The Fans of the Old Ruthin Blog Facebook site has been relatively quiet of late. Then, yesterday, there was an interesting thread about snow and ice. Parents posted about their daughter's crash yesterday morning. The daughter apparently wrote off her car at or near the Clwyd Gate at around 4 a.m. She hit a telegraph pole. Mercifully, she was uninjured. The parents blamed Denbighshire council. There was quite a rant. It was interesting to see how the thread developed, especially on the part of those who originally posted.
It's natural to blame others. If we drive a car, haven't all of us got into a tangle on snow & ice? Let's be honest, we have. No matter how experienced we think we are, it's easy to get caught out. I certainly have been. And it happens very quickly.
Was it right to blame the council? Sure, if the road hadn't been treated in accordance with its policy. But it had been. Most of those who responded on Facebook supported the council (while showing every sympathy for the victim). In this case, gritters had worked round the clock from 3 p.m. that afternoon. I myself returned to Rhuthun/Ruthin from the Yr Wyddgrug/Mold direction yesterday evening at about 11.30 p.m. and I passed a Denbighshire gritter near Loggerheads coming towards me. The roads in Flintshire and to the Clwyd Gate were largely white owing to hail. It was localised: cresting the Clwyd Gate, the roads were clear. Spreaders will still out, though.
To quote the originator of the thread, "5 mins after being there a gritter came past and I told him he was too late. His reply was he had been out all night". Q.E.D.
Not getting the Fans' response for which the originator hoped, and sensing a bit of a backlash, it was interesting to see a certain amount of back-peddling. Rather than a blanket blame on the council, they acknowledged the hard work of the crews themselves but then squarely blamed the management.
The A494 is indeed a priority. It's not a county road, it's a higher-status trunk road *and* a high level one, at that. It gets more salt than the Dead Sea. To quote the manager on duty that evening, had he put any more salt down he would have been in danger of causing environmental pollution. But there are other high level routes in need of salt and a finite fleet of suitable trucks. You have to time things right, though. Usually, unless there is continuously falling snow, you treat from around 6 to 8 p.m. and, as last night, again from about 11 p.m. The next run isn't usually till a little later than the time when the woman left skidded into the telegraph pole—about 3 to 4 a.m. from Rhuthun. Too early and morning traffic isn't there to help crush and spread the slat. Denbighshire was spot on, this time.
Remember, though, that the spreading driver said he had been out all night.
As for the Facebook comment about compensation, there's always a negligent party when it comes to a crash. I don't know the situation or the circumstances but it doesn't appear to be the council.
Was it right to blame the council? Sure, if the road hadn't been treated in accordance with its policy. But it had been. Most of those who responded on Facebook supported the council (while showing every sympathy for the victim). In this case, gritters had worked round the clock from 3 p.m. that afternoon. I myself returned to Rhuthun/Ruthin from the Yr Wyddgrug/Mold direction yesterday evening at about 11.30 p.m. and I passed a Denbighshire gritter near Loggerheads coming towards me. The roads in Flintshire and to the Clwyd Gate were largely white owing to hail. It was localised: cresting the Clwyd Gate, the roads were clear. Spreaders will still out, though.
To quote the originator of the thread, "5 mins after being there a gritter came past and I told him he was too late. His reply was he had been out all night". Q.E.D.
Not getting the Fans' response for which the originator hoped, and sensing a bit of a backlash, it was interesting to see a certain amount of back-peddling. Rather than a blanket blame on the council, they acknowledged the hard work of the crews themselves but then squarely blamed the management.
"I'm not blaming the guys that drive the gritters. I'm on about the managers should route to hot spots first... so stop going on about the guys doing there job. They're following orders. It's the ones giving the orders I have problem with…"That afternoon and evening, indeed throughout the night, on duty was one of Denbighshire's most experienced managers. Already warn out from previous on call sessions, he was on duty again. Managers and supervisors also take to their vehicles when the conditions get rough, in all hours, assessing and making decisions. They do not solely rely on forecasts. They're also human and they can make the wrong call. It's for a reason that we talk about the weather more than any other subject: it's fluid and fickle. Yesterday, though, it seems that the decision was clear cut and correct. Spreading was out and about as you might expect, all night, as repeated treatment was the only response to the squally conditions that can easily wash away slat from the road in an instant to leave untreated surfaces.
"My aim is here for people to put up the experiences of this road so in the future it's a priority"In economics, this is called the asymmetry of information: the consumer, in this case road users (or their parents) do not have all the facts and information. They set their own priorities (in this case, the need to have a road salted exactly when they want it). The seller (in this case the salt cellar, if you pardon the pun) has his own priorities which are set, in this case, for the greater good.
The A494 is indeed a priority. It's not a county road, it's a higher-status trunk road *and* a high level one, at that. It gets more salt than the Dead Sea. To quote the manager on duty that evening, had he put any more salt down he would have been in danger of causing environmental pollution. But there are other high level routes in need of salt and a finite fleet of suitable trucks. You have to time things right, though. Usually, unless there is continuously falling snow, you treat from around 6 to 8 p.m. and, as last night, again from about 11 p.m. The next run isn't usually till a little later than the time when the woman left skidded into the telegraph pole—about 3 to 4 a.m. from Rhuthun. Too early and morning traffic isn't there to help crush and spread the slat. Denbighshire was spot on, this time.
Remember, though, that the spreading driver said he had been out all night.
As for the Facebook comment about compensation, there's always a negligent party when it comes to a crash. I don't know the situation or the circumstances but it doesn't appear to be the council.