During Friday evening, parts of E22 in Skåne were closed when trucks and cars needed to be towed in the snowy weather that swept over the county – even on E6, trucks were towed.
The industry organization Sveriges åkeriföretag believes that the major traffic impact has several causes. Partly, there are no requirements for winter tires for heavy vehicles until December 1, while the organization wants to see requirements from November 1.
The first vehicle cannot stop, then it becomes this long queue, with five centimeters of snow and slippery roads, then it's hard to get going. And if there's a hill ahead, then it almost doesn't matter what tires you have, says Charlotta Sved.
Better Winter Road Maintenance Needed
Better winter road maintenance and more resources for road maintenance are also something the organization is calling for.
Everyone has a responsibility when they go out, but it assumes that as much as possible has been done and that there are resources that plow. There, we see that it can be sharpened further.
Transport companies often have requirements to deliver a certain goods at a certain time, and if they don't, the company gets a fine. Charlotta Sved points out that companies must have a dialogue with the customer if they cannot drive in the road conditions. Sveriges åkeriföretag also believes that more rest stops are needed.
If you're already on the road, you often have nowhere to stop because rest stops often become full immediately.
Information to Foreign Drivers
Many trucks on Sweden's roads are foreign. Therefore, Sveriges åkeriföretag wants to see Trafikverket reach out more broadly with traffic and weather information, especially after the situation last winter on E22. Charlotta Sved also points out that foreign drivers have a great deal of pressure on them to deliver.
There is a great deal of personal responsibility on companies if they know they are going to send a vehicle into another country.
