Sussex gripped by snow chaos (From The Argus)
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Sussex gripped by snow chaos
8:55am Tuesday 12th March 2013 in News By Neil Vowles
A HGV smashed into central reservation and barrier on A27 at Poling near Arundel
Drivers were forced to sleep the night in their cars as Sussex was covered in a blanket of snow.
Heavy snow during rush hour last night left drivers spending the night in their cars on the A23 near Handcross.
Among those trapped included Brighton pop duo Rizzle Kicks and 80s singers Cheryl Baker and Toyah Wilcox.
Drivers said they felt completely abandoned as they spent more than 11 hours trying to commute home.
Motorists were reportedly falling asleep at the wheel as traffic ground to a halt.
British Red Cross teams went to their aid offering blankets, hot drinks and chocolate bars between 1am and 6am.
One couple were particularly distraught at missing their daughter giving birth because they were trapped in the horrific tailbacks.
Snow continues to fall this morning and is expected to continue until at least late afternoon.
Driving conditions continue to be difficult with problems reported on A22 and A259 at East Dean.
Most schools across the county have also been forced to close their doors.
Public transport was left at a standstill although conditions are starting to improve with Brighton and Hove buses now running a limited service.
Southern Rail are also reporting major delays on their services.
For up-to-the-minute updates follow The Argus live snow blog.
If you have any stories, pictures or updates on what the transport situation is like in your area contact Neil Vowles on 01273 544530 or email neil.vowles@theargus.co.uk.
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Comments(27)
ThinkBrighton
says...
9:08am Tue 12 Mar 13
It's easy to see how BCC keep their stock levels up, THEY DON'T USE ANY. Two main roads into Brighton, Dyke Road Ave and Old Shoreham Road, very bad.
Come on BCC stop playing and do the job that you are paid for (now that your going to raise the Council Tax.
Your response to this situation is pathetic
The Ghost of Fred Binney
says...
9:21am Tue 12 Mar 13
brightonbunny
says...
9:23am Tue 12 Mar 13
ThinkBrighton wrote:I don't understand. According to the Council website, everything should be under control:
Snow again - but no grit!!
It's easy to see how BCC keep their stock levels up, THEY DON'T USE ANY. Two main roads into Brighton, Dyke Road Ave and Old Shoreham Road, very bad.
Come on BCC stop playing and do the job that you are paid for (now that your going to raise the Council Tax.
Your response to this situation is pathetic
"What the council does: Our team of Winter Duty Managers in the Highways section use the latest technology in weather forecasting/predicti
on to decide what is required to protect road users during cold weather. These managers are on standby 24/7 including out of office hours, at weekends and during holiday periods. We will assess the weather forecast for a 24-hour period combined with local road temperature sensor data information in order to decide what action is necessary. Our main priority is to keep major routes treated and passable. These are generally all 'A' roads, most 'B' roads and other roads of local importance, eg bus routes. A total of 156 miles of main routes around the city get treated when weather conditions require it.
Hmm. Seem like all that "technology" and "team" of Winter Duty Managers were having an "off" day......
Perhaps less time spent creating their interactive "gritting route" maps on the website and more time actually gritting would be more helpful.
Any response or comment from this team and it's "state of the art" new fleet of gritters?
Cgull
says...
9:30am Tue 12 Mar 13
Then when the snow arrived in force, alongside the rush hour traffic, the gritter couldn't get to the main roads.
I want the fella in charge sacked.
ourcoalition
says...
9:31am Tue 12 Mar 13
You can grit and salt as much as you like, and certainly in Brighton and Hove, the drivers were out, all of them, but grit blows off the road due to the wind and traffic, and salt gets washed off.
So unless you have one salt lorry per road, it doesn't work!
So, please don't blame the Council or the drivers - they did all they could, and if they had't it would have been much, much worse!!!
Blame the weather - **** happens!
bullybeefbill
says...
9:35am Tue 12 Mar 13
qm
says...
9:41am Tue 12 Mar 13
Cgull
says...
9:45am Tue 12 Mar 13
The lads who drive the gritters and worked all night deserve big thanks, but their bosses and the councillors in charge deserve the sack.
I await their resignations.
CharlotteP
says...
9:50am Tue 12 Mar 13
bullybeefbill
says...
10:34am Tue 12 Mar 13
ourcoalition
says...
10:59am Tue 12 Mar 13
Cgull wrote:See my previous post - they were out all day. Yes you got stuck, but the weather is to blame, not the workers. Most main roads in the City were salted/gritted. But, it is only effective for a time, especially when you get wet snow which washes grit,and salt off the surface very quickly, followed by a sudden drop in temperature at around 5pm - the water freezes, more snow falls on top, and salt/grit then becomes virtually ineffective.
Anyone who says the gritter were out in the B&H area before tea-time yesterday is a liar.
The lads who drive the gritters and worked all night deserve big thanks, but their bosses and the councillors in charge deserve the sack.
I await their resignations.
I was parked near Southern Cross - in 10 minutes it went from water to ice, and 10 minutes after that, on the A27 bypass it was a rink - the biggest problem was drivers at 70mph cutting up everyone else, causing sudden breaking/skidding. 10 minutes after that, in Hollingdean, the road (definitely had been gritted a few minutes earlier) was virtually impassable, unless you drove with care - on Roedale Road I saw one car overtake another at 45-50mph, on sheet ice - brilliant!!! NOT!
Without our lads, the chaos (unavoidable) would have been worse and earlier - and I am not an apologist for the managers in charge, but I do know, at times like this, they earn their corn - most have been actively working since Sunday, and awake from yesterday very early, to now (and on-going). Due to my job, I see them afterwards - they don't always get it right, but they work harder than anyone, along with their drivers. Sometimes the weather wins - without them it always would!!!
nosolution
says...
11:08am Tue 12 Mar 13
Cgull
says...
11:20am Tue 12 Mar 13
The council bosses messed up, and they should be sacked.
Gavin S
says...
11:26am Tue 12 Mar 13
musesboy
says...
11:37am Tue 12 Mar 13
The forecast was for light snow showers not the blizzard we got. Perhaps those of you who are so keen to blame everyone else should apply for a job with BCC and show the rest of us poor souls how it should be done.
richardpowell40
says...
12:56pm Tue 12 Mar 13
graham_Seagull
says...
1:09pm Tue 12 Mar 13
qm wrote:Oh good grief.
Centimeters of snow - how did those responsible for the roads use to cope in the good old days when we had whole INCHES of snow for weeks at a time?
The gritters did the best job they could.
The wind blew the grit off the roads as soon as it went down.
As soon as there's cars queued due to an accident the roads ice up quickly due to non moving traffic.
Did you expect a helicopter to grit your roads in the midst of a jam?
Get realistic - grit can only achieve so much which is why it's not bothered with in snowy countries - the drivers buy winter tyres.
So if you don't want jams take responsibility and buy winter tyres.
graham_Seagull
says...
1:12pm Tue 12 Mar 13
Gavin S wrote:You do talk rubbish, really do.
I can't believe the council have resorted to lying about the gritting to cover up their clear incompetence!! I slid down the steep part of Coldean Lane and very nearly went into the car infront of me it was terrifying!! The A23 definitely hadn't been gritted at all which made it incredibly dangerous, the only road which the cars were moving at normal speed was Lewes Road because the absolutely ridiculous idea of turning it into one lane for all traffic means its gridlock there 24/7 anyway!!
Read the posting from the gritter above.
BN1DYE
says...
1:54pm Tue 12 Mar 13
The LAs have been very careful with their comments, i heard one comment:
"We have lots or gritters and grit on standardby in preperation for this situation and we were out grittings"
ok, thats great they were on standby, but how many were out and at what time. One lorry at 10:30 (that i saw), allows you to say "we were out gritting"!
As for those saying the grit gets blown off the road...really?? So somehow the snow stayed on the roads but not the grit?
My girlfriend took 5 hours to drive from Crawley to Brighton as the A23 was NOT gritted. (the main London to brighton road!) Cars couldnt get up Dale Hill in Pyecombe.
The A23 was gritted late last night (after the horse had bolted)...and suprise surprise is ok today. (no grit blown off).
Rearrangethedeckchairs
says...
2:26pm Tue 12 Mar 13
musesboy wrote:That's not going to happen. That would mean people taking some responsibility rather than just slagging people off which is not the usual style of most people who post on this blog
Exactly how were the gritters supposed to get to all the roads when fools in cars were already blocking them? The forecast was for light snow showers not the blizzard we got. Perhaps those of you who are so keen to blame everyone else should apply for a job with BCC and show the rest of us poor souls how it should be done.
taxidiy
says...
2:31pm Tue 12 Mar 13
BN1DYE wrote:Sorry, but you cannot blame the local council for anything outside the Brighton boundary as The Highways Agency are responsible for the main routes, ie the A23/M23/A27!!
The people saying the roads where gritted, would you like to back that up with at what time and where?
The LAs have been very careful with their comments, i heard one comment:
"We have lots or gritters and grit on standardby in preperation for this situation and we were out grittings"
ok, thats great they were on standby, but how many were out and at what time. One lorry at 10:30 (that i saw), allows you to say "we were out gritting"!
As for those saying the grit gets blown off the road...really?? So somehow the snow stayed on the roads but not the grit?
My girlfriend took 5 hours to drive from Crawley to Brighton as the A23 was NOT gritted. (the main London to brighton road!) Cars couldnt get up Dale Hill in Pyecombe.
The A23 was gritted late last night (after the horse had bolted)...and suprise surprise is ok today. (no grit blown off).
uwho99
says...
2:32pm Tue 12 Mar 13
BN1DYE
says...
2:48pm Tue 12 Mar 13
taxidiy wrote:I used LA as a general reference to whoever was responsible.
BN1DYE wrote:Sorry, but you cannot blame the local council for anything outside the Brighton boundary as The Highways Agency are responsible for the main routes, ie the A23/M23/A27!!
The people saying the roads where gritted, would you like to back that up with at what time and where?
The LAs have been very careful with their comments, i heard one comment:
"We have lots or gritters and grit on standardby in preperation for this situation and we were out grittings"
ok, thats great they were on standby, but how many were out and at what time. One lorry at 10:30 (that i saw), allows you to say "we were out gritting"!
As for those saying the grit gets blown off the road...really?? So somehow the snow stayed on the roads but not the grit?
My girlfriend took 5 hours to drive from Crawley to Brighton as the A23 was NOT gritted. (the main London to brighton road!) Cars couldnt get up Dale Hill in Pyecombe.
The A23 was gritted late last night (after the horse had bolted)...and suprise surprise is ok today. (no grit blown off).
None of them were out gritting.
Somethingsarejustwrong
says...
3:59pm Tue 12 Mar 13
The rest is history and hopefully so too the Greens will be, very shortly!
qm
says...
4:04pm Tue 12 Mar 13
RearrangethedeckchaiI've not seen anyone blaming the gritters, i.e. the lads behind the wheel because everyone knows they work hard and do as directed. I've seen them out in the past working through the night and you have to respect that!
rs wrote:
musesboy wrote:That's not going to happen. That would mean people taking some responsibility rather than just slagging people off which is not the usual style of most people who post on this blog
Exactly how were the gritters supposed to get to all the roads when fools in cars were already blocking them? The forecast was for light snow showers not the blizzard we got. Perhaps those of you who are so keen to blame everyone else should apply for a job with BCC and show the rest of us poor souls how it should be done.
It's the operational side that is at fault and make no mistake it is!
The roads should never have been blocked in the first place by a piddling bit of snow thus preventing the gritters from maintaining the thoroughfare! If you don't know what I am talking about, you are either too young, don't remember or choose not to.
I can recall falls of 12", 18" and 24" variousy with blizzard conditions with drifts 8' high on the downs and NEVER missing a day of work and I was commuting up to Surrey for over 35 years, such was the operational capability that existed then. It brings to mind that old chestnut "They don't know they're born"! There isn't much left in the country for the bright young things to break but find it and break it they will! It's not the guys down in the engine room making sure everything is working, it's the twerp who has a hand on the rudder!
steveP2009
says...
6:26pm Tue 12 Mar 13
I was travelling out of Brighton via Dyke Rd and spent 2 hours travelling 1/2 a mile. I gave up as the hills around there were covered in snow and cars were rolling about all over the place. The snow took 30 mins to get heavy and I abandoned my car and went to the pub.
The council should have got the gritters out during the dat as this weather WAS forecast and I thought it would be OK as I expected the council to be on top of the situation. People need to be sacked for incompetence. It was disgraceful especially for the council tax payers.
Absolute rubbish that the grit would blow away. The roads were wet all day from unsettled sleet - if the gritting was done during the day it would have stayed on the wet road.
qm says...
9:05am Tue 12 Mar 13