95 Alive partnership issues winter safety tips for drivers (From York Press)

95 Alive partnership issues winter safety tips for drivers

8:00am Monday 23rd November 2009

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SEE and be seen – this was the advice today from police, fire and transport chiefs to road users as winter looms.

95 Alive, the partnership of organisations which have to deal with the tragic results of collisions on roads in York and North Yorkshire, wants to raise motorists’ awareness of the dangers as temperatures plummet.

A spokeswoman said last year, eight people died and another 125 were seriously injured on the county’s roads in October, November and December.

Coun John Fort, executive member for road safety at the North Yorkshire County Council, said the casualty rates were the lowest since records began nearly 20 years ago, but it was essential to keep driving the numbers down.

Inspector Dave Brown, of North Yorkshire Police, said motorists must ensure their vehicles were up to the challenges posed by winter conditions. “A few simple measures including basic maintenance and keeping your vehicle grime-free will ensure you are equipped to face the challenges and at the same time remain within the law,” he said. “Dirty lights, windscreens and unreadable registration plates can land you with a fine. It is simply not worth it for the sake of a damp cloth and a full washer bottle.”

Fire chief Chris Anderson urged drivers to take the time to have their vehicles serviced and checked in preparation for challenging road conditions.

Dave Bowe, chairman of the 95 Alive Partnership, said the hour change meant commuters were travelling in different light conditions, often returning home in the dark. “Eyesight differs from driver to driver and particularly at night, many people are not comfortable and the first few weeks following the hour change sees more frequent braking, often simply when faced with the lights from an oncoming vehicle but often because of difficulty in distance perception.

The spokeswoman said children were particularly vulnerable at this time of year and 95 Alive had paid for more than 4,500 reflective waistcoats to help youngsters be seen during the dark nights.

She said thousands of tons of salt had been stockpiled by the county council, with 40,000 tons in stock and a further 10,000 in reserve.

Grit and raring to go

YORK’S roads bosses are bracing themselves for winter, and are rolling out two new gritters.

The new machines, which cost £93,000 each, will join the existing fleet of ten that maintain the city’s street’s through the winter.

The new gritters are replacing old vehicles which have been spreading salt on York’s streets for over eight years.

Each gritter has its own snowplough and tracking system, showing its position, speed, spread rate and operating functions on each route.

Sally Burns, director for Neighbourhood Services, said: “These are an important addition to our existing fleet, which we hope will help to serve the city’s streets for another eight years to come.”

More than 50 tonnes of salt are used per run, over ten dedicated routes, depending on weather conditions and spread rates.

When they are not being used as gritters, the vehicles are used as highway maintenance vehicles.

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