Does anyone have any idea where to go for this?
Hello all, we spent a very frustrating 4 hours in the car coming down from Les Diablarets to Aigle and finally the jam ended near Vevey on the way to Geneva Airport. Unsurprisingly we missed our return flight and my insurance company wants proof from the equivalent of the Highways Agency.
Ask TCS maybe?
Absolutely forseeable, every weekend after 14.00-15.00 hrs the highway and roads get blocked up from Valais towards Geneva.
This is not a "force majeur" as it is entirely previsable.
If however there was a major accident this would change the scenario and you maybe entitled to some compensation.
Try contacting police from canton of Vaud, they will be able to tell you if their was an accident or not.
There is no need to be so aggressive.
You have no idea of the wording of the contract. You are not a lawyer. The OP is asking how to gather evidence concerning the traffic situation at the time. It's up to the insurer to decide if it is foreseeable or not, and, ultimately, up to a court to decide whether the insurers' decision is correct in law (should they decide against).
I haven’t researched this, but this may give you a start. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/bin...ectedfrom=MSDN
Indeed- however, anyone who knows the area will tell you it is the case every winter week-end, and especially now during school holidays. It is up to the traveller to make enquiries about conditions- and had they asked the Hôtel reception, or Tourist Info, etc- they would have been told that that is the case.
We did the journey to a resort on the other side of the Valley last Sunday, and the West bound side of the Motorway was like a huge car-park.
Could you really claim for missing your flight because the M25 is busy at peak time to access Gatwick or Heathrow?
I've skied often in that area and never had a problem. Of course, we go home about 9am on Saturday morning because otherwise the traffic is bad. Four hours does seem a little long though.
Sure. If the insurer only asks for proof of congestion rather than excessive congestion, then that's their problem.
Let’s blame the airlines! It’s always their fault. They should have held the plane!
Hardly agressive, factual and it's been like this since 30 years
Much longer! Both Saturdays, when rentals finish, and Sundays when those with second homes, etc, return home.
Les Diablarets To Geneva Airport via public transport is 2 hours 45 minutes. Trains might be full, but they are dependable.
Sorry to stoke up so much passion. Clearly it's an issue - we allowed an extra hour, but clearly it wasn't enough.
The main problem was that traffic could not join the motorway so everything was gridlocked. I expect a small accident somewhere along the route made it considerably worse than normal.
I only need proof that there was traffic congestion. They haven't asked me to say unexceptional traffic was (or wasn't). If i had known at the time they wanted this level of ridiculous proof I would taken screen shots of Google Maps with the traffic and also pictures of the actual traffic. Sad thing was that I was using my phone frantically trying to rebook my flight and being on hold for an hour is another story.
Lesson learned - will get the train next time. We would have done, but the last train departs before our incoming flight got in so hire car is the only reasonable option.
Annoyingly it looked as though the alternative (but longer) route via Bulle and Vevey was clear.
Thanks all for your input so far - I've written to the communes - maybe they can help.
I'd assume they wouldn't pay unless you were in the car that crashed. Sounds like a comprehensive insurance policy. What's the name of the product?
The Swiss public organizations for highways is this one https://www.astra.admin.ch/astra/en/home.html They have the data for sure, no idea how you can get written proof from them, or who to ask in the organization https://www.truckinfo.ch/en/evenements
Mind the trolls. Such perfect people who never get in trouble because they never go a step beyond boundary of the world they know since 30 years ago
What a daft comment. As said, would be the same if you got caught on the M25 at rush hour or certain days, or when there is a match at Wembley, or whatever.
Maybe you have google timeline records that can say where you were when?
I agree with the notion if you have insurance for this kind of thing then sure why not make a claim no matter how much "you should have known better". Might have been better if your car overheated in the Stau and you had to stop for that ;-)
No harm in trying at all. Good luck.
Do get back and tell us how you get on.
Everyone surely knows that you shouldn't take a chisel to a freezer to defrost it but insurance pays out for those claims.
Whether everyone knows or not, the probability of a claim being paid out is often dependent on the amount of the claim and the company’s opinion on their likely success in winning the case. Do a small dumb thing and you might get a payout whether you decide to use your chisel to achieve it is not a common rule.
Just out of interest I looked at a few Travel Disruption insurance policies. You can be insured when travel congestion causes you to miss your plane. You generally have to demonstrate that it was above normal levels. Obviously up to the insurance company whether your claim is valid or not.
This map shows a list of accidents in Switzerland where someone was injured. Perhaps the OP can find an accident on their day of travel.
They might somewhen in Spring-Summer 2023. That's when the data for year 2022 will be published. Properly too late for their purposes.