New Road Gritters Launched

The Highways Agency will be deploying a fleet of new gritters this winter to help combat winter weather on the countries roads and motorways.

The new vehicles will eventually replace the old yellow 'gritters' with a £45 million investment to help battle snow & ice. The news comes after a report warned that 50% of people would still travel despite severe weather warnings.

The introduction of the new fleet represents a move towards using pre-wet salt and onboard state of the art monitoring technology. The pre-wet salt is more friendly to other vehicles, is less affected by wind and gets to work faster on roads to prevent ice formation.

159 of the vehicles were launched today (Monday 10 November) and with the North West amongst the areas to receive the new vehicles first it might not be too long before you see one of them on th M65. In total 438 new gritters will be in use throughout the country by 2010.

Meanwhile The Weather Outlook's Christmas forecast has suggested there is an increased chance of a White Christmas for northern regions of the UK with upto a 50% chance in some areas. Their Christmas weather forecast is updated regularly so be sure to check their website for up to date information:

The Weather Outlook