Munich. Bavaria's snow and ice is making driving difficult and dangerous. Last night there were numerous accidents, with some highways blocked for many hours, informed the Bavarian police headquarters. Especially hard was Upper Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate, where the number of accidents dramatically increased. In Franconia and Swabia, the night was mostly quiet.

On Highway 3 in Lower Bavaria, there were four major accidents.  The motorway had to be completely blocked for four hours. Because of the accident traffic going in the opposite direction was also affected. One driver saw the traffic jam too late and crashed into the tail of the queue. He was trapped in his car and badly injured. His co-driver suffered minor injuries.

Also in the direction of Austria, a British truck that was loaded with 4.5 tons of clothes started to spin on the A3 Deggendorf. It broke the outer protection barrier and came to settle on the adjoining slope. The driver was only slightly injured. The fuel leaked from the tank and the highway had to be completely blocked while emergency crews deal with the spillage.

In the Upper Palatinate, the police counted 28 accidents in which four people were slightly injured. In Franconia two trucks crashed on a slippery road on the highway 3 Würzburg-Nuremberg.  Police are urging motorists to drive slowly and with caution, ensuring they use winter types and tyre chains if necessary.