04.01.03: Weather Warning for Motorists
The police are investigating an accident on the A59 between York and Hessay which led to a van leaving the road and blocking the railway line between York and Harrogate this morning (Saturday, January 4).
The road was gritted last night in accordance with the council's long-standing winter maintenance procedure but the council will be making its own investigations into the circumstances of the accident.
Bill Woolley, the council's assistant director for environmental and development services, said, "Clearly the police are investigating the exact circumstances of this accident on the A59 and we will also want to know exactly what happened.
"However, the route was salted along with the rest of the city's defined winter maintenance network last night but motorists have to play their part in ensuring safety by reducing their speed, driving carefully to the conditions and staying vigilant for snow and ice."
The council issued a warning yesterday afternoon about deteriorating road conditions following the recent heavy rain and a forecast of freezing temperatures overnight.
Mr Woolley said, "The council carries out salting and snow clearance from October to April on almost half the roads in the city and the A59 was salted last night in accordance with this long-standing plan. Although we will be looking into this particular accident it appears to be highly unusual.
"At this time of the year the council carries out regular salting and we constantly monitor road and weather conditions. However, we cannot stress enough that this motorists have to play their part. Motorists must be vigilant and drive to the conditions."
The council has this morning re-salted the A59, is carrying out further salting across the whole defined road network and will continue to respond to the conditions and weather forecasts.
The council annually issues guidelines for drivers and details of its salting and snow clearance procedures.
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