'Only travel if absolutely necessary', that is the advice from Avon and Somerset Police and the Met Office following multiple road traffic collisions resulting in road closures due to extremely icy conditions.
⛔ ROAD CLOSURES⛔
Road closures as they come in:
A362 Frome Road, Radstock to the junction of the A366 (closed)
Dunkerton Hill (closed)
Wellow Road/Lane (gridlocked)
A367 from Peasedown St John to Bath (closured)
Avon and Somerset Police updated residents via Twitter over night as multiple collision reports came in:
'Due to there being multiple Road Traffic Collisions due to the icy conditions of the road, officers who are on scene have placed a road closure from the A362 Frome Road, Radstock to the junction of the A366. Please check for alternative routes before travelling.'
The public have taken to social media to report road closures and accidents as they travel:
Radstock Community Group:
'If you're going from Radstock to Bath there are crashes on both Dunkerton Hill and Wellow Road/Lane. Both are completely closed so no way through'
Everything Shoscombe Group on Facebook have posted:
Avoid Wellow! Completely Gridlocked
A367 from PSJ to Bath shut
Avon and Somerset Police issue advice if you have to travel:
Consider the following:
⛽Fuel
🚗Oil, coolant and screen wash levels
💨 Tyre tread depth and air pressure
🌧️ Windscreen wiper blades
💡 Working electrics
The Met Office have issued a yellow weather warning of ice as temperatures hit -4 degrees over night and into this morning.
Ice likely to cause difficult driving conditions.:
What to expect:
Icy stretches on some roads, pavements and cycle paths
Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces
During snow and ice:
Avoid travel if possible
If you must drive check the Highway Code for advice on driving in ice and snowy weather. A summary of the advice is: Take care around gritters. Don't be tempted to overtake. Slow down - it can take 10 times longer to stop in snowy or icy conditions, so allow extra room. Use the highest gear possible to avoid wheel spin. Manoeuvre gently and avoid harsh braking and acceleration. If you start to skid, gently ease off the accelerator and avoid braking. If braking is necessary, pump the brakes don't slam them on. If you get stuck, stay with your car and tie something brightly coloured to your aerial
If you go outside wear several layers of clothing and keep dry to prevent loss of body heat. Watch out for signs of hypothermia - uncontrollable shivering, slow/slurred speech, memory lapse and drowsiness and frostbite - loss of feeling in and pale appearance of fingers, toes, nose and ear lobes. Keep moving your arms and legs to help the blood circulate
Be aware of black ice. It isn't always visible and so can be an even greater hazard for both motorists and pedestrians. Black ice may be formed when rain or drizzle fall on a road surface which is at a temperature below zero
Updates as we get them.