A NEW winter road safety campaign is being rolled out in Yorkshire warning drivers they could be putting their lives at risk if they use the hard shoulder to undertake gritters.

Highways England’s gritter drivers have noticed a growing problem with road users veering into the hard shoulder to avoid being struck by salt, risking a collision with a stationary vehicle and causing a hazard when gritters try to come off at junctions.

The latest statistics show that, on average, 16 people lose their lives every year as a result of collisions on hard shoulders or in laybys across England, and 45 suffer a serious injury.

Drivers are being asked not to take unnecessary risks this winter to help keep the region’s motorways and major A roads moving and safe.

Gritters usually travel at 40mph in the middle lane when they are spreading salt on a three-lane motorway, treating the lane they are in and one lane on either side.

Phil Rowe, 45, from Leeds, has been driving gritters for 15 years and is based at Highways England’s depot at Shillinghill near Pontefract.

He said: “You hear vehicles come screaming up behind you and come hurtling past you. The salt we are spreading will not cause any damage to your vehicle. The hard shoulder is purely for emergencies and trying to get past a gritter is not classed as an emergency. My advice to drivers would be to proceed and pass with care. Going on the hard shoulder should not be an option.”

More than 21,000 tonnes of salt is currently being stored at 10 depots across Yorkshire, enough to cover more than 47,000 miles of motorway – equivalent to travelling nearly two times around the world.

Salt supplies will be topped up throughout the winter and a total of 37 gritters are also on standby in Yorkshire to start spreading salt when temperatures are forecast to dip below freezing, with drivers able to treat every metre of motorway in the region every three hours.

Sujad Hussain, winter manager at Highways England, added: “The vast majority of people support our gritter drivers by keeping back a sensible distance and only passing when it’s safe to do so, but a few have been putting themselves and others at risk by using the hard shoulder to undertake gritters.”

For more details on staying safe on the roads this winter, go to metoffice.gov.uk/winterhighways.