Respect for gritter drivers is for life, not just for Christmas!

Buckinghamshire's Transportation Cabinet Member, Mark Shaw, had a fitting seasonal message about extending the festive goodwill to all gritter drivers into the new year, and beyond. Published on Facebook, Friday 22nd December 2017. 

"Well, what a winter we’ve had so far! The first time gritters went out this year was back on Guy Fawke’s Night and since then the big yellow machines have been out on the roads over 30 times already. The biggest challenge was, most definitely, the snow weekend of the 9^th and 10^th of December, where our amazing workforce were out and about on the roads five times in 24 hours. More than 60 staff members, operatives and office based alike, were on duty on Sunday 10^th and I’m so grateful to every one of them for working tirelessly to keep the roads safe.

One of our new gritters for 2017, Salt Disney!

We were also ‘snowed under’ (it wouldn’t be Christmas without a rubbish joke, would it?) with some really lovely messages of praise and thanks from members of the public via email and social media. We made sure those messages made it to the people on the front line, and even turned them into a Christmas card for over 100 staff across three depots! It’s nice to reflect at this time of year, when their work is so high profile, what these front line team members really do for all of us in Buckinghamshire.

When their work is so high profile, like when it snows, it is so lovely to hear the positive feedback for TfB’s operatives. However, sadly, this is not the case all year round. Incidents of abuse to road workers are a big industry problem, not just in Buckinghamshire, but on roads all over the country. Tensions can run high when works are causing congestion or road blocks, but some of the abuse directed at the people who are just out there doing their jobs has been really nasty this year. We actually saw one conviction against an offender earlier this year, whose abuse of one of the guys working on the roads earned him a hefty fine and community service. And so, as we all head into the new year, probably a little worse for wear after a great Christmas, I hope that the goodwill that has been flooding in for the brilliant gritter drivers, winter operatives, and all other staff who go the extra mile in adverse conditions, can continue into the next year and beyond. Remember, the same people you might see filling pot holes, holding you up on the roads in the summer, are the same people working so hard to keep you moving in winter."

Mark  

We’re ready! | Five things you need to know about our winter service

Transport for Buckinghamshire is ready for the cold weather and prepared to help keep the roads safe. Here’s five things you need to know about our winter service:

1. Winter service lasts from October to March every year. 

By mid-October every year TfB is ready for winter, and the daily monitoring of road surface temperatures begins. A dedicated winter team receives detailed weather forecast analysis every day, which contains information on air temperature, road surface temperature (which can often be a few degrees lower than air temperature) likelihood of snow and ice, humidity and wind speed. Using the data they are given, the team decides whether or not to salt the roads, and at what time. Winter service generally winds up around late March when spring arrives and temperatures get milder.

2. We name our gritters! 

TfB has a fleet of 25 gritters, based at four depots countywide, and each of the big yellow machines has a name on their front bonnet. This year we replaced 12 of the fleet, which meant new names needed to be chosen for them. We opened up the decision making process to the public and a judging panel chose the best ones:

Usain Salt and Snow Farah (both based in High Wycombe), Grit ‘n’ Bear It, Walter the Salter, and Grit Expectations (based at Amersham) Gritty Bang Bang (based in Gawcott) and Ice Ice Baby, Salt Disney, Rocky Horror, Snowbot, The Gritter Good, and True Grit (all based in Aylesbury). Thanks to all the members of the public who helped us pick these brilliant names!

New gritters, Usain Salt and Snow Farah at the High Wycombe TfB Depot

You can see the daily gritting decision by following us on Twitter (@TfBAlerts) or by checking our winter page, where you can also track the gritters on an interactive map. 

3. We salt 44% of Buckinghamshire roads

Our primary salting routes cover the most important roads to keep everyone moving, covering 1405km of the county's A and B road network – that’s about 44% of the total network, and is more than many local authorities grit. In times of very severe weather salting will be carried out on secondary routes as well. These include classified roads which are not included in the primary routes, unclassified roads serving communities of 200 dwellings or more and unclassified roads with a gradient of 10% or less. We may also salt cycle ways and footways in main shopping areas and other key pedestrian and cycle facilities. In general, the secondary salting network will be treated after the formation of ice or fall of snow – fortunately we have not had a severe winter in Buckinghamshire in several years. You can view the gritting route map on our winter page. 

An overview of the Buckinghamshire precautionary gritting routes

4. We have 50 gritter drivers on call every day for six months

 From October to March TfB has 50 specially trained gritter drivers on call 24/7 – that includes Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. That’s a Christmas of staying off the booze and potentially abandoning carving the turkey to get out on the roads!
There are roughly two drivers per gritter who rotate gritting duties on an A-B basis; this ensures no driver does two runs in one night, should we need to salt twice in 24 hours. Generally the drivers get given between 4 – 6 hours’ notice if they will need to go out, but they need to be available at 2 hours’ notice should the forecast change suddenly, or another driver become unwell. What’s more, gritting generally takes place in the evening and throughout the night, so the drivers are still carrying out their day jobs in highway maintenance. 

5. We store thousands of tonnes of salt across the county 

Rock salt is used to grit roads - it prevents frost and ice forming and helps to melt ice. TfB has four rock salt barns based across Buckinghamshire in High Wycombe, Amersham, Aylesbury and Buckingham, as well as an emergency reserve of 3000 tonnes of salt near south Bucks, just in case. Each barn holds around 1000 tonnes of salt at a time and is topped up throughout the winter - each full salt run of the county uses up approximately 85 tonnes! Salt requires traffic movement and moisture in the atmosphere to turn it into a de-icing solution. In order for it to work effectively, vehicles need to drive over the salt to grind it into smaller particles and spread it across the road. 

A gritter offloading its leftover salt at the end of a gritting run 

The County Council has a one-stop-shop for everything you need to know this winter - visit www.buckscc.gov.uk/readyforwinter.