During the winter months the necessary application of rock salt grit is used to keep our roads and pavements safe for the public. Find out in Ryemead’s blog how our gritter services can help you to travel safely in the cold winter!
Slip accidents usually increase during the colder months due to a number of reasons, this can be down to limited light, public footpaths becoming wet and slippery either due to fallen leaves or ice caused by the cold temperatures. As temperatures drop below freezing, there is a high probability that our roads and pavements could be covered with a dangerous and transparent layer of black ice that can increase the risk of accidents to yourself and others. For public areas it is extremely important to hire a professional gritting service so they can identify and evaluate the outdoor areas which are most likely to be affected by ice and what will be the best snow clearance required, proactive or reactive.
The way that gritting professionals’ determinates the areas of the UK to be gritted is through the weather forecast. This works on surface temperatures rather than air temperatures as the forecast give gritter companies a prediction of the temperature of the road surface.
If you grit when it is raining heavily this will dilute the salt causing the surface to re-freeze if temperatures remain around 0 degrees. The rain can cause the salt to be washed away and further problems can increase if the rain then turns into snow. Also, compacted snow which has turned to ice, will require extra salt to prevent the surface from freezing; the main reason for re-gritting.
Part of Ryemead Group services is to monitor the weather updates to decide the treatment required and the time of gritting. It’s important to analyse the air temperature forecast taken 1.5 metres above the ground to make the correct decision. Air temperature varies depending if it’s day or night:
- During the day, road surfaces absorb energy directly from incoming solar radiation. The road surface heats the air in direct contact with it, then the heat transfers through the air by convection. This means the surface temperature is often warmer because heating the ground is more efficient than heating the air.
- At night, without incoming radiation, roads lose heat quicker than the air. In winter, this often means RSTs fall to a lower minimum temperature than the air, so roads get frost quickly.
Once the forecast is reviewed, the decisions are made of which geographical is going to be gritted overnight, between the quiet hours of 18.00 & 06.00.
Ensure your building surroundings and paths stay slip-free and safe. Ryemead group will help you choose the correct gritting procedure, providing a reliable service of professional and snow clearing. Ryemead, identifies the best gritting technique so you can make sure your roads are safe for the winter season.
Our gritting services are supplied from our Buckinghamshire headquarters facility which provides excellent access to major road systems. If you’d like to learn more about our commercial grounds maintenance services, please visit our web page or get in touch.