Road accidents on ice - Local authority
liability
Road accidents on ice - Highways / Council liability
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Here we discuss slipping accidents occurring
on council land in icy or wintry weather:
Under s41a of the Highways Act 1980,
“In particular, a highway authority are under a
duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably
practicable, that safe passage along a
highway is not endangered by snow or ice”.
This is not an absolute duty and what is deemed to be
reasonably practicable is with a question of fact. Usual
subjects to consider would be
- The character of the highway in
question;
- The types of traffic that may
use it;
- Whether it would be
unreasonable for the Council to not do anything.
On a rural road used mainly by tractors it would not
be reasonable for the Council to grit. However, on a
busy motorway it would be reasonable to grit unless the
weather conditions were extreme.
It must be noted though that the Council does not
have to grit all of the highways in their area. Nor do
they have to have someone on duty all the time to try
and clear the snow and ice.
The council cannot be held responsible for ice
accidents that occur at
places of work or
public places (such as: shopping areas, hospitals,
etc). These will be down to the business/property owners
to make reasonably safe.
R Pace v Swansea City Council [2007]
This was a claim arising from a Road Traffic Accident
in 2004. The Claimant claimed that the accident happened
as the highway was covered in ice and the Council should
have ensured that it was free of ice.
The Courts considered that it was a balancing act
between what is reasonable and what the available
finances are. They felt that the Council would have to
plan for such conditions in accordance with best
practice but within manageable and sustainable
constraints. They felt that it would be impossible for a
Council to eliminate the risk of ice and snow forming on
all roads.
See also Goodes v East Sussex County Council
[2000] ALL ER 603.
In this case Lord Hoffman quoted Lord Denning in the
previous leading case of Haydon v
Kent County Council.
“If the highway authority were bound to clear all
those of snow and ice, whenever they became slippery or
dangerous, they would require an army of men with modern
machines and tools stationed at innumerable posts and
moving forward in formation whenever there was a severe
frost”.
Best practice guidelines are included in a Code
prepared by the Department of Transport designed to help
local authorities with their policies. However, each
Council will have their own policy based on the Code.
Other Ice related accidents:
The Claims Connection trip slip or fall claims section
- UK tripping claim and personal injury compensation
specialists.
trip or fall claims explained -
what you should do after an accident -
supermarket fall -
slipping accidents at work -
ice accidents businesses -
tripping slipping compensation claims -
car accident claims -
whiplash compensation -
accidents at work -
medical negligence
MORE LINKS:
British
safety website -
winter
footwear safety -
CAR PARK ice accidents businesses -
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