Stop the diesel spills

Devon county council is launching a ‘Spiller Killer’ campaign to try to stamp out diesel spills on the county’s roads.

The council is acting after asking riders in its area for their road safety priorities, and says Government stats show riders are twice aslikely to suffer injuries as a result of diesel spills as they are from slides on ice or snow.

The campaign aims to: Raise the awareness of the problem and the potential dangers to road users; Encourage the reporting of diesel spills so that the local authority can take quick remedial action; Educate haulage companies, drivers, farmers, bus companies and petrol filling stations about the problems caused by overfilling, poorly fitted fuel caps and badly maintained vehicles which can all lead to diesel spillage.

KillSpills, a national campaigning organisation, has also been lobbying central government to bring in tougher anti-spills laws. MCN ran its own award-winning ‘Diesel Kills’ campaign in the late ’90s, presenting thousands of names on a petition to Number 10 Downing Street.

KillSpills co-ordinator, Stephen Edwards, said: “Diesel spills are increasing at an alarming rate and as a result, ALL road users’ lives are in unnecessary danger. It is difficult to believe that in this advanced world diesel is still so easily allowed to spew over our roads. The technology exists for anti-spill caps but the cost to fit them to an existing commercial fleet is often considered too expensive.”