Traffic on the A96 at Forres was brought to a halt in the midst of the Friday rush hour after a three-vehicle collision.
A silver Peugeot 405 was involved in an accidental collision with a white Peugeot van and a Kia SUV at around 4.30pm.
There were no injuries – however, one lane of the road was completely blocked by the badly damaged Peugeot 405. That caused massive tailbacks in particular for westbound traffic which did not begin to clear until the vehicles were moved around 6pm.
A police spokesman said: “I can confirm there was a collision on the A96 outside Forres but thankfully there were no injuries. Two police vehicles attended the vicinity and the road was clear again within an hour.”
It is the second accident on the stretch of road in recent weeks, police having issued a caution for motorists to take greater care after a woman had to be cut free from her car after it collided with a tractor just outside the town.
Residents in nearby Brodie are also in the midst of a campaign to have the speed limit reduced to 40mph on the A96 passing through the centre of their village.