Photo by Aleksandr Kozlovskii on Unsplash

Hello all! Steve here!

Now, before we begin, I have to warn you: if I make any typos in this blog post, it’s because my hands are too numb to type. I’ve just been out all day doing courier jobs in freezing weather (not always fun), and the hot chocolate currently going through my system is taking a while to start working! So, sorry in advance if anything comes out wonky!

Whatever the Weather

Anyway, with the day I’ve just had and the kind of weather it was, I got thinking about one of the oldest questions courier drivers have asked themselves since modern roads were invented: would it be easier to do winter courier jobs if the roads were self-heating? Ok, maybe not as many as I think have ever asked that, but if not, why not?

Ah yes, heated roads. A pipedream for courier drivers for decades, which so far remains only that – a pipedream. This is because, while the technology for making roads heat themselves year-round does exist, it is so fantastically expensive that no one even dares think about it. Well, they do think about it, but only in a "what if" kind of way. And unfortunately, that’s how things are likely to remain for the time being.

Seeing as we’re in fantasyland at the moment, though, I thought I might throw in my tuppence about this topic. And my tuppence is: heated roads would be a godsend for those of us who do courier jobs! Just imagine having roads with no ice on them. Not having to wait for the gritter to come by before you can reach that address tucked away on a side road that looks and feels like a skating rink. Smooth driving even on the coldest nights of the year! Wouldn't it be just magical?

Like I said, though, don’t get your hopes up – after all, we’ve been talking about this same topic since the early 2010s, and it’s still as ludicrously expensive as it always was, and just as out of reach for our Government. But hey, football pitches all have underground heating systems and they’re only used a couple of times a week. Why not apply that same effort to an industry that really needs it? Just saying, you know?

Ah well, we can dream, I suppose…

Until this dream comes true, though…drive safe and drive well!

Steve