The storm moves in – in the middle of the Christmas traffic

On the busiest day of the year, the Swedish Transport Administration expects a large number of accidents as a result of storm Pia.

– Storm Pia will affect almost the entire southern half of the country, up to Gävleborg county, says Peter Kondrup, meteorologist.

Bengt Olsson is press manager at the Swedish Transport Administration and believes that the combination of storm Pia and the Christmas holiday is unfortunate.

– It is a challenge, definitely.

Traveling during the Christmas holiday and the risk of accidents due to the weather will mean that several roads are at risk of becoming congested.

– These are the roads we expect to see a lot of traffic on. These are not the ones you should avoid, but these are the ones you should choose, but you will definitely not be alone, says Bengt Olsson.

Here are the caveats

In Roslagen, around Gävle and in southern Sweden, the Swedish Transport Administration has taken preventive measures.

– In Skåne we are preparing to cancel a number of local train connections due to the strong wind, says Bengt Olsson.

Storm Pia has already moved in over the southern parts of the country and there are three factors that will have an impact.

– Rain, snow and wind will cause it a lot, especially down in southern Sweden, says Peter Kondrup and continues:

– We have several warnings. We have snowfall combined with wind both in central and northern Götaland, eastern Svealand and also in the Gävlet region there is an orange warning.

Here are the paths you should choose

Head-on collisions are one of the most common and violent accidents in traffic.

– That’s where you get hurt the most and most seriously. Center-separated roads are growing more and more as time goes by, feel free to choose such roads now, says Bengt Olsson.

He also gives some tips for those who are going to hit the roads during the busiest day of the year.

– It is important to be able to keep your distance, keep your speed and not make any hasty movements. Take a look at the side of the road as well because there will be a lot of big game that like to hang out on the roads.