An exceptional peak of 955 km of traffic jams was reached at midday on Saturday, a day classified red in the direction of departure, due in particular to an accident on the A7 near Orange, which left two people dead.
A level of plugs "much higher" than last year
"The situation is exceptional. The level of traffic jams is much higher than that of Saturday, July 13, 2019," said Bison smoked in a press release. Already loaded at the start of the morning due to vacation departures, traffic intensified further south, especially on the A7 due to the accident of a single vehicle, shortly after 9:30 am near Piolenc, in Vaucluse, where two passengers were killed and two others slightly injured, according to the operator Vinci Autoroutes. The victims are part of the same family.
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The accident, the circumstances of which were not specified, immediately generated a massive slowdown which should last the day, with traffic being on "one lane instead of three then two lanes", according to the same source.
Five hour drive between Lyon and Orange
The journey time at 1 p.m. was thus 5 hours instead of 1h35 between Lyon and Orange. In the other direction of the highway, a "curiosity" plug lengthened the journey of users by 20 minutes. On the Atlantic coast, vacationers also had to work their brakes on the A10, which Vinci also manages, putting 3 hours from Poitiers to Bordeaux instead of 2 hours 10 minutes. For the reverse route, 45 minutes more. Finally, between Toulouse and Narbonne, on the A61, we recorded a journey time of 1h40 instead of 1h20.
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Sunday will be orange in the direction of departures in Île-de-France
Finally on the A43, Bison Fûté recorded a 24-kilometer traffic jam in Isère at midday, from Saint-Quentin-Fallavier to Cessieu. "It will remain tense until the end of the afternoon," warned Vinci Autoroutes.
Sunday, the day will be classified orange for departures in Île-de-France and the Greater West.