Weather
Accidents due to ice and snow – there is no major chaos
Accident vehicles stand on the snow-covered street in Heilsbronn. photo
© David Oßwald/NEWS5/dpa
Snow and slippery conditions continue to have most of Germany under control in the middle of the week. There were a few accidents on the roads. The German Weather Service warns of the risk of slippery roads.
Winter continues to have Germany under control: some people had snow and black ice on the roads on Tuesday evening Accidents ensured. But there was no major chaos for the time being. However, caution still applies on the roads. The German Weather Service (DWD) issued an official ice warning for most of Germany, which is valid until 11 a.m. It’s expected to stay wintry until at least the weekend.
Because of black ice, there were two mass collisions in Middle Franconia in Bavaria on Tuesday evening. Eight people were injured, two of them seriously, the police announced that night. A 35-year-old driver lost control on a snow-covered road near Heilsbronn (Ansbach district) due to inadequate speed and collided with four cars. Shortly afterwards there was a collision involving ten cars on a bridge near Gunzenhausen (Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen district).
In Leipzig in Saxony, four cars and an ambulance slid into each other on a slippery road on Tuesday evening. Five people were slightly injured, the police said. According to initial information, the ambulance was traveling with its blue lights on. A car turned sideways while braking. As a result, the other cars collided with each other.
Weather-related accidents
There were also weather-related accidents in Lower Saxony. A car crashed into a tree on a snow-covered road near Bassum in the Diepholz district. A 29-year-old passenger was seriously injured and the 26-year-old driver was slightly injured. There was snow in many parts of the north overnight. However, there were initially no major restrictions.
“Even though there is a little snow here in Bremen, we don’t have any traffic chaos on the roads yet,” said a spokeswoman for the situation center that night. In Schleswig-Holstein, too, the snow has not yet led to any significant accidents or disruptions, according to the situation center there.
In Thuringia, despite the sometimes “tense snow conditions”, there are normal accidents, according to the situation center. “The weather situation has calmed down and the slippery conditions have eased,” said a spokesman for the situation center in Saxony. At the situation center in Brandenburg, a spokesman did not expect possible accidents due to the weather conditions until the morning hours.
The situation is easing in West Hesse
In West Hesse, which was particularly affected by the snowfall at the beginning of the week, the situation eased. Almost all closed roads were reopened. “It’s normalized, spreading has been and is being done everywhere. But it’s supposed to continue to be slippery, so let’s see what’s next,” said a spokeswoman for the West Hesse Police Headquarters.
A meteorologist from the DWD said this morning: “It remains wintry across the board and there is relatively widespread snow.” Today there is occasional snowfall regionally. “The large quantities come at the weekend,” said the weather expert. Then it will get colder again. Due to permanent frost in many regions, slippery conditions are still possible.