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DIVERTING WINTER MAINTENANCE FUNDS CAN BE DANGEROUS 

• Reduced funding puts public and authorities at risk
• Climate change means greater unpredictable extremes
• No ‘guesswork’ on which routes are treated
• Low stocks reduce response capability

In recent months there has been talk amongst the local authorities that they are responding to the apparent impact of climate change with plans to reduce their winter highways maintenance programme in order to channels funds into other areas.

Experts inform us that climate change does not mean that there will be no severe cold weather conditions during the winter months; it means that the weather will be less predictable and that there may be greater extremes. We must always be prepared to fight snow and icy road conditions. Reducing the funding for winter maintenance may put both the travelling public and the local authorities at risk.

Many authorities already salt only 40% of their routes. If they cut this back further, they are likely to face real difficulties in treating the whole network within their area when the true cold snaps and snows arrive. The AA has stated that around 500 people are killed or seriously injured on icy or snow covered roads within the UK each year. While it obviously is not reasonable to assume that every road in the UK can be treated, the public should not have to guess whether they are driving on untreated roads.

While the 2006/2007 winter was one of the mildest on record, it was not without stress for the local authorities working to keep the roadways free of ice and snow. One Salt Association member company reports that several local authorities came close to exhausting their salt stocks during the early February 2007 snowfalls due to their previous decisions to carry less inventory. Without significant support from the salt supplier to ensure very prompt delivery of replenishment stock, these authorities might have been unable to keep their roadways clear. Based on these experiences, the Association is concerned that other authorities may make similar decisions and leave the driving public at high risk. We, therefore, strongly recommend that the local authorities ring fence their winter road maintenance funds and avoid the temptation to divert this money to alternate uses.

22nd May 2008