Winter service is an important part of our maintenance work and almost £5 million is spent each year on roads affected by winter weather. This involves salting major roads when there is a risk of ice, clearing snow and reacting to floods and fallen trees. Details on our policy and procedures can be seen in the Winter Service and Emergency Plan.
What we can and can’t do
More information about how we manage winter roads, including when and where we carry out salting is available on our What we do page and can be seen on our primary salting network map.
Devon County Council aims to assist safe winter travel in every way that we can, however not everything is under our control or in our remit. See What we can’t do for more information.
Our contractor, Milestone has a workforce based at strategic locations to provide an effective response to any problems that may occur.
Staying safe on winter roads
Despite our efforts, winter weather can still make roads treacherous. With over 90% of all crashes attributed to human error the real key to driving in winter is to drive with due care for the conditions. Never assume a road has been salted.
Please read our advice on how you can help keep Devon’s roads safe in winter.
Reporting problems or getting help and advice
- The best way to report any problems on Devon’s roads is by using our report a problem webpage if you can.
- You can also follow @DevonAlert on Twitter for updates about any problems affecting the road network.
- National Highways look after the M5 and trunk roads in Devon – they can be contacted on 0300 123 5000.
- The Environment Agency’s Floodline is available 24 hours a day for advice on flooding (including the availability of sandbags) – contact them on 0845 988 1188.
- The Met Office has a guide for travelling in severe weather – if you need to travel please take care and adhere to warnings.
- You can download our winter travel guidance as a PDF.