Wednesday January 6, 2021 A SCOT T ISH PER SPEC T I VE News 7

On thin ice: Slippy legal side of One in 10

dealing with frozen Scots roads
Solicitor Alan Calderwood tells Victoria
Weldon what the law says about keeping
Scotland’s winter roads and pathways clear
WITH a new lockdown in place,
exercise is one of small number of
reasons to leave the house.
But with snow and ice covering many
pavements and roads across Scotland,
even that is proving difficult, with
several health boards warning of a
spike in weather-related slips and falls.
So just who is responsible for making
sure we can all get out and about
without breaking a hip?
Alan Calderwood, associate solicitor
with Thompsons, explains that the
answer depends on where you plan
to go.
The lawyer said that for most roads
and pathways, it will be the local
authority who is responsible for
clearing and gritting, while for other
places, such as supermarket car parks,
the occupier is liable.
Employers also have an even greater
duty to ensure that their workers are
kept safe.
He said: “The roads authority is the
responsible organisation in Scotland
for keeping the roads and pavements
Winter queen
clear of both ice and snow, and that
ultimately is the local council.
“That authority comes from s34 of
the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. The
wording of it is that ‘the roads authority
shall take such steps as they consider
reasonable to prevent snow and ice
endangering pedestrians and vehicles
over public roads’.
“The thing to take from that is that it
doesn’t say they must do X, Y and Z, it’s
that they shall take such steps they
consider reasonable.
“Ultimately if the local authority
think what they’ve done is reasonable
then that’s all they have to do in terms
of the Act.
“The law’s evolved to interpret that to
mean that they have to do what’s
reasonable in the circumstances, and so liable for legal action.
what they really have to do is have a
winter maintenance policy.
“That usually starts with A-roads and ice or your car skids off the road
then works through priority lists, which because of ice is to see whether they’ve
is why most people’s streets never get
gritted because they never get down
that far on the list.”
Gritters were out in force in Glasgow as temperature plummeted
Mr Calderwood explained that
legally, it is accepted that councils have
finite resources and so have to
prioritise the roads most used or at risk. Ultimately if
This can include routes close to schools
or fire stations, as well as A-roads.
However, once this policy is in place, authority think
councils must stick to it or they may be
“The main route to take a case
against the local authority if you slip on reasonable
actually followed their own policy,”
he said.
“So if their policy is that they grit
renters
falling
behind in
payments
A-roads if it hits -1C, or something like
that, then you can check records and AROUND one in 10
see whether they actually carried out private renters are behind
their policy that day. If they didn’t carry
out their own policy then they are
with their payments,
according to Citizens
negligent and are liable for any losses Advice.
that resulted from that. The charity estimates
“In short, they get to decide what the 11 per cent could
they do, but they have to stick to it. equate to around half a
They can’t change their policy that million renters being in
night because there aren’t enough arrears, if its findings
gritters available.” were projected across the
Mr Calderwood explained that UK.
Thompsons wins several cases each On average, people who
year where councils have failed to have fallen behind on rent
follow their winter maintenance policy, now owe £730, which
often resulting in life-changing could potentially mean
consequences for their clients and large around £360 million is
payouts from the public bodies. owed in total, Citizens
“It always baffles me as a lawyer as to Advice said.
why councils don’t put the proper More than half (58%) of
the local resources in place,” he said. those who were behind
“It costs them a lot of money to pay on rent had no rent
claims out and I would far rather see arrears in February 2020,
what they’ve them put the money in place to stop the the survey of more than
accidents happening.” 1,300 private renters in
done is The solicitor added that premises November across the UK
occupied by individuals or businesses found.
need to be maintained and cleared by Among people who
then that’s all the occupier. So a supermarket would were already struggling
they have to do have to ensure its car park is gritted, with rent before the
while individuals are responsible for coronavirus pandemic
their own driveways and paths. hit, 40% said their arrears
had got worse.
Citizens Advice said
that in December, it
helped someone every
two minutes, typically
with an issue to do with
their privately rented
housing.
Alistair Cromwell,
acting chief executive of
Citizens Advice, said:
“Half a million private
renters remain behind on
their rent, with the
majority falling behind
during the pandemic
restrictions.
“Unlike people who
own their homes, private
tenants have had no
structured way to defer
payments but instead
have had to try to keep up
with their rent and bills as
best they can.
“Even though many
landlords are trying to
support their tenants,
thousands of renters
could face eviction.”

Skater Suzie Murray pirouettes on the pond in Queen’s Park, Glasgow, as new Covid-19 rules come into effect across most of Scotland. The tough lockdown measures do not place a limit on
how often Scots can leave home for exercise, and the freezing conditions of the past few days have proved a temptation for many to take to the ice Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
People living alone are at greater risk of dying of a broken hip, study finds
PEOPLE who live on their own are
at greater risk of dying if they break
their hip than those with a partner,
according to a study.
The chances of dying from a hip
fracture are more than 30 per cent
higher for men and 20% higher for
women who live alone, according to
the findings.
Between 70,000 and 75,000 hip
fractures occur each year in the UK,
costing more than £2 billion in
medical and social care.
Around 10% of people who break
their hip die within a month, and
more than 30% within a year.
While men under the age of 60
are particularly vulnerable to the
effects of living alone, older women
are also at risk, the researchers
found. This is because people living
on their own feel socially isolated
and are more likely to have an
unhealthy diet, they say.
Author Dr Cecilie Dahl at the
University of Oslo in Norway said:
“Hip fracture is associated with
excess mortality, persisting for
many years after the fracture.
“In this longitudinal cohort study,
we considered whether living alone
was a risk factor for post-hip factor
COMMENT AT HERALDSCOTLAND.COM
mortality compared with living with
a partner.”
Researchers combined
information on hip fractures from
all hospitals in Norway between
2002 and 2013 with data from the
National Population and Housing
Census. During the 12.8 years,
12,770 men and 22,067 women aged
50 to 79 years old fractured their
hip. Men who lived alone were 37%
more likely to die as a result,
compared to 23% for women, the
researchers found.
This increase in mortality could
be linked to loneliness and social
isolation, the researchers say. Dr
Dahl said: “Having social
relationships has been linked to
better immune functioning and to
lower immune-mediated
inflammatory processes over
time and can be positive in all
parts of life. Social support may also
have an important buffering effect
against stress during illness or
trauma, such as when experiencing
a hip fracture.”
Men living on their own tended to
fracture their hip at a younger age
than those living with a partner, the
researchers also found. In particular,
men under the age of 60 were found
to have the higher relative mortality.
While women living on their own
were more likely to break their hip at
an older age compared to those with
a companion.
Lifestyle choices such as nutrition
and alcohol consumption could also
explain why people living alone are
more at risk. Co-author Dr Kristin
Holvik at the Norwegian Institute of
Public Health said: “Better nutrition
may also play a role, as difficulty in
preparing meals after a hip fracture
has been found to predict one year
mortality.”
Crash man
is named
by police
A MAN who died in a
crash in which two
children were seriously
injured has been named
by police.
Reece Tucker, 23, from
Dundee, was a passenger
in the BMW 3 series car
which crashed on the A93
at Spittal of Glenshee at
around 4.20pm on
Sunday.
Two boys, aged five and
nine, who were also
passengers in the vehicle,
were taken by air
ambulance to the Queen
Elizabeth University
Hospital in Glasgow,
where medical staff
describe their condition
as serious.
The 31-year-old driver
was taken by ambulance
to Ninewells Hospital in
Dundee, where he was
treated for minor injuries.
No other vehicles were
involved.
Police are appealing for
information.
Sergeant Fraser
Cameron, of the Perth
Road Policing Unit, said:
“Our investigation into
the cause of this crash on
Sunday afternoon is
continuing. I would ask
any witnesses to the crash
who have not yet spoken
to officers to contact us.”