Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
Storm Sabine was responsible for a whole load of travel chaos at the beginning of this week - and now, the weather is causing even more problems for drivers in Germany.
Strong winds combined with patches of black ice made for treacherous conditions on the roads on Tuesday night. Parts of the Autobahn had to be closed after several motorists were involved in accidents. People are being warned to drive carefully.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, part of the Autobahn 45 near Siegen was completely shut for several hours on Tuesday night. According to the police, the road froze so quickly that trucks became stuck on uphill stretches, preventing other vehicles from getting any further. There were several accidents, but no one was seriously injured.
Other incidents also occurred in Schleswig-Holstein on the Autobahn 7 and the Autobahn 23, north of Hamburg. Most only involved damage to vehicles and fortunately no one was injured. Authorities said that the accidents were most likely caused by the heavy rain, which had made the streets muddy.
In Baden-Württemberg, however, people weren’t so lucky. Three were seriously injured in a collision involving two cars. Police suspect that one car slid over to the opposite lane, into oncoming traffic.
In northeastern Bavaria, slippery roads were also responsible for a series of incidents, including a few crashes and breakdowns. Several cars were also abandoned when their drivers could get no further. There were no reports of serious injuries.
These incidents come on the tail of storm Sabine, which has been battering Germany since the start of the week. Although conditions are still blustery (the DWD is predicting stormy weather for Wednesday, with more rain, sleet and even snow showers expected), the worst appears to now be over.
According to Deutsche Bahn, trains are back up and running in most parts of the country - with the exception of Baden-Württemberg, where individual sections are still closed, and Bavaria, where the Werdenfelsbahn is still at a standstill.
The insurance broker Aon has estimated that in Germany, the damages caused by the storm come to somewhere between 500 and 700 million euros.