On 17 May 2003, on the A6 motorway in Dardilly, near Lyon, an accident killed 28 German tourists en route to Spain. The bus left the road and crashed below. According to reports of the time, excessive speed and a slippery road made by the rain, would be at the origin of the tragedy.
Twenty-eight German tourists en route to Spain were killed and more than 40 injured, including eight seriously, in their bus accident, which occurred early yesterday on the A6 motorway, north of Lyon (centre-east). The bus, which carried a total of 75 people, including two drivers, from the Hannover region (Germany), left the wet roadway, rolled down an embankment and rolled over at the Dardilly interchange. The accident occurred at what appears to be an overspeed accident, according to the initial elements of the investigation. In European buses the wearing of seat belts is not mandatory. Double-decker buses are more unstable.
The bodies of the 28 victims of the Dardilly bus accident were taken aboard a cargo plane chartered by the bus insurance company to Germany. A minute of silence from officials greeted the departure of the victims. The investigation into the circumstances of the accident seems to favour the theory of excessive speed.