Around 50km of roads around Gothenburg, including motorways and traffic blackspots, have been selected for the experiment.

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FRANCE. The Puymorens Tunnel in the Pyrenees – closed for safety upgrades since April 2013 – has reopened today for the Winter Season. The tunnel saves about 15 minutes for cars and 30mins for trucks over the mountain road and is a more reliable route on the N20 between Ax-les-Thermes and Puigcerda (Spain). Trucks and buses will alternate flows with waiting times posted at the entrance but cars are let through constantly. It closes again on 15 April 2014 for more work.

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Autobahn Blockade – more Ecotax demos – winter tyres Finland

Last updated 20:00 GMT.

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Channel delays: P&O Hull-Zeebrugge, cancelled today after tech issue at Hull Port. Click link for more.

Weather alerts: Amber severe weather alerts for high winds Baltic States and across the south, storms and high winds, particularly Italy.

Weather: Heavy snow in the north, storms across the south, see above. Else cold but dry.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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FRANCE. More anti-Ecotaxe road blocks are planned for tomorrow. Organised this time by Spinelli Collectif National Preservation du Transport (CNPTRF). Demonstrators plan to block the A25 between Lille and Dunkirk in both directions from 07:00, possibly until the French government cancels the Ecotaxe electronic truck toll system completely. There are also actions planned in Marseille and possibly the Paris region. Updates when we have them.

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Autobahn Blockade.

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GERMANY/AUSTRIA: The lifting of an exemption from the vignette for drivers using the A12 motorway from the German border to the ski spots in Austria sparked a temporary blockade this morning.

It’s supremely ironic in the week the incoming Grand Coalition government in Germany agreed to introduce a vignette solely for foreign drivers.

Doubly so because the idea originated in Bavaria, from where many of the protestors come.

To be fair, Austrian locals are involved too because they fear forcing tourists to buy the vignette – which costs €8.30 for ten days – will hit business, and lead to drivers diverting through villages.

The Austrian government has denied the introduction of controls is a tit for tat measure over the German vignette but even so some are referring to the dispute as the ‘Pickerl-krieg’, vignette-war. The battleground may also shift to reciprocal arrangements for cross border student tuition fees.

Drivers caught without the vignette windscreen sticker on the A12 ‘Inntalautobahn’ now face a €120 fine.

The 6km stretch of road A12/A93 between Kufstein on the Austria side and Kiefersfelden across the border will be occupied by protestors until 13:00 local time.

update 13:00 – protestors have dispersed and the road has no reopened.

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FINLAND. Winter tyres are mandatory for all vehicles from today (1 December). We reported in mid-October how winter tyres were recommended then required after early snow in northern parts of the country. Interestingly, the quote from the transport ministry says summer tyres are no longer allowed, i.e. presumably All Season tyres (marked M+S) are acceptable. We’re still chasing down an official English language source for winter tyre requirements.

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Operation Escargot

Last updated 19:45 GMT.

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Channel delays: Weather delays DFDS Newcastle-Amsterdam (Ijmuiden), check-in as normal. P&O Hull-Zeebrugge, cancellation today and tomorrow after tech issue at Hull Port. Click link for more.

Weather alerts: Red alert for thunderstorms southern Italy, amber alerts for ‘coastal event’ east Spain, snow Pyrenees, high winds northern Italy, low temps west Serbia and snow central Finland.

Weather: Cold north, unsettled around Mediterranean.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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France – countrywide go-slo ‘Operation Escargot’ truck protests.

Interactive map at www.otre.org of all protests today.

Interactive map at www.otre.org of all protests today.

FRANCE: More go-slow truck protests on major roads around France today, pushing for the cancellation of the Ecotaxe electronic truck toll system. Organised this time by the ORTE, Organisation des Transporteurs Routiers Européens. We understand light vehicles will be allowed to pass convoys but foreign HGVs will not. The action is scheduled to last until this evening. See www.orte.org or @_ORTE_ for more, or #ECOTAXE or #bonnetrouges.

roundup – France24 says severe traffic disruption was caused across the country particularly Paris, Bordeaux and Aix-en-Provence, confirmed that foreign HGVs were not allowed to pass, and that the protests would continue until Ecotaxe was cancelled entirely.

15:30 GMT – jams on inbound A1 Paris and outbound A12 northbound at Versailles. Also inbound A10 at Bordeaux.

13:30 GMT – @AFP reports mobile road blocks at or around Paris, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lyon and Lille. From Google Maps traffic however, the only hotspots currently look to be on the A1 and A6 in Paris, and the A10 and A630 ring road at Bordeaux.

11:00 GMT – roads affected in Paris, Clermont and Bordeaux as below, plus now A31 at Toul, west of Nancy.

09:10 GMT – A1, A4 and A6 around Paris very busy + A10 at Tours, A89 at Clermont Ferrand and A10 and A630 ring at Bordeaux.

08:25 GMT – no problems on the roads so far.

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GEORGIA;

GEORGIA: the western part of Georgia’s east-west highway is to be completed thanks to a loan from the EU’s European Investment Bank. Stretching 183km between Batumi on the Black Sea coast and Zestafoni, with a 10km spur down to the extraordinary customs building on the Turkish border at Sarpi (above, by J Meyer H architects) the road should open in 2017.

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Greece tolls up 60% – Blind Mules – Brussels Christmas parking

Last updated 16:15 GMT.

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Channel delays: accident on approach road to Dunkirk Port (see below). Diversion in place, allow extra time. Weather delays DFDS Newcastle-Amsterdam (Ijmuiden) today and tomorrow. Check-in as normal.

Weather alerts: Amber alert for snow Bavaria, south east Germany.

Weather: Heavy snow north. Unsettled in the Mediterranean otherwise dry.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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GREECE TOLLS UP 60%

Ignatia Odos:

Egnatia Odos (motorway) E90: Igoumenitsa-Thessaloniki-Turkey.

Road tolls rise by up to 60% from 1 January for all vehicles.

The 625 mile round trip between Athens and Thessaloniki will now cost €60.

Rather than more austerity measures, the rises are necessary to adjust the concession contracts under which Greece’s motorways are built and maintained, and to get the go ahead on the remaining parts of the network.

‘By the end of 2015, the country will have the modern highways that we need and we deserve,’ says Infrastructure Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis.

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To demonstrate its road safety policy is not just about thinking of ever more elaborate ways to catch motorists speeding,

As if to demonstrate its road safety policy is not limited to dreaming up ever more elaborate ways to catch speeding motorists, the French Ministry of the Interior commissioned this ‘hard hitting’ advert from Facto Saatchi & Saatchi. Some might think it a bit literal to compare a steering wheel with a funeral wreath but it’s been an enormous hit with viewers, voted one of the ten best advertising posters in the week of 4 November on minutebuzz.com, according to a press released from Securite Routiere.

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ALL DRIVERS are advised to keep an extra close eye on their vehicles over the next few weeks.

International haulier @BoatShiftSimon saw several ‘douanes’ customs teams in France yesterday on his way north, on the A75 around Clermont Ferrand and again on the A71 at Bourges.

The yacht he was carrying was searched at one point by officers carrying tools to check behind panels. The roadside checks also included tourists’ cars and vans.

It comes two days after a truck driver was caught smuggling 320kg of cannabis concealed in the roof at Greek port Patras bound for Italy.

The inference is that law enforcement is responding to a flood of drugs ahead of the Christmas period. However, a spokesman for Europol tells us there’s no general anti-drug smuggling campaign in Europe currently.

Nevertheless, following reports of Blind Mule smuggling in America – where unwitting drivers have drugs concealed on their vehicles without their knowledge – it pays to be vigilant.

Clearly, vehicles with GB plates obviously heading for home are vulnerable, as they are to illegal immigrant stowaways. Report any suspicious activity to police on the pan European emergency phone number 112.

A spokesperson for the UK Border Agency tells us they cannot comment on any operational matters, or the borders or policies of other countries, or give advice to drivers concerned about Blind Mule scams.

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BULGARIA: As a national motorway network begins to emerge - with another 145km currently under construction - attention turns to the main roads, some parts of which haven't been repaired for thirty years. Transport minister Desislava Terzieva announced that 700km of regional roads will be resurfaced in 2014 with additional sums set aside for maintenance and snow clearing. Back in the summer we had a good experience with Bulgarian roads - above the E79 from the Greece border - apart from one massive pothole that necessitated an afternoon shopping trip around Sofis for a new tyre.

BULGARIA: As a national motorway network begins to emerge – with another 145km currently under construction – attention turns to the main roads, some of which haven’t been repaired for thirty years. Transport minister Desislava Terzieva announced today that 700km of regional roads will be resurfaced in 2014 with additional sums set aside for maintenance and snow clearing. Back in the summer we had a good experience with Bulgarian roads – above the E79 from the Greece border – apart from one massive pothole that necessitated an afternoon shopping trip around Sofia for a new tyre.

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BELGIUM. Park on the inner Brussels ring road from €5 per day, get free bus tickets and a cup of hot cocoa during the Christmas season. The city council has posted parking arrangements between 29 Nov-5 Jan. There are no preferential rates however within the inner ‘Pentagon’ ring road. The P+R site on the outer ring is free, including bus tickets and cocoa. Check the Grand Place Christmas Market webcam here. Also, shops will be open on Sundays 15 and 22 December, up until 19:00. LITHUANIA. Ignore reports that the 185km, E28 Vilnius-Minsk highway has been refurbished. In fact, just 11km between Vilnius and the Belarus border has been widened, to 9m, with new pavements and pedestrian crossings. It is however back in operation four months ahead of schedule. FINLAND. Amid a debate over de-nationalising roads builder Destia comes the biggest overpayment scandal in Finnish legal history. A cartel of eight private construction companies will pay €40m in damages to forty municipalities after overcharging 15-20% for works done from 1994-2002. PORTSMOUTH. Work starts this week on a new canopy to cover all check-in booths at the ferry port entrance. Should be completed by Easter 2014. DUNKIRK. A British couple died shortly after disembarking the ferry this morning when their car was crushed between two trucks. According to reports, the first vehicle slowed suddenly and the one behind was unable to stop in time. Breath tests proved negative. The road linking the A16 coast motorway and the port is notoriously convoluted and poorly signed. It was closed for several hours afterwards. The couple, both aged 54, are yet to be identified.

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Interpol car crime conf – Serb back road refurb – Bentley Bucuresti

Last updated 20:00 GMT.

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Channel delays: 30min DFDS Dover-Calais due to port movements at Calais.

Weather alerts: Amber alerts for high winds Baltic States’ coast and Slovakia.

Weather: Fog Germany. Unsettled in central Europe, cloud and rain. Cold Scandinavia.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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LYON. An international three day conference on vehicle crime at Interpol headquarters ends today. One of the subjects under discussion has been Project INVEX, a system of ‘enhanced detection capabilities’ based around Interpol’s SMV Stolen Motor Vehicles database. It’s currently partnered with four unnamed car manufacturers and looking to expand. Pic via Martin Evans, @HeadofCMPG.

LYON. An international three day conference on vehicle crime at Interpol headquarters ends today. One of the subjects under discussion has been Project INVEX, a system of ‘enhanced detection capabilities’ based around Interpol’s SMV Stolen Motor Vehicles database. It’s currently partnered with four unnamed car manufacturers and looking to expand. Pic via Martin Evans, @HeadofCMPG.

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Traffic calming:

Traffic calming: Serbia is likely to net a tidy chunk of the €10bn Chinese infrastructure fund being dished out in Bucharest this week, mainly for its Belgrade-Adriatic motorway. At the same time, it embarks on a €390m five year project to rebuild 1,100km of other roads in the country. Two thirds of the money comes from loans by the EU’s EIB and EBRD and The World Bank, announced today. Above, on the way to Belgrade from Mali Zvornik on the Bosnian border. 

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Bentley Bucuresti:

Bentley Bucuresti: in a sure sign of something, Bentley has opened its 45th European dealership, in Romanian capital Bucharest. The new showroom is on Bulevardul Pipera, north of the city centre just inside the ring road, close to Baneasa Forest. Further down is a cluster of other dealerships, Porsche, Audi, etc, though Bentley has developed a brown field site from scratch. Star of the opening last night was this newly-launched 520bhp POA Continental V8 S. The manufacturer has sold 1,081 cars in Europe so far this year, up 14% on the same period in 2012.

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German vignette agreed – D-Day Eurotunnel/MFL

Last updated 20:30 GMT.

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Channel delays: 15min delays DFDS Calais-Dover 23:00 due to port movements.

Weather alerts: Amber alerts low temps south west Spain, high winds low temps central Italy, high winds Croatia, snow Serbia and Bulgaria.

Weather: Gales Scandinavia. Rain and showers Mediterranean. Cold central Europe, cold in the south.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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EUROTUNNEL/MYFERRYLINK. The Competition Appeals Tribunal decision – about whether to uphold the Competition Commission’s ruling that the Eurotunnel backed Dover-Calais ferry operator MyFerryLink is unfair competition to P&O and DFDS – will be published next Wednesday (4 December). The respective operators are keeping their powder dry about what they will do should the decision go against them but, either way, the result is likely to have major implications.

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GERMAN ‘TRAMP STAMP’ GETS THE GO-AHEAD.

Soon all drivers will have to pay to drive on German roads.

Soon all drivers will pay a toll to drive on German motorways. Charges currently only apply to vehicles over 12t.

The ‘foreign driver’ road tax has been agreed. The two main political parties – CDU/CSU and SDP – concluded negotiations on a new Coalition government early this morning.

On the proviso that ‘no German vehicle owner would be burdened extra’, and that the move does not fall foul of EU anti-discrimination laws, all foreign registered cars (trucks are already subject to an electronic toll system) will pay a fee to drive on the autobahns.

EU Transport commissioner Siim Kallas gave the scheme the provisional go-ahead earlier this month.

The idea is that all drivers will pay the fee but German residents will be rebated through lower vehicle taxes, similar to the ‘HGV road user levy’ to be introduced in the UK next April.

As in neighbouring Austria and Switzerland, it seems that only drivers using the motorways need buy the ‘vignette’. Those using back roads need not pay.

There’s no start date set yet. An annual charge of €80 has been suggested but not confirmed.

The Coalition deal has to be ratified by the 470,000 members of the SDP with the result expected on 14 December.

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roundup: SWITZERLAND. Media Markt was stopped from selling cut price vignettes yesterday, not because they were cheap – it was knocking them out at a loss-leading 29.95CHF – but because they were being sold ahead of the official 1 December on-sale date. The Swiss annual vignette is valid from 1 Dec of the preceding year until 31 Jan the following year. LUXEMBOURG. Police are reminding drivers they face a €74 fine for not properly de-icing all windows, clearing snow off vehicles and making sure licence plates are visible. EU. The FIA, ERF, IRU, ACEA, EuroRAP and Euro NCAP join in a combined call on the ‘Commission to improve the state of Europe’s roads. Basically they say unmaintained/improved roads are not just unsafe but also hold back new technologies – lane departure, traffic sign recognition, etc – that would make all road users’ lives better. They have a new report out: ‘Roads that cars can read’. In return, transport commissioner Siim Kallas said – in a speech at an FIA conference today – the industry should think up its best ideas for connected cars and roads ahead of an ‘informal’ EU28 Transport Council meeting next May.

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Chinese advance on Balkan roads – Ciao Gallardo – Lucky Lux taxi

Last updated 18:00 GMT.

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Channel delays: none reported currently.

Weather alerts: Amber alerts Avalanche north Norway & Finland; High Winds Italy, north east Spain, Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro; Snow Montenegro, Serbia and Bulgaria.

Weather: Dry central Europe, rain in the south, snow high ground. Wind and rain north.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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NORTHERN IRELAND. Vehicle checkpoints will return to Belfast in the run up to Christmas after a car was hijacked, packed with 130lb of explosives and driven to a shopping centre on Monday. The device failed to detonate but police say there will be ‘a very visible presence, in key locations at key times’ though a ring-of-steel style cordon has been ruled out.

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A lucky taxi driver survived a 60 foot drop off the side of Cote d’Eich in Luxembourg last night with only cuts and bruises. Cote d’Eich, r7, is the main road into the city centre in the north, along the Alzette Valley. The driver apparently lost control before smashing through the barrier and rolling several times down the sharp incline.

A lucky taxi driver survived a 60 foot drop off the side of Cote d’Eich in Luxembourg last night with only cuts and bruises. Cote d’Eich, R7, is the main road to the city centre from the north, along the picturesque but very steep sided Alzette Valley. The driver apparently lost control before smashing through the barrier and barrel-rolling several times down the sharp incline.

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Chinese advance on Balkan roads.

With a $10bn Chinese infrastructure fund set aside to invest in the Balkans, and deals already done on new roads in Montenegro and Macedonia, meetings are being held to allocate the rest.

Chinese prime minister Li Kequiang is attending the Heads of State of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) summit in Bucharest this week.

Top of Serbia’s wish list is a substantial stretch of the Belgrade-South Adriatic highway (from Obrenovac to Ljig), sections of which are already being built by Chinese companies.

In Bulgaria, Chinese investors have already expressed an interest in building a tunnel under the Petrohan Pass, the shortest route across the north west of country between Sofia and the border with Romania.

There is also talk of involvement in the already-under-construction Shipka Pass tunnel in the centre of the Bulgaria, to help complete the north-south axis from Bucharest to Alexandropoulis on the Aegean Sea.

Most exciting however is the Black Sea Ring, a 7,000km road around the Black Sea, connecting twelve countries plus off shoots to Albania, Serbia and Azerbaijan. Plans are currently at the feasibility study stage though building on the section through Bulgaria, between Varna and Burgas, could start in 2016 with help from the Chinese.

Meanwhile, Romania is expected to get the nod from both the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) to build the first trans-Carpathian motorway, between Comarnic and Brasov.

With major technical challenges still to overcome, the 58km, €1.3bn road is likely to open in 2017.

Finally, Bulgarian and Romanian authorities have started formal negotiations on the next Danube Bridge, one of three under discussion. The crossing between Silistra and Calarasi, to the east of Bucharest, will be built under Private-Public Partnership with a Romanian company said to be already in the running.

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Desperado: the final Lamborghini Gallardo rolls off the production line - a LP570-4 Spyder Performante in Rosso mars - in Sant Agata, Italy, yesterday

Desperado: the final Lamborghini Gallardo rolls off the production line – a LP570-4 Spyder Performante in Rosso Mars – at the factory in Sant Agata, Italy, yesterday. Almost half the Lamborghinis ever built have been Gallardos.

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roundup: FRANCE. French News Online takes an out-of-season drive down the ‘remarkable’ D907 Gorges du Tarn in southern France, just off the A75 north of the Millau Viaduct. CYPRUS. The respective authorities are in talks with the European Commission about re-establishing a ferry route between Greece and Cyprus according to local reports. Surprisingly, a car ferry link has not been available for many years. Read the Daily Telegraph’s summation of current seaborne services. NETHERLANDS. From 1 January 2014, the two-part vehicle registration paper document will be replaced by a single credit card-sized smart card. BELARUS. The Chernigovets open cast coal mine in southern Siberia has taken delivery of the first of the OAO BelAZ 75710 monster dumper trucks. With a payload of 450 tonnes the 75710 is the word’s biggest truck and built strictly to order. Chernigovets has bought three though 75710s are expected to also see service in established OAO BelAZ markets in the southern hemisphere like Australia and New Zealand.

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Luxembourg winter tyre confusion – Baku WC – Volvo XC90 – next gen SPECS Belgium

Last updated 19:45 GMT.

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Channel delays: 15min DFDS Dover Calais, ex Dover 21:15, Calais 23:00.

Weather alerts: Amber alerts high winds Italy, north east Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia and Montenegro. Storms Greece.

Weather: Heavy snow north east. Windy. Cold. Rain/sleet Italy.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

NOTE: Mont Blanc Tunnel closes overnight for maintenance, 22-06:00. Traffic diverts via Frejus Tunnel.

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BELGIUM. Police in Flanders are rolling out the next gen, networked SPECS average-speed radar cameras. Via ANPR number plate recognition, as well as speed violations the cameras flag blacklisted cars, or those without insurance or valid MOTs. Already in use at Mechelen on the A1 between Brussels and Antwerp, 27 out of the 117 police zones in Flanders – the northern half of Belgium – will have SPECS by next year.

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Coming soon: the all-new Volvo XC90. Pic via @VolvoSalesUK.

Coming soon: the all-new Volvo XC90. Powered by new four cylinder engines, some with a new ‘twin engine’ hybrid. Pic via @VolvoSalesUK.

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LUXEMBOURG. The laws on winter tyres introduced in 2012 do not apparently apply to foreign-registered vehicles.

Wort.lu reports the Automobile Club of Luxembourg (ACL) is asking for the law to be clarified after cross-border workers appealed last year and won an exemption based on the 1968 Vienna Convention on International Traffic.

ACL says the lack of clarity also hampers police: only 190 fines have been issued so far and ‘few [checks] have gone further than to give a verbal warning’.

We previously understood – from Highway Code extracts via the Luxembourg Tourist Board – that all cars (‘from anywhere matriculated’) must have winter (or M+S marked All Season) tyres in snow and ice in Luxembourg from 1 October. However, ACL now says even this date is not precise.

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Baku: Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor won the race, and the FIA GT Series championship, at yesterday’s inaugural Baku World Challenge, around the streets of the Azerbaijani capital. The event went well, save for an errant curb repaired during the race, and looks set to become the regular season closer in the renamed Blancpain Sprint series. It was a race of highs and lows for rising Mclaren F1 star and Jenson Button protégé Stoffel Vandoorne, @svandoorne: ‘And that was it for the @FIAGTSeries race in Baku. It really hurts to see our car retire with electronical problem when being in the lead :(‘ Pic via www.fiagtseries.com ©V-IMAGES.com/Fabre

Baku: Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor won the race, and the FIA GT Series championship, at yesterday’s inaugural Baku World Challenge, around the streets of the Azerbaijani capital. The event went well, save for an errant curb repaired during the race, and looks set to become the regular season closer in the renamed Blancpain Sprint series. It was a race of highs and lows for rising Mclaren F1 star and Jenson Button protégé Stoffel Vandoorne, behind above, @svandoorne: ‘And that was it for the @FIAGTSeries race in Baku. It really hurts to see our car retire with electronical problem when being in the lead :-(.’ Pic via www.fiagtseries.com  ©V-IMAGES.com/Fabre

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Switzerland says No!

Last updated 18:45 GMT.

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Channel delays: Condor Ferries Guernsey-Jersey-Portsmouth rescheduled later.

Weather alerts: Amber alerts high winds north east Spain, heavy rain Hungary/Slovenia and storms southern Italy and Greece.

Weather: Windy France and Spain. Snow north and central, heavy in Bavaria.

See Travel/Traffic/Weather for more.

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SWISS VOTERS REJECT VIGNETTE PRICE HIKE. SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Switzerland: the A2 heading south, just ahead of the Gotthard Tunnel

Swiss voters have resoundingly rejected the government’s plan to increase the price of the annual motorway vignette from 40CHF to 100CHF (£27-68).

An unexpected 60.5% of citizens voted against the proposal, which also included a 40CHF two-month vignette for tourists, and shifting responsibility for nearly 400km of roads from the regional to the national authorities.

So what happens next?

The Swiss Embassy in London told @DriveEurope on Friday that, ‘The government will take note of the result after the vote. If the increase of the vignette price and transfer of some road networks to the national authority is rejected, the government can still make future proposals on the way forward after further deliberation.’

Before the vote, transport minister Doris Leuthard hinted that fuel duty could rise by up to 9c per litre to pay for road improvements if the vignette rise was voted down.

That news caused a storm which may come to be credited with shifting a battle that polls had said was too close to call.

The most likely alternative would be bad news for foreign motorists. The 100CHF vignette itself struggled through parliament. Right up until December 2012 most parties accepted a rise to 70CHF.

With citizens also voting against exceptions for tourists, a take it or leave it 70CHF vignette looks to be on the cards.

Also uncertain is the effect this Swiss vote will have on negotiations over a ‘foreign driver’ charge in Germany, first proposed because German drivers have to pay to drive in neighbouring countries.

Discussions on that charge were postponed two weeks ago for the final round of Coalition negotiations starting, no doubt coincidentally, tomorrow.

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update 25.11.13: according to local press, via thelocal.ch, the transport ministry is working on ‘a new proposal for a road traffic fund that will be submitted for public consultation next year’.

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