A NEW live grit wagon tracking system has been launched in east Cleveland so motorists can see which roads have been treated this winter.

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council has introduced the new tracking system after the public wanted to know where and when the gritters were in action.

The system with an interactive shows the locations of gritters whenever they are out treating the roads.

It also shows a record of the roads they have treated within the previous five hours.

Councillor Alec Brown, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “We know from social media and calls to our contact centre that people are always interested in the routes and locations of our gritting teams.

“We’ve introduced this new tracking system so people to see where our gritters are operating so they can be sure the roads they are about to use are as clear of snow and ice as possible.

“We’d like to remind people though that no amount of grit can make winter roads as easy to drive on as dry, summer roads. Please drive carefully and add extra travel time as snow and ice will always cause some disruption on the roads no matter how often they are ploughed and gritted.”

The gritting teams consist of six vehicles, covering more than 300km of roads throughout the Borough. Often working at night, many of the roads are in rural areas, taking three to four hours to complete each route.

Councillor Brown added: “I’d like to thank our gritting crews for their hard work. They’re out at all hours, often driving in dangerous conditions to keep our roads safe.

“While we’re all enjoying ourselves on New Year’s Day, there’ll be crews on standby ready to leave their families and hit the streets if the weather turns.

“They do a terrific job in some pretty horrendous conditions and I thank them for that commitment.”

For facts on gritting visit here

Look at the live grit wagon tracker here