Amidst the ongoing debate about the current state of the AP-7The haulage companies have spoken out and defended themselves against the opinions that place trucks at the center of the problem. Specifically, the haulage associations demanded this Monday to be able to use the N-340 again to reduce traffic volume on the Ebro section of the AP-7. The Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations of Road Transport (Conetrans) and the Tarragona Business Federation of Motor Transport (Feat) stated they are "fed up" with being singled out as responsible for the accident rate and asserted that the problem is insufficient infrastructure. Therefore, they have requested the construction of a third lane on the motorway and the widening of the N-340, as well as the extension of the A-7, which currently ends in Vandellòs and Hospitalet de l'Infant. They also expressed skepticism about the plan recently announced by Trànsit per reduce speed to 80 km/h.

Driving at around 110 kilometers per hour on the AP-7, near L'Ampolla (Baix Ebre), you have to suddenly reduce your speed because a truck signals to overtake two other vehicles. The braking to avoid hitting its license plate isn't abrupt, but it is forceful. And the wait is long. You have to slow down to about 90 km/h, the speed at which the trucker is trying to overtake two more trucks that aren't much slower than him. Suddenly, the first truck signals and asks to merge into the left lane as well, forcing the car to brake. But not for long, because behind the second truck, another one is also moving in the left lane. The reason: road maintenance work has left only one lane open. It's the so-called "truck sandwich," very common on the AP-7. Nothing extraordinary for regular drivers, but a stark reminder of the reality on Catalonia's main highway.

Ramon Lamiel, director of the Catalan Traffic Service, attends to the ARA after a few complicated days. A tragic Carnival weekend, with eight deaths on the roads, was followed by long delays on the AP-7, many of them involving trucks..