TfB gritters ready to roll

The winter season has arrived for Transport for Buckinghamshire, and their crews are ready to roll. All winter gritter drivers have had their qualifications renewed and refreshed, and all their gritting vehicles have had their pre-season checks. TfB started to monitor the temperature of the road late in October, and crews are on standby to get the gritters out on routes around the county should road surface temperatures fall below zero.

Daily temperature readings are taken from the monitoring stations around the county, and TfB will tweet the decision daily on their Twitter feed - @tfbalerts. When the gritters do go out, you will be able to track their progress, by name, on TfB's website.

Buckinghamshire's 25 gritters were named by local primary schools a few years ago, and so we now see Rosie Cheeks, Lambourgritti and Mr Sprinkle travelling on their routes when it's cold. This year, schools have been asked to design a picture to replace TfB's Twitter and Facebook avatars. The winning schools will be invited to one of TfB's operational depots to see the salt barn, gritters and meet the men who grit the roads through the season.

Ruth Vigor-Hedderly, Cabinet Member for Transport said, "We have learnt a lot over the last few years, and this year we have formulated robust strategies for dealing with a range of situations. We cannot predict the severity of the season, but we feel that with the support of local communities and the hard work of our staff, we will be able to deal with the winter weather in the most appropriate way. Communication with road users is essential, and I would strongly recommend looking at our website and following our social media streams to keep up to date."

Winter driving workshops are being run this year to give practical advice and reminders on driving in winter conditions, how to carry out checks on your car, and to help drivers think before they drive during the season. Further information can be found on TfB's website - www.buckscc.gov.uk/transport