No public means to remove crashed lorries. Government admits gap after Málaga MA-20 gridlock

The central government has admitted that it has no public means of its own to remove broken-down or crashed lorries from the roads of Málaga province, according to Diario Sur and SUR in English. The admission, made in an earlier parliamentary reply, has drawn attention after a lorry accident on the MA-20 caused traffic chaos in and around Málaga city.

Key facts

• Who: Neither the Ministry of Transport nor the DGT (national traffic authority) has its own roadside assistance, or contracted specialist firms, for removing heavy vehicles, per Diario Sur.
• Where: The latest accident happened on Wednesday night in the Carlos Haya false tunnel on the MA-20, a state-run motorway.
• Impact: Drivers faced what Diario Sur described as a total breakdown of the road network in Málaga and the wider metropolitan area for most of Thursday.
• Document: A parliamentary reply, dated late last year, answered questions from the PP (Partido Popular).

The accident and the delays

According to SUR in English, a lorry overturned onto an electric taxi in the Carlos Haya tunnel on Wednesday. Diario Sur said the delay in clearing the vehicle from the carriageway led to the gridlock on Thursday.

Both outlets reported that the MA-20 was later reopened to traffic.

What the government said

In its reply, the central government said there is not, and has never been, any specific protocol for removing heavy vehicles. The quoted words, as reported by SUR in English, were that "there is not, nor has there ever been, any specific protocol for the removal of heavy goods vehicles".

Traffic pressure

Diario Sur noted that Málaga did not have such high traffic volumes in the past. It said rising housing costs and the arrival of new residents have multiplied the number of vehicles, while road capacity has not increased.

Málaga Hoy has also run a piece on the issue, reporting that a year after the last major lorry accident on the A-7 the DGT still has no tow truck. The excerpt available gives no further detail.

What it means for drivers

For people who commute on the MA-20 and other main routes, the reply suggests that clearing a large vehicle after a crash depends on arrangements that are not covered by a dedicated state protocol. Updates on road conditions are available from the DGT.