Road Grit Through the Ages: The Evolution of UK Winter Safety
Road grit has helped maintain safe travel across the UK for over a century. While early road grit in the UK consisted of sand and cinders, rock salt was a better choice due to its ability to melt ice and snow, rather than just increasing traction.
From being spread by horse-drawn carts to modern gritting trucks, road gritting has come a long way in the last 100 years.
The Early History of Road Gritting
Whilst the exact date when the UK started gritting its roads for the first time remains unknown, there is evidence of road gritting taking place as early as 1903, as the Westminster Council has found a rare photo of a horse-drawn gritting cart in its archives.
The carts would have taken at least 12 days to grit the entire Westminster Network.
These carts were probably only used in big towns. Smaller towns and villages either spread grit by hand or did not grit at all. At the time, people saw harsh winters as normal, so road gritting was not a priority. One reason for this was that cars were still a new concept. The Motor Car Act 1903 introduced vehicle registration and driver licenses, making it easier to track the number of cars. By the end of 1904, only about 23,000 vehicles were registered in the UK.
Interestingly, when councils and the public did consider the use of road grit as necessary, rock salt was not the preferred choice. Instead, they spread sand and cinders because they were cheap and easy to find. This started to change in the 1940s, when the UK began focusing more on winter road safety. Even then, rock salt was not widely used until after World War II.
Post-War Gritting
After World War II, the UK experienced strong economic growth until the mid-1970s. This led to a big increase in the number of cars and trucks on the roads. By 1955, there were about 3.3 million vehicles, and in 1958, the UK's first motorway, the Preston Bypass, opened.
With more traffic and new roads, keeping roads safe in winter became more important, making de-icing a priority.
During this time, salt replaced sand and cinders as the main material for gritting roads. While sand and cinders only help with traction, salt melts ice and snow by lowering the freezing point of water. As the awareness of these benefits grew, so did the use of salt. By the 1960s, it had become a primary product used for gritting the roads and managing winter hazards throughout the UK.
The first diesel gritting trucks were also introduced during this time, making a shift towards a more efficient and mechanized salt distribution.
Highway Act 1980
The Highways Act introduced in England and Wales in 1980 was a turning point in the history of road gritting and winter road safety. Before this law, there were no legal obligations for the highway authorities when it came to winter road safety. This meant that they could choose which roads, if any, to de-ice. However, the act has officially made it their duty to keep all highways free of snow and ice.
A highway authority is under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.
Soon after, Scotland also introduced its own act called the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, which established that ‘a roads authority shall take such steps as they consider reasonable to prevent snow and ice endangering the safe passage of pedestrians and vehicles over public roads’. Northern Ireland has also introduced their legislation called The Roads (Northern Ireland) shortly after in 1993.
These laws made UK roads safer by creating clear rules for winter maintenance. They also highlighted the importance of road grit in preventing accidents.
The Use of Road Grit Today
Nowadays road grit still remains essential for keeping roads safe in winter. It is now mainly spread using gritting trucks for roads and salt spreaders for smaller areas, but some people still prefer to spread it manually. While gritting trucks can spread the salt much faster, making them an ideal solution for de-icing larger areas such as roads, manual spreading allows for more targeted application. This method makes it easier to focus on specific areas like driveways or footpaths that may be missed by larger machines. It can also be more cost-effective for residential or smaller-scale applications, reducing the need for expensive equipment.
With the number of vehicles registered in the UK reaching 41.7 million, the country now uses over two million tonnes of rock salt every year. This costs the country more than £150 million annually. Making sure that the roads are treated is key as drivers are up to 20% more likely to get in an accident if the roads are icy. However, despite this large investment, only around 40% of Britain’s roads are de-iced, and growing this coverage would require millions more in funding. To manage this, local councils and highway agencies focus on busy roads to keep them safe for drivers. People can also buy their own de-icing supplies to treat smaller areas near their homes.
The de-icing industry has grown a lot since 1904. Nowadays, different products are available besides rock salt. One popular option is white salt, which is often used in places with a lot of foot traffic because it does not leave a brown stain like rock salt. If you want to learn more about the differences, check out our ‘Rock Salt vs. White Salt’ blog. Another option is liquid brine, which is easy to spread. Some types can still work at temperatures as low as -26°C.
Road grit has helped keep the UK safe for over 100 years. It started as sand and cinders but later changed to rock salt. At first, people did not see its importance, but as more vehicles used the roads, it became clear that keeping roads free of snow and ice was necessary. Because of this, laws were made to help ensure road safety.
Today, de-icing products are essential in winter. Anyone can buy them to treat areas not covered by council gritting. Councils also provide and refill grit bins for public roads.
At Online Rock Salt, we offer high-quality de-icing products for homes and businesses. Whether you need to treat driveways, footpaths, or business areas, our products are reliable and affordable.
Check out our full range of de-icing products today!
