Call for compulsory road gritting

The Motor Accident Solicitors’ Society has called for solicitors to campaign for a change in the law so as to require local authorities to grit roads in icy weather. In a recent decision the House of Lords, in Goode v East Sussex County Council (see LRI 120, July 2000), held that while there was an absolute duty on Highway Authorities to keep the fabric of the highway in a good state of repair, this did not include a duty to prevent (by salting or gritting) or remove ice and snow.