Is organised convoy driving behind a snowplough common anywhere outside Norway? [closed]
Last Sunday I was driving on the European route E10 and we had to pass the Bjørnfjell pass at the border between Norway and Sweden. In principle the Bjørnfjell road is open all year, but may be closed due to bad weather, as reported by vegvesen.no on the Norwegian side and trafikverket.se on the Swedish side. This was the sight at we approached the road:
Now, it looks like the road is closed. However, the Norwegian road authority in this case chooses a hybrid between closing and opening the road, a hybrid that does not exist in Sweden: kolonnekjøring or organised convoy driving. In a nutshell, this means that the snowplough drives back and forth over the part of the road that may be closed, and the cars drive slowly in a convoy behind the snowplough. As soon as the last car has passed, the road is closed again, until the next round (I think there is a car from the traffic agency following the last car for safety reasons). See also this youtube clip.
For most roads this occurs as necessary and there is no exact timetable. In Finnmark, however, convoy driving happens according to a timetable per road, a timetable that is adapted to times for ferries, schools, church services, etc.
Does such scheduled or unscheduled convoy driving, as a compromise between closing a road due to bad weather or keeping it open, exist anywhere outside Norway?
Pictures about "Is organised convoy driving behind a snowplough common anywhere outside Norway? [closed]"
What is driving in convoy?
Driving in a convoy, driving too close and being in a \u201cchain\u201d of vehicles increases the drivers' chances of a serious collision with two or more vehicles due to: The significant reduction of being able to see the hazards ahead. Not being able to easily anticipate what other road users may do.Do Norwegians drive on the right side of the road?
What side of the road do they drive on in Norway? Like most of mainland Europe, motorists drive on the right-hand side of the road in Norway.Can you drive around Norway in winter?
Traffic generally runs as normal during snowfall, albeit at a slower speed. An impressive army of trucks and tractors are employed to keep the main roads \u2013 especially around cities \u2013 open, but some roads at high altitudes can be closed temporarily. Some mountain passes are always closed during the winter.Do they plow streets in Norway?
Winter driving in Norway can be a unique and sometimes scary experience for those of us from warmer climates. In general, and depending on the amount of snowfall, the roads are not fully plowed, but rather a layer of compacted snow/ice is allowed to remain.Driver gives up close look at plowing
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Images: Tim Samuel, Tim Samuel, Elijah O'Donnell, Erik Mclean