Tractor-Trailer Overturns on Highway Near Novi Sad, Causing Major Delays A pre-dawn crash on Serbia’s main north–south artery turned the highway near Novi Sad into a parking lot, as an overturned tractor‑trailer shut down all lanes and exposed just how fragile the country’s traffic lifelines can be.

Before sunrise: the crash

Around 5:30 a.m., on the Subotica–Novi Sad highway between the Sirig and Vrbas interchanges, a tractor‑trailer overturned and “completely blocked all three highway lanes,” forcing authorities to halt traffic in the direction of Novi Sad. Early reports stressed that the truck had smashed through a guardrail and come to rest across the carriageway, with traffic “suspended towards Novi Sad” as jams quickly built up.

Morning rush: collapse on the asphalt

By mid‑morning, the scene had turned into what one outlet headlined as “CHAOS near Novi Sad,” with aerial footage showing kilometer‑long queues in both directions. A driver stuck in the mess described the situation as a “collapse in traffic,” saying huge lines had formed even as police began slowly releasing vehicles past the site.

Throughout the investigation, traffic police diverted vehicles via the Vrbas interchange and urged patience while they worked to clear the road. For more than an hour, emergency and road crews removed the overturned truck and the cargo “scattered across the road,” only then allowing a gradual restoration of traffic flow.

Official line: disruption, then normalization

Pro‑government outlets framed the incident as a sudden but contained disruption. One described the scene as “TRAFFIC in collapse,” but quickly pivoted to a mini‑lesson in safety protocol: switch off the engine, turn on hazard lights, don a reflective vest, and place a warning triangle at sufficient distance to prevent “secondary accidents.”

By late morning, the message was uniform: the highway was no longer paralyzed, congestion remained heavy but receding, and “normalization of traffic” was expected soon—so long as drivers kept their tempers, their distances, and their speed in check.