De-icing with death

With adverse wintery weather causing dangerous driving conditions, British motorists are likely to experience a third more (31 per cent) accidents this winter season than during the summer months, mainly down to poorly gritted local roads.

Research commissioned by esure car insurance projects that over 6 million UK drivers (20 per cent) have experienced an accident while driving in icy weather conditions. esure’s car insurance claims reflect this and rose by a massive 130,000 in November 2007 with the onset of winter weather.

The survey further revealed that 63 per cent of UK motorists would like to see smaller roads gritted more frequently and almost half of drivers (40 per cent) claim that their local council is not doing enough to ensure all roads are safe to drive on during icy conditions.

This lack of confidence by motorists in relation to the safety of local roads means that the vast majority (93 per cent) of motorists refuse to set out on a journey at all if they judge weather conditions to be too severe.

Furthermore, 42 per cent of motorists have admitted that they’ve been trapped in their own home because their street wasn’t cleared of snow or ice, making it unsuitable for them to drive.

And almost a third (31 per cent) of UK motorists are so worried about driving in adverse weather conditions that they would consider ’pulling a sickie’ to stay at home rather than get behind the wheel.

Although The Highways Agency grits all UK motorways and major trunk roads, local councils grit all small roads under their jurisdiction, when they deem it necessary. As a result, 89 per cent of drivers claim that their local roads are more dangerous to drive on than motorways and over half (54 per cent) of motorists would feel safer undertaking a long distance journey on a main road during adverse weather conditions, than driving a short distance on local roads.

But it’s not just small roads that cause trouble during a deep freeze: the problem is often right on the doorstep. 14 per cent of UK motorists have admitted to colliding with their neighbour’s parked car before even leaving their own street because of losing control on ice. And around a quarter of UK drivers (24 per cent) say they wouldn’t report an accident immediately to the damaged vehicles owner, preferring to leave a note on the windscreen and drive away. More worryingly, just over one in ten motorists (11 per cent) admit to driving away after the collision and pretending not to have noticed!

Perhaps it’s no surprise that more accidents happen right on motorists’ doorsteps during the winter months as a staggering 60 per cent of car owners won’t grit their driveways when the icy weather hits.

Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at esure, said: “It is clear that some local councils could be doing more during winter to ensure all small roads in their area are gritted thoroughly, to help improve the dangerous driving conditions for motorists.

“It is of the utmost importance to be aware of road safety during the winter months and to judge carefully when it is safe to drive. esure is calling for all motorists to change their own driving style, take precautions by gritting their own driveways and being more conscious of safety issues.

“If you feel it’s unsafe to drive, then leave your car at home and take public transport instead.”

Regional Differences:

Scotland has the most dangerous small roads in the UK, with a massive 95 per cent of Scottish motorists claiming that they feel more safe driving on motorways than local roads. Local councils in Wales are the most efficient, with 46 per cent of Welsh drivers confident that their council does enough to ensure local roads are safe during adverse winter weather conditions.

Londoners are the naughtiest drivers, with a shocking 41 per cent admitting to simply putting a note on their neighbour’s windscreen when accidentally colliding with their parked car in icy weather – instead of reporting the damage straight away.

And finally, motorists from Wales are the most likely to use adverse weather conditions as an excuse to stay at home from work, with nearly half considering this (41 per cent), compared to under a third (27 per cent) of the work-conscious Scots.

Gender Split:

Women are the least intrepid (but perhaps the most safe) when the cold weather hits, with 33 per cent admitting that they would cancel their journey if they thought the weather was too severe, compared to only 21 per cent of men.

Men are the most complacent of the sexes, with 78 per cent of males admitting that they would be unlikely to cancel a journey despite warnings on the television and radio about adverse winter weather conditions. In contrast, a massive 81 per cent of women admit to feeling ‘nervous’ when driving in extreme weather conditions, compared to just over half of men (51 per cent). 62 per cent of females also admitted to feeling ‘fearful’ when setting out on the road in winter conditions, compared to only a quarter of men.

Top Safety Tips for Winter Motoring on Small Roads:

Always look as far ahead as possible while driving, so you can recognise hazards and have plenty of time to respond

Adjust your driving to the road and weather conditions: slow down and avoid sudden turns of the steering wheel, panic braking and over-zealous accelerating which could result in skidding on slippery roads

If you do skid on an icy road, regain control of your vehicle by decelerating: release the brake pedal fully or ease off the accelerator. Turn the steering wheel in the direction of the skid. For example, if the rear of the vehicle skids to the right, steer immediately to the right to recover

Be especially careful of shaded areas, such as roads under bridges, or under the shade of trees, as the surface freezes much faster than the rest of road

Make sure you keep plenty of space between your vehicle and the one in front – it is harder to stop suddenly in adverse weather conditions and snow spray from the car in front can limit visibility