Be Excellent To Each Other

If you cleared the snow from the pavement in front of your property and someone subsequently had a slip and injured themselves, are you liable?

Yes. If you just leave it, it's an 'act of god'. But at the same time, I've been told that the councils have to attempt to clear the roads as if they don't and you crash, they could be liable. Fucking ridiculous.

Yes.

The BBC answer :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8443745.stm

They got the act wrong.

Why do we have laws like this? I know snow has been something of a rarity over the last 20 years or so, but when I lived in Germany it was the law that you had to clear the snow from the pavement in front of your house and pretty much everybody accepted that it was a good thing to do and got on with it. i can't remember hearing of any Germans suing other Germans after slipping on the pavement either.

Reavers.

Tort law in short:

Someone does something
Someone gets hurt
Some rules
Profit

Feex

So, when I was unable to stop my car and bumped another one in cambridge on dec17th, I was told its a fault and I am liable. Can the council there be to blame for not clearing the.roads or preemptive gritting?

Basically no

"No, they've to make a reasonable effort to grit roads, and you were negligent for not leaving a space, so fuck off" will be what their lawyer will say.

The utter cunts usually being the claimants, in my experience.

I've made a sign saying "SLIPPERY! ICE!" and am going to put it up to see how many other houses on the road follow suit.

I'm going to come round and change it to read "SLIPPERS! NICE!"

Good point

So if I clear the pavement and put a sign up am I covered?

Don't be daft. What do you take this for, a nation of competent, non-whining adults?

They have a similar by-law, that you have to clear your bit of pavement, in Edinburgh.

If you are concerned, throw a bit of sand down after you've cleared it.

Shit on your doorstep.

Just don't do it.

Already did

In fairness, you should be okay, because to have a valid claim (I think), the person would need to slip up as a direct result of you chucking stuff from one place to the other. The rule is there normally for stuff like rubbish instead of snow.

Or something.

Quick! Go to a neighbour who hasn't cleared their snow, scoop it all up and spread it across your pavement. Now it's THEIR problem if someone falls!

I have put grit/salt on the track outside my house for my benefit. It's a private road and if someone falls they can GTFF frankly because they shouldn't be there. I need to get out of my drive without crashing the car.

Have struggled into the office. 50 minute journey took 1 hour 30. Much worse up here than in Southern Hampshire!

I've taken to parking about 1/2 a mile from where I live since the hill leading to my house is not gritted and doesnt get enough traffic to be anything other than a sheet of ice. However all the main roads seem to be fine (so the scary bit of my journey is the last minor road and the car park here).

Forcasts are that it'll remain cold and that we'll get some additional snow over the weekend , be interesting to see what happens then.

Negligent my arse I was driving the most carefully ive EVER driven. Act of god that it was snowing a blizzard with 5 feet visibility and no fucking effort by the councils to do anything despite knowing in advance. aids.

Basically, if you do it, then the council aren't responsible for anyone hurting themselves any more, as it's you that has caused the problem. If you don't do it, it's the council's problem, not yours, so they can fight that one.

So, if you clear the snow, and it ices over, and someone falls, it's you that can be done. If you do nothing, and it ices over and someone falls, it isn't your problem.

If you are going to do it, do it absolutely perfectly, and ensure that there is no new danger created and stuff.

So, in short, don't do it.

id just say the snow fairy cleared my driveway, fucking prove i did it.

I've had my next-door neighbour clear my driveway before while I've been at work. Who's liable there?

Entirely ditto for me.

All we get driving up and down our icy hill at the moment is tits in 4x4s who are frotting themselves off because they finally (for one week of the year) get to pretend there's a good reason for having one.

That said, when I have to replace my car I'm totally getting a Defender and getting it LPG converted.

It'd be a civil claim, so it'd be "on the balance of probabilities" which means 50+% probability it was you. Also, if there were 10 houses and 9 had snow not cleared on the pavement, is it more, or leff likely that you done it?

Probably not you, if you weren't aware f the danger present when it happened.

Is it Dimrill?

Why did you clear it?

, especially the clot in a Discovery who was driving about ten inches off my rear bumper all the way down a steep, slippery hill.

It's okay. "He has more grip."

Just get a diesel.

If he's driving it properly, he does.
I suspect he wasn't.

They're not actually being useful though - they're just driving around. Really - I watched one guy just tool up and down our hill 4 times on Wedensday.

There has been an awsome thing on local radio where the radio station has been matching up things like meals on wheels with 4X4 drivers with time on their hands. Now *that's* good.



What sort of mpg would I get from a shortwheelbase diesel Defender?

Mrs C wants a Ford Pickup, the mental.

Why not fucking overtake me then with the grip he thinks he has? It's a dual carriageway!

My RC Bowler Wildcat is brilliant in the snow, provided it's been compacted a bit. If it's going to be like this every year I may make snow chains for it as well.

It's also good for taking the piss out of the Land Rover drivers.

There's a national volunteer service that I'm a member of, and everyone with a 4x4 should consider joining. Basically they work with the emergency services and get medical staff to work or act as ambulances. Last December in the snow they also ferried a wedding party to a church that was cut off so the wedding could still go ahead - aww.


Depends on the age and the engine, but not much. If it's returning more that 25 you're doing well. Put grippy tyres on it and you'll be doing more like 20.


Ew.

Does that include the guests?

I thought so - which is why the LPG conversion makes sense to me, if one absolutely must have a Landy as one's commuting vehicle.



Word, bro.

It was pretty dangerous, simply getting from the front door to the car/garage could have been lethal! The wife fell and has a sprained wrist, I slipped but luckily fell into the front garden and sustained no injuries - so decisive man of action that I am, I sprung into action and cleared it... leaving myself open to all manner of legal action

Hmm - odd. In my experience a layer of snow tends to be a safer walking surface than a layer of cleared icy pavement.

Yup.

fuck.

So you expect grit to work in a blizzard, interersting...