In Hérault, around fifty cars broke down in the same place at the same time, here is why

«It’s the Valley of Panne“, According to a motorist who films the scene on Tiktok and who has a sense of formula. Last Saturday, on the A75, the highway which links Clermont-Ferrand to Montpellier, an unusual scene is then played out. In Pas-de-l’Esclette, about 70 kilometers north of the Hérault prefecture, dozens of vehicles are then stopped on the aisle, says France 3 Occitanie. Four troubleshooting companies are called in an emergency. Even those that were not on penalty. The images are not very common.

So what is the reason for this collective breakdown? Some Internet users are betting on a petrol problem in a station below. Others think that it is linked to the very high slope (7%) or to the heat wave: “The coast is rough and people keep the air conditioning to go up then …“Think Anaïs, a surfer.

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The black scenario

But the reason is quite different. According to the information collected by France 3 Occitanie, it all starts in the morning very early (6:30 am) with a breakdown of the power supply to the Pas de l’Escalette tunnel, which led to passing traffic in one track in the morning. On this day of vacation loaded on the roads, traffic jams are quickly created. “”The overheating was done because the cars were all behind the other and therefore the engines overheated ”, tells Franck, of the company Franck Dépage, located in Gignac, to our colleagues from France 3. According to him, it therefore did not “Nothing to do with the heat wave” neither.

«We do not have the exact figures but almost 90% of the breakdowns were due to clutch problems ”, Considers his angelica side of Top Garage Sarl Theron, a company based in the Caylar, always to our colleagues. In the climb the motorists overheat the clutches by going from the 1^era to the second constantly ”, she explains. The incident was resolved in the early afternoon. In total, around fifty vehicles have been towed.