Clackmannanshire Council Online

Winter Driving

Winter Driving

Please make sure that if you need to drive in icy or snowy conditions you follow these simple tips:

• Only make the journey if it is essential.
• Allow plenty of time to complete your journey.
• Ensure you have plenty of fuel.
• Before you set out check if there are any warnings in place for your route - see websites such as www.trafficscotland.org
• Make sure your car is cleared of all snow and ice, including the roof of the car, wheel wells and under the bumpers.
• Drive slowly and allow plenty of space between you and the car in front.
• Try to minimise braking and use the gears to slow the car down.
• Be sure to carry a fully charged mobile phone and some emergency supplies, these could include a shovel to dig your car out, a flask with a hot drink, some snacks and a blanket. If you get stuck you may be in your car for many hours until you can be rescued. See our Car Emergency Packs page.
• Please remember that in snow and ice even four wheel drive vehicles can and will spin.
• Try to park your vehicles off the road - but not on footways - to ensure there is sufficient width for gritters, buses and refuse lorries to pass. Parked and abandoned cars are one of the biggest problems in keeping the transport network operating during these difficult conditions.
• Remember that even if a road has been cleared of snow or treated with salt, it may still be slippy. Salt has little effect at temperatures of -5°C or below, so please drive slowly and carefully.

More Information is available from Ready Scotland.

Be prepared

Check out the Priority Gritting Route Map. It shows the main priority routes throughout Clackmannanshire.

Always drive according to the conditions: just because a road has a high priority rating does not mean it is safe to drive at normal speeds in poor weather conditions!

Grit bins

Grit bins are provided at:

• steep gradients
• sharp bends
• awkward cul-de-sacs

We will refill them as quickly as we can after bad weather, for more information about grit bins, please see our Grit Bin Frequently Asked Questions page. Alternatively, for information on grit bin locations please see our Winter Maintenance Map.