REPORTAGE
Two days after the serious accident of the Nationale 2, which caused the death of four children in Laon, in the Aisne, the driver of the truck has just been indicted for "manslaughter". A few tens of minutes earlier, he had just committed a hit and run a little further south, in Soissons. In this period of great transhumance on the roads and therefore of increased risk of accidents, truck controls are stepped up, as on the A3 motorway, north of Paris, where 16,000 heavy goods vehicles circulate every day.
Objective: to "reduce accidents"
"The man, he has plenty of things: technical control, the fire extinguisher, the smooth tire", details the CRS Sébastien about a heavy truck immobilized on the emergency lane. The accumulation of violations observed represents a risk for the driver and other drivers: "Put together, these little things mean that his safety devices do not work well, if he has to make emergency braking because a car that breaks down in front of him. " "When we are wrong, we are wrong", assumes the driver of the offending heavy vehicle. "Our job is to drive. After that, there are rules to follow to avoid accidents."
>> Find all the newspapers of the editorial staff of Europe 1 in replay and podcast here
The recent tragedy in the Aisne has had a profound impact on truck drivers. He also recalls the need for more checks. "Enforcing safety distances, speed, driving times, rest times, getting to have correct equipment, all this reduces accidents", insists Jean-Paul Vernet, commander of the North Island motorway CRS of France. "Getting these types of vehicles off the road will save lives."
Black day Saturday for departures
Controls will therefore be even stricter, as the great crossover between Julyists and Aoutiens begins on Friday. The day of Saturday is thus classified black by Bison Futé in the direction of the departures and the circulation will be "extremely difficult" on a large majority of the territory.