Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.

From the New Europe: 106 cars collide in a snow storm

by Iva Skoch (RSS feed) on Mar 21st 2008 at 5:55PM

They don't call the D1, the major Czech highway, a "death trap" for nothing. Yesterday morning amidst a surprising spring snow storm which brought down as much as one inch of snow within minutes, the D1 turned into a bloody mess. Lucky me, I drove to Prague from Moravia just hours before the accident happened.

It all started with two semi trucks getting stuck mid-hill (summer tires?) about halfway between Prague and Brno and no less than 106 cars couldn't stop in time and ended up building the most impressive car pile up in the country's history.

Both directions of the highway, which is a major international artery in this region, were closed the entire day. Twenty thousand people got stranded on the side of the road in the freezing cold. Amazingly enough, nobody was killed, although 8 people were seriously injured.

If you ever want to rent a car here and drive around the country, please remember the D1 is not for the faint of heart.

Filed under: Europe, Czech Republic, Transportation