Serious truck accident at border checkpoint: 400,000 euros in damage!

Serious truck accident at border checkpoint: 400,000 euros in damage!

On the night of December 23, 2024, a serious traffic accident occurred at the German-French border crossing in Scheibenhardt (Germersheim district) at 11:43 p.m. A drunken truck driver crashed his semi-trailer into the Federal Police border checkpoint, resulting in immense property damage of around 400,000 euros fireworld.at as well as rheinpfalz.de reported. In the collision, the checkpoint as well as various security measures and office containers were severely damaged. Fortunately, the two federal police officers who were in one of the containers at the time of the incident were only slightly injured. The driver himself also suffered minor injuries.

Drunk driver and consequences

The driver of the truck had an alcohol test value of over 1.8 per mille, which is why a blood sample was ordered and his driver's license was confiscated. According to police, it was a serious incident that was dismissed as "quite lucky" due to the precarious circumstances, as the accident occurred at full speed into an officer's work area. The impact caused significant damage to the checkpoint, which was set up a few months ago as part of increased border controls.

As a result of the clean-up work, federal highway 9 from the direction of France was closed for several hours while traffic continued moving in the opposite direction. The Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) planned to dismantle the checkpoint on the morning of December 24th so that the road could be reopened. The incident has raised not only material but also security questions about the design of border controls, as they serve to ensure the safety of both officials and travelers.