Cars are moving on dry roads, there are no long delays at the border crossings - at first glance an ideal summer day for a trip. But the AMSM has issued a warning worth reading before setting off on holiday: on several routes across the country you should drive with particular care, because the danger doesn't come from traffic, but from the mountain itself.

The AMSM is urging drivers to be especially careful on sections running through gorges, basins and river valleys, where there is a risk of rockfalls. Extra caution is advised on the routes Katlanovo - Veles, Mavrovo - Debar - Struga, Vinica - Berovo and Kočani - Delčevo. These are exactly the roads on which thousands of families travel toward the lakes and the mountains during the summer months.

In addition, until 31 August a seasonal ban applies to heavy freight vehicles over 15 tonnes on part of the routes, and on days with extreme temperatures the ban extends to weekday afternoons too. On the A2 motorway toward Ohrid, meanwhile, there is a separate ban until 1 September on trucks over 7.5 tonnes, introduced to speed up the flow toward the lake during the tourist season.

The AMSM's appeal is correct and necessary. But the rockfalls in those same gorges are nothing new - they repeat year after year, on the same sections, after every heavier rain. Warning drivers is essential, but it is not a solution. The solution is securing the slopes, rockfall netting, regular clearing of the dangerous spots.

It is easier to remind drivers every summer to be careful than to fix, just once, the sections that have been dropping rocks onto the road for decades. Until then, take care - the mountain doesn't read traffic signs.