What to do when the winter services are at work

When weather conditions are poor, the presence of gritting vehicles on the road makes many motorists feel even more insecure. They are often unsure of what to do. Instead of seeing them as helping, they frequently regard the vehicles as a hindrance. Here are a few tips to help you when you next encounter snow ploughs or gritters:

• Keep a good distance. If you get too close, you will get sprayed with salt and snow. Not only can this severely hamper your vision, the salt will also get into the wheel housings and cause corrosion.
• Give these vehicles plenty of room and do not get in their way with  risky overtaking.
• If you overtake, remember that where the snow plough pushes the snow to one side, a small bank of snow will form. Drive over this at an oblique angle to avoid having all your wheels stuck in the deep snow at the same time.
• Do not overtake snow ploughs working in tandem. Remember that the road behind them will be clear and safe. Overtaking is dangerous, because the snow plough at the front will be driving on the overtaking lane and there will be only a short distance between both snow ploughs. Here again one also has to expect banks of snow, plus a considerable amount of snow and salt spray on the windscreen.

Overtaking snow-clearing vehicles doesn't get you to your destination any quicker. If you are ahead of the snow plough, you are on a snow-covered road and that means you have to drive more slowly anyway.