Truck fire on A5 near Malsch: 14 kilometers of traffic jam after technology failure!

Truck fire on A5 near Malsch: 14 kilometers of traffic jam after technology failure!

On Thursday afternoon, around 1:15 p.m., a fire on the federal highway 5 northbound caused great excitement and significant traffic delays. The trailer of a truck that was loaded with several tons of waste paper caught fire for reasons that are still unclear. A technical defect, presumably in the area of ​​a rear tire, could have triggered the incident, they report MRN News.

Luckily, the 62-year-old driver noticed the billowing smoke in time and drove his vehicle onto the hard shoulder. There he separated the tractor from the burning trailer before it burned out completely. The alerted fire department was quickly on site and was able to extinguish the fire by around 2:10 p.m. But the post-extinguishing work was challenging: in order to remove embers in the burnt waste paper, pressed waste paper bales had to be pulled apart, which took a lot of time.

Traffic chaos on the A5

The consequences were serious: the right and middle lanes of the A5 near Malsch had to be closed, resulting in a backlog of up to 14 kilometers. Motorists had to expect delays of up to three hours. While the southbound route fortunately remained untouched, traffic in the opposite direction was severely affected. Even around 10 p.m. there was still a traffic jam of around six kilometers between Rastatt-Süd and Karlsruhe-Süd, they said daily news.

The closure was finally lifted in the evening, with traffic initially redirected to the left lane. However, the traffic jam remained at around twelve kilometers at times. The exact property damage cannot yet be quantified.

A known problem

Truck fires are not uncommon on German highways. MAN vehicles in particular, especially the TGX and TGS model series, are often affected. According to information from the Hessian Ministry of the Interior, there were already 33 truck fires on the A7 between January 2023 and August 2025, 27 of which involved MAN vehicles. This has led to the Federal Motor Transport Authority initiating a recall for several thousand vehicles to address potential safety risks, such as NDR reported.

The issue of safety risks with these trucks remains serious. Firefighters report risky operations because fires often pose significant risks to the emergency services and the traffic behind them. Despite all recalls, reports of fire incidents continue. MAN itself points out the rarity of these cases and tries to minimize the causes through maintenance measures.

The events on the A5 once again shed light on the challenges that exist for both drivers and emergency services. It remains to be hoped that the measures to increase security will soon bear fruit and prevent such incidents.