THE government’s rationing of salt has been blamed for turning the Downs Road, between Brading and Arreton, into a potentially lethal ice rink this week.
Ashey Road, too, was left out of the new salting regime as commuters battled to get to work on Monday morning.
That led to a car skidding off the road and rupturing a high-pressure gas main, in one of a spate of crashes for which the Isle of Wight Council was blamed.
The council responded by blaming the government for rationing salt.
Drivers complained the lack of salt made roads lethal. A council officer, who would not be named, said: "It is a disgrace the Downs Road and Ashey Road leading to it are not classed as primary routes and have been dropped."
Isle of Wight Council head of highways, Peter Hayward, said: "As we announced in January, a number of roads on the Island normally treated with rock salt during periods of freezing weather are not being treated while the government continues to ration salt allocations across the country.
"We would therefore again urge road users to take particular care on all untreated roads and drive according to weather conditions. All primary routes were treated between Saturday night and Sunday morning and the residual salt levels were sufficient to keep these routes ice free on Sunday night into Monday."
Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk