Your gritting FAQs answered by Lancashire County Council's head of public realm Daniel Herbert.

1. The make-up of grit in grit bins is not effective, too much sand. Is that what is being used by wagons?

The gritters used to treat the highways spread 100% rock salt. The salt/sand mix used in the grit bins is proven to be effective at deicing and preventing ice from forming on pavements – the sand provides extra traction especially on snow and continues to be effective after the salt has dissolved in solution. Applied to a layer of snow, the material in grit bins will help to prevent ice from forming and provide traction. The more foot-traffic the pavement gets, the more effective the grit will be as the action of people walking is needed to activate the salt – however it is designed to prevent icing and provide traction – it is not designed to entirely remove a layer of snow.

2. The main road into my estate is on a hill and full of snow

The majority of access roads to estates are covered by the secondary network which are treated once the priority routes are clear.

3. My road is icy and difficult for me to get my car in and out of.

Drivers and pedestrians need to be careful using the side roads and pavements outside the town centre areas as they will probably not have been treated. There are limitations to the service the county council can reasonably provide when it snows and we don't plan to grit every road in the county. No council does this and it would be an impossible task. People need to take care on the roads and pavements and think carefully about whether their journey is necessary –even a road which has been gritted will be slippery in certain conditions and especially when fresh snow has fallen overnight. Roads which aren't on the priority route network and many roads which are part of the secondary gritting network are difficult for gritters to access due to parked cars. Even if the county council were able to grit every residential road, the vast majority of them don't have the levels of traffic movement needed to activate the grit. To treat these roads would be a vast and extremely costly effort that would have very little effect. The limitations of councils to treat residential roads has been recognised by the Government not least through its 'Snow Code' which is aimed at encouraging communities to help themselves where it is impractical for councils to treat pavements.

4. The motorway is treacherous and full of snow after a downpour

The Highways Agency looks after motorways and trunk roads on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. In Lancashire, the Highways Agency has the responsibility for treating the following national routes: M6, M61, M55, M65 (J1 to J10), M58, A56 (from M65 to M66) and A585 (from M55 to Fleetwood). Lancashire County Council maintains and is responsible for gritting the section of the M65 from Junction 10 at Burnley to Junction 14 at Colne. Motorways and trunk roads are treated as a priority in icy conditions. Where snow falls onto a road that has recently been gritted it may take a short period of time for the grit to take effect as the vehicles activate the grit as they pass. The slush that forms will then disperse as more vehicle use the road.

5. The slush on main roads is dangerous. Why isn’t it cleared?

The gritters plough and apply salt as necessary. This is designed to make roads passable and prevent ice from forming. Ploughs are designed to remove as much snow as they can but as the plough can't actually come into contact with the road surface it will leave a thin layer of snow. Salt is designed to dissolve in solution with snow and ice to de-ice the road and and prevent ice from forming. If a fresh layer of snow falls this may sit on top of the salt. The action of traffic is needed to activate the salt but slushy conditions are bound to occur and drivers are advised to be careful.

6. Accrington bus station is not cleared. Surely this should be a priority?

Accrington bus station is part of the priority network and has been treated a number of times in recent days.

7. Why is there no grit in grit bins?

The grit bins were full a few weeks ago – the recent winter weather is the first severe conditions Lancashire has experienced this year and the grit has been available for people to use. The county council's first priority in severe weather is to ensure the priority routes are clear. Once the priority routes are clear we move onto treating the busier local roads which are part of the secondary route network and begin the task of refilling the county's 1,800 grit bins. With so many grit bins, refilling them takes time and cannot be done in one day. However, this year they will be filled more quickly than in previous winters in continuous severe weather as new arrangements with district councils mean their staff will help with the task.

8. What are you doing about thefts of grit from grit bins?

Grit bins are there to help people treat any particularly icy areas of pavements and local roads. People are asked to report any inappropriate taking of grit to their local highways office.

9. Main routes through Burnley were very difficult on Wednesday.

All priority routes were treated overnight on Tuesday and throughout Wednesday as necessary. Drivers are asked to be careful in slushy conditions.

10. Why do I often see grit wagons driving around and not spreading?

In severe weather, once priority routes have been treated, gritters are often sent out again to patrol and salt as necessary. The most common scenario if a gritter is not spreading is that the road has already been treated once and the driver is now patrolling to see if any further application is needed in particularly icy spots.

11. Why are pavements not treated?

See answer to 3.