Tag Archives: clearing snow

Three ways to clear snow

7 Feb

Three different strategies for clearing snow. The first picture shows a local shop-keeper who has actually cleared the pavements and dropped-kerbs outside their shop to make it easier for customers and passers-by alike. Thank you. We then have the nursing home where they cleared the path very very carefully right up to the edge of their property and then stopped; I can only presume that they believe (incorrectly) that they could be prosecuted for clearing the snow to the edge of the carriageway or indeed all along their frontage. Finally there is the dumb-headed approach where householders clear snow from their property and pile it up on the pavement where it obstructs pedestrians. More common than one might hope as can be seen from the two examples below.

Here are a few snowy pictures:

A shop-keeper clears outside his shop – keep it up!

Nursing home in fear of actually clearing the pavement

Let’s just pile this nasty snow up on the pavement (and then drive on the pavement!)

Let’s pile the snow along the pavement, no one uses it anyway!

As a postscript… after clearing the snow along the frontage of my house I noticed a couple of guys clearing snow off the roof of their car piling it up across the pavement I had just cleared. I, not very politely, (sorry) suggested that they might like to remove it which they did without complaint which was decent of them, but it is interesting to note how little social awareness there is around all this.

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Think pedestrian, especially when it snows!

5 Feb

Ipswich hospital did an excellent job clearing snow from its service roads today, but unfortunately failed to clear its pavements effectively, which is a shame, given the considerable workload that slips on snow and ice create for the NHS.

Some of their pavements had been dressed with salt but there was then too much snow for that and the paths were soon covered in slush and will probably freeze solid tonight. It’s a good job that emergency services are just round the corner! All of the following pictures were taken on busy routes on hospital grounds.

‘Critical care this way’, but no effort to clear the path to it.

Road cleared, path covered in slushy snow, now freezing

Nice pedestrian crossing, road cleared of ice, path has not been.

For anyone who is still in doubt, residents are encouraged to clear pavements and business owners are at risk of prosecution if they fail to clear snow effectively. The ‘Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957’ states that a business must “take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he is invited or permitted by the occupier to be there“. (Section 2.2) Lots of occurrences of the term ‘reasonable’, but personally I think it is reasonable to expect a large hospital with thousands of staff and visitors arriving each day to take a bit more care to keep their primary pedestrian routes clear of snow and ice. It would certainly set a good example for others to follow if nothing else!

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