Transport Information
Traffic Information guide
Devon’s Winter Service information on Twitter
Devon County Council (DCC) has recently launched a new innovative service where people can receive daily updates on Twitter about the winter service action planned for DCC’s primary salting network.
Each lunchtime, DCC’s winter operations team analyse a wealth of information from its weather forecaster and also consider the current state of the road network in terms of runoff and residual salt. We consider the likelihood of ice, frost or snow forming on any part of the network and what salting treatment is required to minimise the chance of this occurring. The result is an action plan for each of Devon’s 37 salting routes across the county, which then becomes one of three potential status updates which are delivered as Tweets for each of the 20 different areas of the county. These are:
| Status Tweet | What does it mean? | What action should I take? |
|---|---|---|
| NO PLANNED ACTION - [AREA] - but road conditions are still being monitored. devon.gov.uk/transportinfo #DevonWinter |
No gritters are planned to go out tonight and roads are not expected to freeze, but weather conditions can change and are still being monitored. | Winter hazards are not expected but as weather conditions can change, be alert to changing conditions and drive in accordance with the conditions that you find. |
| ALERT – [AREA] - Monitoring road conditions. Freezing road conditions may be possible. devon.gov.uk/transportinfo #DevonWinter |
No gritters are planned to go out tonight at the moment, but freezing road conditions are possible and gritters may be called out overnight if required. | Be prepared for freezing road conditions, especially if you are travelling overnight and in the morning and drive in accordance with the conditions that you find, taking note of our winter driving advice*. |
| WARNING – [AREA] - Gritters will be out. Travel on roads with care, especially overnight. devon.gov.uk/transportinfo #DevonWinter |
Gritters are planned to go out in all or part of the area as ice, frost or snow are predicted over the next 24 hours. | Freezing roads are expected with frost, ice or snow. This may just be confined to overnight or may affect day-time travel. Avoid overnight travel where possible and drive with care taking note of our winter driving advice*. Listen to local radio for more detailed travel information. |
*Winter driving advice can be found at www.devon.gov.uk/winterdriving
This information is provided for guidance only, and does not include the M5 motorway or A30, A35, A38 trunk road network as they are managed by the Highways Agency. The County Council can not be held responsible for actions taken as a result of this information, but it is provided in good faith.
Details of the [AREAS]
Devon has been divided into 20 geographical areas to try and make the information more specific, however it should be noted that this can only ever be indicative and boundaries should never be taken literally when dealing with weather conditions. A map showing the boundaries can be found on the interactive map by clicking in the snowman tick-box at www.devon.gov.uk/transportinfo.
(snowman icon)
The key towns/villages that each area covers are listed below:
- North 1 - Barnstaple, Braunton and Ilfracombe
- North 2 - Lynton
- North 3 - Bideford, Great Torrington and Northam
- North 4 - South Molton and Chulmleigh
- North 5 - Bishop's Nympton, North of Tiverton and East of South Molton
- North 6 - Hartland, Hatherleigh and Holsworthy
- East 1 - Exmouth
- East 2 - Seaton and Sidmouth
- East 3 - Broadclyst and Whimple
- East 4 - Axminster, Blackdown hills and Honiton
- East 5 - Cullompton, Crediton and Tiverton
Exeter - Pinhoe, Countess Wear and Topsham
- South 1 - Ashburton, Newton Abbot and Moretonhampstead
- South 2 - Dawlish and Teignmouth
- South 3 - Kingskerswell and Newton Abbot
- South 4 - Buckfastleigh, Dartmouth and Totnes
- South 5 - Ivybridge, Modbury and Wembury
- South 6 - Kingsbridge and Salcombe
- West 1 - Okehampton and Tavistock
- West 2 - Drewsteignton, North Tawton and Winkleigh
- West 3 - Chagford, Yelverton and Widecombe in the Moor
Additional Information
This information is provided on a daily basis throughout the winter, normally from 15 October to 15 April (may be extended if cold weather persists). It is not intended to replicate or replace any severe weather warning service provided by the Met Office or other providers, and will not discriminate between overnight frosts and more severe winter conditions.
Information relates to the lunchtime decision only and is not updated during the 24 hours period. However information about actual road temperatures is available at www.devon.gov.uk/transportinfo.
Devon County Council are constantly seeking to develop and improve this service and will seek to add further useful information to this feed. Feedback is always welcome and can be tweeted to @DevonCC.
