Major traffic jams disrupted traffic north of Le Mans this Friday, March 18, between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. The 10th Night Car of Friday, a gathering of vintage and sports cars at Le Mans park, attracted more than 1,500 vehicles, twice as many as usual. With the visitors, the gendarmerie counted nearly 5,000 people on site and had to intervene to regulate traffic.
“There were about twenty of us between the volunteers and the Rassemble’Mans 72 team“, recognizes Anthony Chossis, the president of the association organizing the event. “Then previous editions, that was enough to manage an influx of 800 vehicles.“He doesn’t really know why this time the rally drew so many people.”We may have communicated too much“, he suggests.
Questions about the next edition
Traffic management has also been made complicated by the non-compliance with certain rules like the ban on drifting, to skid, in the parking lot. “We are at the entrance to manage the vehicles, but we have to intervene as soon as we see smoke from tires or hear engines accelerating.“, he explains. “There are only about ten, but it starts again in turn as soon as our backs are turned, suddenly it slows us down in our work.“
In the end, the gendarmerie recorded two accidents, only material. These gatherings are usually organized every three months since 2016 and the association is wondering about the next meeting which should take place in June. “We will draw the consequences, but there will be others“, assures Anthony Chossis. “When ? I don’t know, and where? Is the Manceau park sufficiently suitable for this kind of event, that’s a question we ask ourselves.”