Households hit with legal warning for clearing snow off driveways | Weather | News

UK households are being warned to prepare for snow and ice as the Arctic air mass continues to blanket the country.

Multiple severe weather warnings are in effect Tuesday; Scotland, Northern Ireland and the whole of Northern England are under yellow alert for snow and ice today, while central Scotland has amber warnings for snow. Yellow cold health warnings for all parts of England will remain in place until Friday, January 9, while the Met Office’s new warnings cover the east and west of England, as well as Devon and Cornwall. The Met Office has warned households in affected areas to expect cold conditions, including widespread frost and ice, as well as possibly snow, sleet and showers.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: “The UK will continue to face a range of wintry dangers throughout this week, including low temperatures as well as showers of snow and the risk of icing for many. A number of severe weather warnings have been issued and these are likely to be updated throughout the week, so keep the forecast up to date.”

With showers forecast this week, households heading out to clear their driveways of the white stuff are being warned they must do so properly or risk being sued.

Ironically, inadequately clearing snow from your driveway can put you at greater legal risk than not clearing it at all, according to a top lawyer.

While there’s no law preventing you from clearing snow from your driveway, you should make sure you don’t make it more dangerous than it was before.

The Department for Transport’s advice says: “You can clear snow and ice from pavements yourself. If you have carefully cleared a road or pavement, you are unlikely to be sued or held liable if someone is injured.”

However, attorneys warn that although the chances of being sued are low, if you don’t clear the driveway properly and someone gets injured, then you could potentially be liable.

Hugh Rowland of Gotelee Solicitors LLP spoke about the issue during a BBC Radio interview and urged people to thoroughly clear their driveways to avoid any legal risk.

He said: “People are not under a duty to clear public roads outside their homes or shops and the reality is that if they choose to clear a public road and they don’t do it well and someone harms themselves then they could potentially be liable if the injured person chooses to sue them.

“When it comes to private land you occupy, it is your duty to take reasonable steps to ensure your visitors are safe. So do you clear the snow or abandon it for fear you could create a worse ice hazard?

“If you clear it, then you have to make sure you do it well and protect it. Because if you make it more dangerous than it was before, then you create a danger and could be liable if someone harms themselves as a result.

“In general, people should not be discouraged from clearing snow and helping others. However, they should make sure they do it correctly to avoid the risk of injury to others and increasing liability for themselves.”

When clearing snow and ice from your driveway, it is recommended that you do so early in the day as it will be easier to move fresh, loose snow.

Do not use water to clean as this can refreeze and turn into black ice which can be very dangerous and could cause someone to fall.

You should use salt to clean it instead, as this will help melt the snow and ice and prevent it from refreezing overnight. If you don’t have enough salt, you can use ash and sand instead as this will provide a good grip underfoot.

Be extra careful when clearing steps and steep paths, and use more salt in these areas to prevent snow and ice from refreezing and creating a dangerous slip hazard.

lawyers Hamilton Douglas Legal He said partial or poorly timed snow removal can sometimes make conditions worse and recommends households apply sand or salt to driveways after the snow is cleared.

A spokesman explained: “If snow is cleared but not treated with sand or salt, it can refreeze into smooth ice. In these cases the risk may be higher than if the snow is left compacted. Best practice includes:

• Snow is cleared early before it gets stuck
• Applying sand or salt after shoveling
• Avoiding moving snow into areas where meltwater could refreeze along walkways.”