Clearing snow off the pavement – misreable neighbour content

OTOH, my neighbour cleared his pavement just before christmas, and now it's an evil impassable ice rink while my pavement is still covered in 6 inches of nice grippy snow.

Exactly what I was thinking – the only bits of pavement I've felt nervous on have been the places people have cleared it, which generally seem to have bits of ice around on them. What exactly is the problem with 4" of compacted snow?

I quite frankly don't give a stuff what any of my neighbours think, I cleared my drive and the paths in front of my house. Nobody else in the street has.

But then I was brought up to do my bit, don't care what the rest of the chavs/Southerners do.

snow cushions the ice, so if you remove snow and there is water about grit, if you remove ice then deffo grit.

i think i read somewhere that if you clear your street and someone slips over, you are now liable not the council…….funny world we live in!

Thankfully that one is a complete urban myth. There's been an official government statement up here in Scotland saying that story is not true. I presume it's the same in the rest of Britain.

Thankfully that one is a complete urban myth. There's been an official government statement up here in Scotland saying that story is not true. I presume it's the same in the rest of Britain.

Umm experience tells us that the Scottish govmnt is a little more sensible than the **** we have ruling us down here, I can see why you exported Gordon Brown..

" the Scottish govmnt is a little more sensible than the **** we have ruling us down here"

Aren't we also ruled by Scots down here? 😀

i think i read somewhere that if you clear your street and someone slips over, you are now liable not the council…….funny world we live in!

Absolute bollocks – but frequently quoted.

You are only liable if you CREATE a hazard. So if you clear all the snow using hot water, creating an ice rink or if you clear the snow and pile it where someone might fall over it or back a car into it then you could be liable.

If you do a normal job of clearing the snow and create no foreseeable hazard then you are fine.

Also you have a duty of care to people visiting your door (i.e. postmen) which means that strictly speaking you could be liable if you DIDN'T clear the snow from your path and they fell.

Apparently not. I thought the same way however I heard it refered to on 5 live over the weekend. Something about snow and ice being a natural hazard but by clearing you may create a greater hazard.
I also heard reference on Radio4 although I cant confirm which program.
Not aware of a single prosecution and none where quoted which at least sounds as if courts arent taking it seriously. but by the presenter on the Radio4 program it is not simply an urban myth.

I left it too late and the snow had congealed into rock hard ice which struck sparks when I tried to clear it 🙁

Apparently not. I thought the same way however I heard it refered to on 5 live over the weekend. Something about snow and ice being a natural hazard but by clearing you may create a greater hazard.

Did a bit of research and it seems this "liability from clearing snow" thing stems from a question raised in Question Time in February, 2004, where it was stated that you may be liable "If it is done in a less than complete manner and leaves ice, which is more dangerous than the original covering of snow"

A more recent article says:

"THE [Edinburgh] city council has dispelled two urban myths which have sprung up as a result of cold snap. They confirmed there is no by-law in Edinburgh which requires all businesses and private homes to clear snow from the front of their premises.

But anyone who decides to get the shovel out can rest easy. The spokesman said individuals who cleared pavements would definitely not be held liable if there was then an accident – unless they had actually made it more dangerous."

— The Scotsman, 7th Jan 2010

So basically, as I said, you're only liable if your actions create a foreseeable hazard.

apparently it isnt an icey apocolypse at all and it will all melt in due course.

So basically, as I said, you're only liable if your actions create a foreseeable hazard.

Well its not quite what you said but I think we are all on the same page with regard to this.

It's all bollocks anyway, unless you had clearly been a complete **** or had deliberately set out to cause a hazard then I can't see any court listening to it.

We left ours as there was no grit available and it seemed pretty grippy. Only the bit in the garden got icy, which I attempted to cure with 2kg of salt. No luck. Instead I got sheet ice. I then had to spend 2 hours chipping away at the ice. Now the bits I've cleared are slippy and the snow is still grippy. I'll leave it alone next time, as everyone else does.

Just as i'm finishing and carrying the shovel around the back out of sight , someone parks-up just past my house and says "oh – for gods sake look at that – what does he expect a medal" .

If you are dealing with a bloke:

a) Say that you expect to have a go on his wife and/or daughter for the trouble.

Male/female/Other:

b) Stab them through the head with a pair of handlebars and then attempt to ride them up and down the pavement to test it for grip. When done, leave them leaning against their own front door with a packet of Elastoplast. Because you care.

c) Beat them to death with a frozen copy of the Daily Mail.

HTH

😀

coffeeking: that's pretty much exactly why I left ours well alone. Well that's what I told MrsGrahamS anyways.

Plenty of rock salt available in most Wickes
At least that what the manager of my local one told me when I was getting some

Did ours yesterday, both the driveway and the pavement outside the house and followed it up with salt, no ice rinks here!

No-one else in the close had bothered but, funnily enough, they all started after we were done! Don't believe I really did shame them into action but I carry that illusion 😉

LEAVE THE SNOW… DO NOT TOUCH THE SNOW… PUT THE SHOVEL DOWN, PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD AN STEP AWAY FROM THE SNOW!

So basically, as I said, you're only liable if your actions create a foreseeable hazard.

Which is exactly what you are likely to do if you just clear the snow and don't salt – at least from my experience of where people have done that. Explains where the "urban myth" comes from.

Well, I cleared the path through my front yard on Wednesday morning – seemed polite as it's the only access to five other houses* – and it hasn't turned into a icy deathtrap yet. Do you think I'm in the clear?

*Medieval streetplans weren't very well thought out.