'˜Icy' Shanes Hill worries drivers

One woman, who does not wish to be named, was injured when her car came off the road amid heavy snow and ice in November.

She told the Times that it was only as she awaited the ambulance after the accident that the gritter treated the road, despite weather warnings over the icy conditions being forecast beforehand.

“I was driving slowly but as I came round the double bend near the Ballyboley Inn the car veered off the road, spun around and rolled over into the ditch,” she recalled.

“I was trapped in the bottom of the ditch and a passing lorry driver saw my car lights and pulled me out.

“As I was waiting for the ambulance the gritter drove past, but the road should have been gritted in advance.

“The Roads Service had plenty of warning that snow was going to fall and that road is the main route which people from Larne use to travel to Ballymena, so it should have been a priority for gritting.

“I know that the DRD is short of money, but public safety should be a priority,” she concluded.

A Larne worker, who also did not wish to be named, told the Times she had witnessed cars lying in the ditch last week after the road was left ungritted amid icy conditions.

“On Monday night (February 1) I was travelling over Shane’s Hill at 8pm and there was no sign of any grit,” she said.

“The most treacherous part was between Kilwaughter and Moorfields. I started to feel my car slip and I was only doing 30mph. The gritters should have been out before the snow fell and the ice formed.

“It was nerve-wracking going over it in the dark in those conditions and it took me longer to get to Ballymena. That road is the main way that people use to get to Ballymena so it should be a priority for gritting.

“The next morning the road had been gritted but there were cars which had already crashed into the ditch lying at the side of the road,” she concluded.

A DRD spokesperson said that gritting had taken place on the Shanes Hill Road at 9pm on Tuesday February 2 and at 4.30am on Wednesday February 3.

“Since October last year the road has been gritted on 43 separate occasions. Over 400 tonnes of salt has been spread on the route which included Shane’s Hill at a cost approaching £14,000,” he said.

“Drivers are reminded that they should always drive according to prevailing road condition, irrespective of gritting.”