CHAOS ON THE ROADS
Icy conditions have caused several accidents on the county's roads this morning.
A severe weather warning of widespread icy roads across the county, was issued this morning by the Met Office, and will be in place until tomorrow morning.
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Crashed car near Fenny Bridges junction of A30
A spokesman for the Met Office said that conditions are expected to improve throughout the day, with showers clearing by the afternoon and some sunshine expected.
However, rain is forecast for parts of the South West tonight and temperatures are expected to fall.
There have been four incidents on the A30 near Honiton.
A VW Beetle flipped onto its roof at Yarcombe, east of Honiton, at around 7.30am.
A van lost control on the ice near the Turks Head, while the driver of a Ford Mondeo suffered back injuries, near Pattersons Cross.
Another vehicle spun out of control near Fenny Bridges on the westbound carriageway of the A30, at around 6.40am.
There was also a prang near the Twisted Oak pub, in Ide, Exeter, at 7.45am, involving a silver Vauxhall Combo Van and a blue Ford Focus.
The driver of the van suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital with back and neck injuries.
There have been reports of traffic being unable to get out of Chudleigh as a result of black ice on Exeter Road.
There has been an accident at Ugbrooke House, near Chudleigh, involving one vehicle, at 8.15am. One man suffered leg injuries.
Drivers have described the A3193 at Trusham, near Newton Abbot, as being like "a skating rink".
A lorry became stuck on the Exeter Road, near Tedburn St Mary, and is still waiting to be recovered.
A blue Audi struck a bollard after losing control on ice at Tower Cross, on the A35 to Honiton.
There has also been a two vehicle collision on the A35 near Axminster, at around 6.30am.
There has been a minor road accident on the B3137 near Witheridge, Tiverton, involving a car and a bus. One person has suffered wrist injuries.
Police have warned motorists to be extra careful on the roads. Spokesman Alan Mobbs said: "Drivers must be aware that this time of year it is likely that they will face ice at various locations across the counties.
"Anyone who has to use their car in the early morning should allow extra time for their journey and listen to road traffic reports before setting off. It would be better to delay their journey for a couple of hours rather that risk the ice."
There has been an accident involving two vehicles on the A30, just past the slip road on the west side of Honiton, at 6.20am. A silver BMW 318 and a silver Mercedes E300 collided and both were badly damaged in the incident.
The Highways Agency is reporting delays of around 50 minutes on the A30 near Honiton due to congestion caused by earlier incidents as a result of icy conditions. Normal traffic conditions are expected from 10.45am.
6 Comments
by Angry, Exeter
Tuesday, December 02 2008, 5:14PM
“For goodness sake, why is it always someone elses problem when it comes to dealing with the aftermath of the weather? If it's cold and wet & therefore likely to be icy, SLOW DOWN & TAKE CARE!!! It's common sense, isn't it?
Other European countries always seem well prepared to cope with snow, ice & just about anything the winter has to throw at them, yet the slightest sign of frost & us Brits are skidding all over the place! Maybe if we weren't in such a hurry to live our lives, we might be able to think about what we're doing once in a while!”
by burt, slovenia
Tuesday, December 02 2008, 3:33PM
“We have 3 months of bad/good weather. here it is the law to have winter tyres or chains maybe you should have the same in the uk.”
by Steve, Heavitree
Tuesday, December 02 2008, 3:22PM
“Michael do you realise that gritting cycle paths would cost our council extra money - when we have much more important projects to fund. Like the arch in Heavitree for instance :)”
by Nigel M, Cullompton
Tuesday, December 02 2008, 2:50PM
“Well said Rich - a smile on a miserable day :-)
Be warned, with such a balanced view you may well get an offer of a job as a 'reporter' for some well known national papers.”
by Michael Emerton, Exeter
Tuesday, December 02 2008, 2:29PM
“The cycle paths down by the river had not been gritted and so there were many cyclists who had some nasty falls this morning - me being one of them! I think the problem was that the temperature did not seem to be below freezing and there were puddles of water on the ground so in my mind there was no thought that there would be ice on the ground. I have contacted the council and hopefully they are going to grit this area. Either that or some warning signs should go up before someone has a really serious accident. I dread to think what would have happened this morning if I had not been wearing my helmet.”
by Rich Hodgson, Exeter
Tuesday, December 02 2008, 2:12PM
“What is the Government doing about all this ice? I suppose it's too much to ask to expect the council to do something about the weather in case it upsets Jack Frost. Gordon Brown is to blame as he clearly doesn't care about the South West or immigrating weather either. The weather shouldn't be sponging off the wind looking for a free ride all the time, coming over here and stealing all our warmth. This is political correctness gone mad.”