The fleet’s ‘warm-up’ took place last Friday at the council’s annual Winter Parade, during which the local authority’s 25 new ECON Engineering gritters were test driven alongside other vehicles.

According to the council, the parade involves the local authority’s gritter drivers reacquainting themselves with gritter routes, vehicles and safety procedures in preparation for the season that runs from October to March.

In a statement, the council revealed that roughly 44% of the county's highways network is considered a primary route, with priority routes gritted when road surface temperatures are anticipated to decline lower than 0.5 degrees Celsius.

Thomas Broom, Cabinet Member for Transport, commented: ‘Winter driving can be hazardous at times, even when roads are well gritted. Please remember that grit is not a failsafe and just because a road has been gritted this doesn’t mean it won’t still be icy. Road users should drive according to the road conditions and the weather, taking extra care where necessary.’

He added: ‘Thank you in advance to our expert drivers and winter crews, who are now set to be on call 24 hours a day for the next six months, even over Christmas. They carry out an extremely important job in helping to keep our roads safe over the winter.’

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