Clear snow from a road, path or cycleway

You can clear snow and ice from pavements yourself. It’s unlikely that you’ll be sued

 · 1 min read
or held responsible if someone is injured on a path or pavement if you’ve cleared it carefully.

How to clear snow and ice

When you clear snow and ice:
  • do it early in the day - it’s easier to move fresh, loose snow
  • don’t use water - it might refreeze and turn to black ice
  • use salt if possible - it will melt the ice or snow and stop it from refreezing overnight (but don’t use the salt from salting bins as this is used to keep roads clear)
  • you can use ash and sand if you don’t have enough salt - it will provide grip underfoot
  • pay extra attention when clearing steps and steep pathways - using more salt may help

Council gritting

You can find out which roads and pavements your council grits in icy or snowy weather.

Courtesy of GOV.UK website

Minimise risk

The HSE 1992 Act (now including the HSE Preventing Slips and Trips at Work 2005 Act) states that in abnormal weather conditions, arrangements should be made to minimise risks from snow and ice on floor way and traffic routes. Meeting the requirements of this regulation can involve salt-gritting and snow clearing.

Section 41 of the 1980 Highways Act states that highway authorities have a duty to ensure that the public highways under their jurisdiction are kept free of snow and ice.
In addition many local authorities and public organisation have to prove that they have carried out preventive measures and track this activity.

Visit https://kerstenuk.com/Winter-Equipment for winter maintenance solutions.


Published on
Chris Faulkner

Chris is Managing Director of Kersten UK Ltd Interested in weed control solutions and machinery

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