A Guide to Gritting: What is Road Gritting and Why Is It So Important?

With winter just around the corner and the weather only getting worse, you may have started thinking about how you plan to prepare your business for winter. When temperatures are icy outside, it’s not uncommon for people to fall over on frozen paths and slippery roads. However, these slips and falls can lead to serious injuries. Similarly, icy and slippery roads can be a huge hazard for drivers. Snow and ice on the roads can cause a car to wheelspin, which can cause a vehicle accident or collision. 

With this in mind, using grit on the roads, car parks and walkways is crucial for the safety of both motorists and pedestrians. 

As a business owner, the safety of your customers, clients and employees should always be a top priority. While most people take for granted that our roads are gritted during the winter months, as an employer it’s your responsibility to make sure your premises are safe and hazard-free when it comes to snow and ice. 

If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to gritting or you’re wondering just how important it is, we’re here to help. Read on for the ultimate guide to gritting and why, as a business owner, it’s crucial you consider it when winter arrives. 

Let’s start with the basics. Grit is salt; it’s spread across the roads to prevent ice from forming and causes any existing ice to melt, enhancing the safety of motorists on the road. While gritting quiet roads that don’t get much traffic can prevent large sheets of ice from forming, gritting is most effective on busy roads and walkways as driving or walking over the salt helps break it down. 

In a nutshell, mixing water with salt produces brine, which ultimately lowers the freezing temperature of the water and causes any ice to melt. This salty water solution can then easily drain off the roads, making them safer for drivers and pedestrians to drive and walk across. 

Winter gritting should always be left to professional commercial gritting services. Gritting requires excellent driving skills and the ability to operate machinery in very challenging conditions (usually during the night when temperatures are freezing and there is limited visibility). Road gritter lorries use a mechanical spinning device to distribute salt out of the back of the lorry, usually following the width of the vehicle. 

It’s absolutely crucial all employees and customers can access your business at any time - and therefore it needs to be free of ice. Slippery, icy roads can put people off entering your property or premises, which is why it’s essential your roads, pathways, car parks and yards are always gritted. No matter what type of business you run, whether it’s a large commercial building or a farm with various fields, having a professional gritting company on board during the winter months is essential. 

If people (or even yourself) struggle to access your business, whether it be by foot or in a vehicle, you could lose vital profits and custom. Instead, it’s crucial your car parks, pathways and roads are gritted so everyone can safely access your business without putting themselves at risk. 

The council isn’t responsible for gritting your road if it’s on private road or land - and even if it’s not, unfortunately the council aren’t able to grit every single road in the country during an icy cold night. 

Using private gritting services is extremely convenient; if the weather is forecast to be particularly icy, you can make sure your business premises are safe for everyone to access when you open in the morning. In fact, at GMC, we can provide a MET office forecast for your site and if the temperature drops below an agreed trigger level, we’ll grit your site, providing you with trouble free cover. 

Lots of gritting companies also offer emergency gritting services. If you’re suddenly met with icy cold temperatures and conditions and it’s becoming difficult to access your business, you can call a reliable gritting company to provide emergency gritting services, ensuring your business remains safely accessible.

As a business owner, the last thing you want is an accident or injury to happen on your premises, especially if it could have been avoided if you’d have taken the necessary steps to prevent it. Gritting your business premises, including pathways, car parks and roads, will enhance the safety of your employees and customers and reduce accidents and injuries on your premises. 

When the weather is icy outside, you still need to make profit. Hiring a gritting company to help you prepare your business for winter will reassure customers and employees that you’re taking the necessary steps to keep them safe and to keep your business operating as normal. This is also something you can proudly display on your site, so customers know it’s still safe to visit you when weather conditions are bad. 

Perhaps you need stock dropped off early in the morning when temperatures are icy. Making sure your roads and pathways are gritted enhances the safety of everyone involved. 

Cold weather and temperatures can be stressful for business owners. There’s lots to prepare for and think about without the stress of working out how you’re going to maintain your car park, roads and pathways. If your roads and carparks are gritted in winter, there’s less chance snow will settle and ice will form. When snow touches the salt, it will melt. 

Using commercial gritting services can help save you time and hassle when trying to prepare your business for winter weather conditions. Using a reliable gritting service will ensure your business is safe to access without you having to do anything; simply get in touch with a reliable gritting company to help you prepare your premises for winter and they’ll take care of the rest. 

If you require high-quality commercial gritting services in Central Scotland, look no further than GMCB Ltd. Our head office is based in Bathgate, West Lothian and we have depots situated in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife and Ayshire meaning we are ideally located to service our clients throughout Central Scotland.  We’re proud to be one of Scotland’s leading gritting companies; our experienced and skilled team will always go above and beyond to provide an efficient service every time. With a team of professionals and industry-standard road gritters, we have everything required to ensure your business is prepared for the winter weather ahead with total road coverage.

Each and every one of our gritting services is designed and developed with customer satisfaction and safety in mind. Our gritting services include preventative gritting, reactive gritting 24/7, site specific MET Office forecasting, salt supply, high-quality gritting vehicles and pay per treatment/clearance with all costs agreed in advance. 

Whether it’s a large distribution yard or a small car park, we can keep your business free with our preventative commercial gritting service. Our team can tailor a package to suit your individual needs. If you need to prepare your business for winter, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today. 

To learn more about our services, including snow clearing, grounds maintenance and pressure washing, visit our website.