The D10 and Vrbovec: the expressway that stops being one

This road teaches you the wrong thing in its first ten kilometres. <b>It begins as an expressway and does not stay one</b>, and almost everything that happens here happens where the standard changes.

What this route is

The D10 is an expressway of about 35 km running north-east from the Sveta Helena interchange on the northern motorway. It passes Vrbovec and meets several state roads along the way, each of which leads into a different part of the region. The 12.5 km section from Gradec to the end of the route opened in September 2016.

A road that ends as a project, not as a route — that is the point. The plan to rebuild the whole line to motorway standard was abandoned in June 2012. What exists is therefore an expressway in parts, with the older standard in between, and drivers meet the change at speed rather than gradually.

Boundary: the town at the far end of this road and the state road through it have their own entry, as do the motorway ring around the capital and the roads further north. This one covers the corridor between the interchange and Gradec, together with Sveti Ivan Zelina, Dugo Selo and Preseka on either side of it.

What tends to happen here

The change of standard. Where the expressway ends, traffic meets junctions, tractors and village limits at a speed learned earlier on the route. Rear-end contact at the back of a queue and contact when turning off are the recurring pattern, and they cluster within a few hundred metres of the transition rather than along the whole road.

Commuter waves in both directions. This is a daily corridor into the capital, so the road fills twice a day and empties in between. The same bend behaves differently at seven in the morning and at eleven, and the time of day therefore belongs in the record as a matter of course.

Farm traffic joining a fast road. Agricultural machinery enters from field tracks and side roads along the whole corridor and leaves soil on the surface. Photograph the carriageway while the soil is still there: after the next rain it cannot be shown, and it is often the explanation for a loss of grip.

Where the vehicle is inspected

Recovery goes towards the capital or towards the larger towns along the corridor, and rarely stays where the event happened. Ask at the scene where the vehicle is being taken and write the name down before you leave.

We come to the vehicle. Appointments here are normally possible within one to two days, and often on the day of the enquiry in the section closest to the capital.

Say which part of the road you were on: the expressway section or the ordinary one. The two carry different speeds and different junction layouts, and that single detail decides which sequence of events is plausible at all.

Frequently asked questions

How quickly can a vehicle be inspected around Vrbovec?

Normally within one to two days, and often sooner near the capital. What matters is where the vehicle was recovered to, because it rarely stays at the place of the event. Tell us the location and we will arrange the appointment.

Rear-end damage where the fast road ends. What should I photograph?

The final position of both vehicles, the distance to the junction or the village sign, and the bumper from two directions. At the transition the speed difference between vehicles is large, so the damage behind an unremarkable bumper is often greater than it looks.

A tractor pulled onto the road and there was soil on the surface.

Photograph the carriageway while the soil is still on it, the junction it came from and the view along the road from your direction. Both the soil and the sightlines disappear quickly, and afterwards only the statements of those involved remain.