the county council shut our fell road every year to save gritting, but it is easily passable for 90% of the winter.

I wouldn’t cross a police closed sign.

Does anyone know if it is illegal or if it invalidates my car insurance.

I’m not too bothered about the car damage, more about getting points.

IANAL; I think that a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), police crime scene, etc has to be in place for the closure to be enforceable. Have a look on your LA website
If it is closed then it’s no longer a road (not open to the public) so safety may be an issue, which is why they close it 🙂

Good point. I’ll be surprised if a TRO is in place.

It makes commuting a nightmare if I divert and the road is very picturesque. I wouldn’t drive over there if I thought there was a realistic risk of me crashing.

I appreciate someone else might crash and block the road and delay me, but it’s a risk I’m prepared to take. In 15 years its only happened once and I managed to help the person who had crashed.

I have to tolerate the withering looks of work colleagues who tell me I’m a bad person, but i tell them the closure is just to help balance the council’s budget with gritting and police being involved with inexperienced users having accidents.

It’ll help if I can quote the Law. I’ll look up TROs in my area. Thanks for that start.

I’ve always wondered what it is that makes STW’ers such driving demi-gods.

Yes, you may be able to help mere mortals who have got stuck and yes, you may be held up by incompetent drivers who simply don’t have the ability to get past whatever caused the road to be closed.

I say go the longer way and suck it up princess. Looking for legalities and loopholes to ensure that general principles don’t apply to you isn’t always the best thing to do.

I do believe if you crash and require emergency help they would be well within their rights to tell you to bollox. However this is not in their nature and they would no doubt assist, however get ready to make the local papers at the very least with terms of irresponsible and life threatening being liberally used. I would also state ianal.

I appreciate someone else might crash and block the road and delay me

I like this troll 🙂

Roads full of men with strong but conflicting opinions about how to drive on ice

They closed roads up here in Scotland a few years ago, irresponsible people though they would still use them… The judge reassured them they were in the wrong.

some anecdotal in here
https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=607181
From the AA

Deliberate
AA flood rescue crews report particular issues with some 4×4 drivers who deliberately ignore or move road closed signs.

Darron Burness concludes: “Not only is it illegal but, if you get stuck, your insurer may well reject any claim, which would be a rather embarrassing one to explain.

“You’re also potentially diverting the emergency services from a genuine emergency, so think about your actions – there are simply no excuses for driving into flood water.”

Related traffic offences
£50 non-endorseable Fixed Penalty Notice
Disobeying a road closed or any other traffic sign is neglect of traffic regulations (e.g. give way, roundabout vehicle priority, box junction road markings etc) punishable by a £50 fine.

£100 endorseable Fixed Penalty Notice
Splash a pedestrian or other road user could be deemed careless driving (e.g. tailgating, middle lane hogging etc) attracting a higher penalty of £100 and possibly three points on your licence.
http://www.theaa.com/newsroom/news-2014/aa-calls-for-review-of-flooding-signage.html

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jan/11/police-road-block-rights

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/drivers-who-ignored-road-closed-7187481

Road closure cancelled due to bad weather….
https://www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/10683/update_aviemore_road_closure_b970_cancelled

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/15528586.Complaints_about_cycle_race_closures_prompt_council_review/

If the risk is just a £50 fine with no points, then just go for it. Chances are it’ll never come to that, but if it does, well it’s just £50.

What is a fell road?

Viking (?) word for hill. Used in Lake District etc, see also fell running.

see also fell running.

hence:

“How did you injure your ankle?”
“Fell running.”
“Well the council had closed the road due to ice so you’ve only yourself to blame.”

I think common sense would apply. If you live there and it’s safe enough, use it. If weather forecast is dodgy, plan ahead, and leave car where it’s safe and then walk home/use your mountain/quad bike even.
Chat up a farmer and club together and grit that section yourselves? There are probably grit bins along it for your use. If not ask for them or sort it yourself if its that system critical.

Or hibernate?

What’s the worst that could happen?

http://www.scotsman.com/news/german-tourists-stranded-in-highlands-for-five-weeks-1-2906075/amp

I think we need google map links to said road to pass judgement for ourselves 😈 . Also, if the council have closed the road what would be the legalities of using non road legal vehicles on it?

It’s not just you it’s the idiot that follows.

Council closed our road in the floods due to a bridge being under a foot or so of water. I spoke to the lad putting out the signs who was happy enough for me to continue – in the land rover. Man in a near new beemer 5 series behind me just followed me blindly.

He was recovered and soon after was seen with a new mercedes…..don’t think that car ever lived again

Double post

Also, if the council have closed the road what would be the legalities of using non road legal vehicles on it?

Still illegal, it’s still a public highway.

I think we need google map links to said road to pass judgement for ourselves

I for one will be racing Surfmatt over it, blindfolded, to see how tricky it is when in a 500hp RWD on semi-slicks.. …

I can then report back on whether the average STW driver should be able to manage.

Have you got a low-slung German RWD car? If so crack-on. 😉

Is it Corney Fell?

That’s got a flap over the sign which they open to reveal the word “closed”.

I think they often forget/CBA to close the flap back up as I’ve driven over when it’s been “closed” but the weather was very obviously fine and had been for a several days.

I wouldn’t have bothered with the weather earlier this week though. Cars have definitely been stuck up there in the past.

Council closed our road in the floods due to a bridge being under a foot or so of water. I spoke to the lad putting out the signs who was happy enough for me to continue – in the land rover.

Ever noticed how, whenever there’s reports about serious flooding on the tellybox, the numbnuts driving gods are always being picked out of the sunroof of a Discovery, Hilux or similar?

i know strange aint it that this time it was a beemer 😉

Ever noticed how, whenever there’s reports about serious flooding on the tellybox, the numbnuts driving gods are always being picked out of the sunroof of a Discovery, Hilux or similar?

Ever noticed how, whenever someone who knows the road and what their car is capable of speaks up, the numbnuts who like to speak in daft kitschy phrases always come out for a dig?

OP: end of the day you know the risks. If your council arbitrarily shuts the road for the winter just to get out of laying some grit then it’s your call. You’re an adult. Doubt you would be the only user either unless literally nobody lives or works along said road.

i should add that it was the road to my house….. not just a random road i was driving down in search of water such as those you tend to see on the telly .

It’s rare they close the roads across dartmoor but they seem to have taken a new approach of only gritting in one direction and therefore one side of the road. A bit bleeds over onto the other side but not much.

Fine when there is nothing coming the other way as you can just drive on the gritted side of the road but two wheels on gritted and the other two on ice was causing my traction control some headaches on Tuesday morning.

A headache is better than the migraine it would have with all four wheels on the ice 🙂

thew – Member

Council closed our road in the floods due to a bridge being under a foot or so of water. I spoke to the lad putting out the signs who was happy enough for me to continue – in the land rover.

Ever noticed how, whenever there’s reports about serious flooding on the tellybox, the numbnuts driving gods are always being picked out of the sunroof of a Discovery, Hilux or similar? [/quote]

Nope. What you are doing is conflating people on youtube deliberately fording rivers and messing about off road in Discoveries and Hilux’s with news footage of people getting their cars stuck in flood water – almost always ordinary passenger cars.
The reason for that is “proper” 4x4s have a wading depth which is typically double that of the average family car (sometimes much more depending on the car), and that’s before any basic modifications.

Ever noticed how, whenever someone who knows the road and what their car is capable of speaks up, the numbnuts who like to speak in daft kitschy phrases always come out for a dig?

I know my road and what my car is capable of. Is it OKk for me to drive up it at twice the speed limit?

The rules don’t apply to me, surely.

I’m in a similar position to the OP (probably the same road…), the fell road is often closed due to ice/snow, each time they put a week long closure on it. Which is fine if it remains cold. However like today, the temperatures increased to 8 degrees, it chucks it down with rain, but it’s never reopened until the end of the original closure date.

I’m sometimes looking at an extra hour on my commute if I avoid the perfectly fine fell road which is a bit annoying!

This thread could really win with some google map links.
Just sayin.

Ever noticed how Range Rovers, despite their undoubtable off road ability, still cannot see underwater when big old manhole covers have been lifted by the deluge and damage themselves driving into the hole. It was funny for all the bystanders though.

saw a civic do the same thing. flipped it right over.

besides the hole – speed caused the issue.

I know my road and what my car is capable of. Is it OKk for me to drive up it at twice the speed limit?

The rules don’t apply to me, surely.

Because that’s what I said 🙄

I’m out, you dafties can argue it out amongst yourselves.

Surely its a fallen road?