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de-icing

defining policy

Different local authorities will have different priorities based on their local infrastructure, weather conditions and centres of population.

SMA believes that national standards or frameworks of practice and policy should be developed to ensure consistency across the road network. Items for consideration might include the following:

1 Clearly prioritised gritting routes, established against a national assessment framework which reflects:

traffic-flow

time-to-treatment

recommended spreading rates

key routes

access for essential services

consistency with neighbouring authorities

2 Widespread publication of those routes in local newspapers, local radio, television, leaflets and web sites.

3 Agreed schedule and technical specification for gritter maintenance and spreader calibration.

4 Structured programme of operator training.

5 Agreed performance measurements for sub-contractors and methods of monitoring them.

6 Establishing sensible salting standards to minimise environmental damage.

7 A campaign to encourage road users to play their part in keeping winter roads safer - a ‘Drivers Contract.

RoSPA supports the use of ‘Objective Criteria’

RoSPA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Road safety and the protection of road users should not be left to geography and good fortune.

“Any action programme needs to be informed by accident data related to reducing the numbers of incidents in which 'loss of control' results in an increased risk of injuries”, says Dave Rogers, RoSPA’s Road Safety Adviser in its Safety Policy Division.

“In particular, it must meet the mobility needs of vulnerable road users as modal shift begins to take place within the overall philosophy of integrated transport.

“It is recognised that it may prove impossible, within existing budgets, for all local authorities with highway responsibilities to ensure that all roads are salted and/or gritted on each occasion.

“Objective criteria must be adopted and employed to ensure that critical routes are dealt with as a priority, and that some subordinate roads may not be covered.

“The use of thermal mapping techniques and automatic ice detection equipment can help local authorities in making decisions about whether and when to use salt and/or grit”.

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