Driver runs over man’s foot in mountain pass queue chaos

A man had his foot run over by a driver cutting in line during chaotic traffic jams at Norway’s Haukelifjell mountain pass on Saturday, Dagbladet reports.

Per Ole Vekve told the newspaper he confronted a driver who left the queue and drove in the oncoming lane to skip the wait. “I put on my reflective jacket and went to speak to the next car that drove past,” Vekve said. “He told me he was just going to his cabin. I explained we were all waiting in line. Then he drove over my foot.”

Vekve, who was heading home to Husnes in Kvinnherad, said he had already waited 90 minutes in the queue. He now has severe pain and plans to visit an emergency clinic. His daughter filmed the incident, including the license plate of the vehicle involved. Vekve intends to report the matter to police on Tuesday.

Multiple drivers described dangerous situations as impatient motorists left the queue, driving in oncoming lanes or passing on poorly visible stretches. “This could have ended in catastrophe,” Vekve said. “Cars are coming towards you at 80 km/h. People here are shocked.”

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s traffic centre confirmed receiving reports of queue-cutting. “We urge drivers to stay in line and not cut queues. It creates dangerous situations,” traffic operator Stine Hansen told Dagbladet.

Extreme weather worsens delays

The chaos coincides with storm Dave, which brought heavy snow and poor visibility to southern Norway on Saturday. Several mountain passes—including Hardangervidda, Valdresflye, and Sognefjellet—were closed, while Haukelifjell, Hol-Aurland, and Vikafjellet operated under convoy rules. Trucks over 7.5 tonnes on Hardangervidda were required to use chains.

At Haugastøl, wait times to cross Hardangervidda reached up to six hours. “We don’t have full oversight of queue lengths, but we’ve had reports of long waits on Haukelifjell,” said Andreas Rasmussen of the western traffic centre.