I had a row with my landlords (company looking after the estate I live in) right after the first snowfall and another one with council highway dept after xmas - before NY. All pointless, everything was done in line with approved policies, everybody did a good job, everything is fine. In reality the state of pavements in P’boro forced people to walk on roads as it seem safer, most streets were unswept and ungritted and will remain such as they are not part of of the “winter precautionary scheme” or whatever they called it. Major roads were fine-ish - gritted once or twice at the beginning so stayed wet on days and icy at nights.
Their arguments included “we cannot be responsible for weather” and “if you want anything done, do it yourself”.
So I ended up gritting our car park and access road myself; people who would not dare to drive anywhere could at least walk to rubbish bins .
I drove from Kirkcaldy to Peterborough on Saturday - some snowing around Dunfermline, on the Edinburgh bypass, then sleet Gateshead to Darlington roughly, then rain around Doncaster - and “salt spreading” messages on 
temp ~ +5… despite doing steady 70-80mpg I did not catch on any gritter…
The Highway Man:
I used to wonder about that, but since I work in the same depot as the gritters, they have to come in to refill, so you’ve probably driven along a stretch of motorway when the drivers are having a break and refilling with salt
Yeah rite 
D’ya not?:
How about on the motorway, matrix saying “gritting in progress”, yet mile after mile no sign of any gritting in either direction, is it all just kidology ■■?
Bearing in mind they cover massive distances, you may be unlikely to see one (Bit like M/way BIB ) as they do preplanned routes and could be anywhere.
H/Man won’t have this problem in his sheep wandering infested patch 
, but i asked the question elsewhere , How do you grit if you do it from the hardshoulder under 3 lanes of stationary traffic, because you certainly don’t drive at gritting speed on our patch 
.
I was wondering why they drove around with the "flashers"on empty, but then i thought i suppose i wouldn’t want to get smacked by the big plough on the front of it, saying that the “flashers” seem to be badly positioned on the new gritters.
HomoFaber:
Their arguments included “we cannot be responsible for weather” and “if you want anything done, do it yourself”.
highways.gov.uk/knowledge/333.aspx
Well it does say 1/2 way down don’t go out unless necessary, i’m with clunk on this one, the wife’s defrosted the car and gone to work, while i’m sitting at home in my Pj’s playing on here 
.
No one at work can believe the H/A eeejit on the radio last week though saying "Cancel Christmas " What a numpty
HomoFaber:
So I ended up gritting our car park and access road myself; people who would not dare to drive anywhere could at least walk to rubbish bins .
I drove from Kirkcaldy to Peterborough on Saturday - some snowing around Dunfermline, on the Edinburgh bypass, then sleet Gateshead to Darlington roughly, then rain around Doncaster - and “salt spreading” messages on
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
highways.gov.uk/knowledge/17295.aspx tells up a little bit about gritting and the fact that water freezes at 0 degrees 
, no [zb] sherlock i thought everyone knew that 
, That only a miniscule amount of the volumes i was reading on winter maintenence schedules this week cos i’m a boring [zb]
speedyguy:
H/Man won’t have this problem in his sheep wandering infested patch
Err…I patrol the second highest stretch of motorway in the country, I think you’ll find we get more than our fair share of the white slippery stuff!!!
I find it amusing when they leave the warning lights on on the motorways flashing “SALT SPREADING”… In the last 2 weeks of this bad weather ive yet to see a gritter out on the motorways…
The A75 has been treachourous, must been at least half dozen lorries of the road, god knows about cars and its been shut at least 2 or 3 times. And this being a main Euro route into Ireland? Maybe its time they Dualled or even motorwayed it? Na that be to easy, make too much money off poor beggars speeding etc…
Our small streets arent gritted but then again i don’t expect them to be, even in the good old day i can’t really remember the small streets being treated unless the weather has broken.
We have constant freeze and anytime it thaws a bit the snow comes, so its constant.
Our main roads are clear, so i’m not to bothered i’d rather struggle outta the schemes at 10-20mph then onto clear roads that i do 50-70mph on that vice versa.
I’ve heard the problem with the salt is it goes off, so not like you can buy loads and loads of it and think use it next year.
Lets face it not had weather like this, well as sustained as this for what 15 years at least. All comes down to money your money council tax, so most years expecting mild winters and suddenly get this.
So yeah i wish the side streets were all gritted and treated but if resourses are running low i’d rather they concentrate fully on the main roads, because id rather crash at 20mph on a side street than at 60mph on a trunk road.
HomoFaber:
I had a row with my landlords (company looking after the estate I live in) right after the first snowfall and another one with council highway dept after xmas - before NY. All pointless, everything was done in line with approved policies, everybody did a good job, everything is fine. In reality the state of pavements in P’boro forced people to walk on roads as it seem safer, most streets were unswept and ungritted and will remain such as they are not part of of the “winter precautionary scheme” or whatever they called it. Major roads were fine-ish - gritted once or twice at the beginning so stayed wet on days and icy at nights.
Their arguments included “we cannot be responsible for weather” and “if you want anything done, do it yourself”.
So I ended up gritting our car park and access road myself; people who would not dare to drive anywhere could at least walk to rubbish bins .
I drove from Kirkcaldy to Peterborough on Saturday - some snowing around Dunfermline, on the Edinburgh bypass, then sleet Gateshead to Darlington roughly, then rain around Doncaster - and “salt spreading” messages on
My colleague informs me that Peterboro have had gritters out pretty much around the clock on the roads. But probably the same as most other places footpaths etc are not a priority, like residential areas.
Also I gather that Salt Union are giving the HA first dibs on Salt and that Peterboro are running low, happy travels !!
scottishcruiser:
The A75 has been treachourous, must been at least half dozen lorries of the road, god knows about cars and its been shut at least 2 or 3 times. And this being a main Euro route into Ireland? Maybe its time they Dualled or even motorwayed it? Na that be to easy, make too much money off poor beggars speeding etc…
Again this comes down to money, there was plans for a motorway in the 1970’s but Dumfries and Galloway were refusing to pay for it, because they were being asked to put large amounts to it and they didnt see the benifit.
Still would be the same thing, to build a motorway or dual carriageway from Stranraer to the border, D&G would have to come up with a load of money for it. I don’t blame them not wanting to, what benifit does it have to them really.
All the trucks using it are mostly going from ireland to england, not as if its going to improve the economy greatly but means the locals in D&G are paying for it.
Same with the ■■■■■■■■■■ Gap, thats why it was the A74 for so long, cause of arguments over who would pay. The English saw no point no benifit to them motorwaying from Carlisle to Gretna, so eventually the Scottish office decided to pay for it but the HA didnt want that. Then when they did want that the Scottish Office then didnt want to pay for it. So took a really bad accident for central government to force them to upgrade it.
Maybe they should do what they have been doing in parts of Northern Ireland getting Southern Ireland to help pay to build new roads, that one from Larne it was part financed by the Republic.
nickyboy:
klunk/■■■■■■■■
Funny you have said that McplodIn my region and elsewhere so I’m reliably informed the gritters have been running around the housing estates empty but with the amber lights flashing making it look as if they are gritting when in fact they are empty
The wife has just landed back and said, she has just followed a gritter through the town with lights flashing, and no salt coming out the back .
Good chance it has run out, the spreader is run off the wheels so will continue to spin when empty
Not strictly true, they only run off the wheels on certain makes of demountable gritter (i.e. in the back of a pick up etc). First Line gritters (18 - 26 tonnes up) are hydraulic powered and the spread rate and where it spreads is computer controlled.
They are preset spread aptterns on preset routes, drivers sometimes have a boost button to spread extra but most of the time everything is automatic.
Until the main grit routes are clear minor roads etc do not get a look in. And by that time the salt would do nothing anyway.
Oh by the way if a road is clear and a gritter has his lights flashing but not gritting it probably means that his route overlaps somebody elses and the local authority wouldn’t want to waste salt now would they!!
Why do we need gritters anyway? The Government have invented global warming to cover their arses 
I live on a hill and there is a plastic box at the bottom and another at the top that is filled with road salt. if the road is slape, we chuck a bit of grit under the spinning wheels or slithering grandmas.
I wonder how we managed with 3 foot snowdrifts, Ford Anglias and Viva Vans, when we had to walk to school. Now all the kids are sat in climatically controlled four wheel drive luxury, well not today, because most of the schools in Derbyshire are shut because of the snow
heres a view from my house…
been off work for a couple of days now 1. cause i promised my self a wee break after crimbo 2. dont want somebody sliding into me… went to glasgow yesterday for the celtic V rangers game and passing Newhouse junction there was a stobarts with a tesco double decker Jack knifed and counted six cars that had skidded between Newhouse and the turn for Bellshill… the road was like a sheet of glass and there was a manic Citylink bus driver who nearly lost it … why do some people still want to drive fast in this weather… 
you are a long time dead…
p.s dont ask me why my neighbours where clearing the snow with a fork…■■?
man-tga:
heres a view from my house…
been off work for a couple of days now 1. cause i promised my self a wee break after crimbo 2. dont want somebody sliding into me… went to glasgow yesterday for the celtic V rangers game and passing Newhouse junction there was a stobarts with a tesco double decker Jack knifed and counted six cars that had skidded between Newhouse and the turn for Bellshill… the road was like a sheet of glass and there was a manic Citylink bus driver who nearly lost it … why do some people still want to drive fast in this weather…
you are a long time dead…
p.s dont ask me why my neighbours where clearing the snow with a fork…■■?
thats the 2nd tesco artic to jackknife on the m8 in less than a week
Our roads arent salted, they spread sand & gravel instead for traction, as salt doesnt work below about -14c.
We also have tires that are designed for winter use, they help a lot in snow and ice, but the major thing that people here do is … Slow down 
Its so funny watching some idiot in a 4x4 spin off into the ditch because they think they are god, and wont spin out no matter how badly they drive.
Kyrbo said
Judging from above picture it’s grit (i.e. sand), not the salt your road needs. Spreading salt over that road is a waste of salt. Amount of salt which would be needed to melt that snow down up to a dry road would be ridiculous with the amount of traffic that road seems to have. It also looks like temperature is “much” below zero and that temperature could be too low for salt to work (about -4 C or -5 C).
You are right Kyrbo, i salted the path behind our house and it did not work, my thermometer in the back garden has not been above -5 today and last nights min was -13 and tonights gonna be colder seemingly
Wheel Nut:
because most of the schools in Derbyshire are shut because of the snow
I think most schools don’t go back until tomoro (tuesday) except my school 
klunk/■■■■■■■■
my thermometer in the back garden has not been above -5 today and last nights min was -13 and tonights gonna be colder seemingly
One of my colleagues in Carlisle experienced this temperature this morning!!!
Been quite a few gritters out in our area last night and tonight. London borughs of bexley and greenwich.
Wheel Nut:
Why do we need gritters anyway? The Government have invented global warming to cover their arsesI wonder how we managed with 3 foot snowdrifts, Ford Anglias and Viva Vans, when we had to walk to school. Now all the kids are sat in climatically controlled four wheel drive luxury, well not today, because most of the schools in Derbyshire are shut because of the snow
Well said that man - top post.
(wasnt driving an Anglia or Viva in those days though, ime not that old)
First car was a Hillman Avenger
Kenny1975:
Our small streets arent gritted but then again i don’t expect them to be, even in the good old day i can’t really remember the small streets being treated unless the weather has broken.We have constant freeze and anytime it thaws a bit the snow comes, so its constant.
Our main roads are clear, so i’m not to bothered i’d rather struggle outta the schemes at 10-20mph then onto clear roads that i do 50-70mph on that vice versa.
I’ve heard the problem with the salt is it goes off, so not like you can buy loads and loads of it and think use it next year.
Lets face it not had weather like this, well as sustained as this for what 15 years at least. All comes down to money your money council tax, so most years expecting mild winters and suddenly get this.
So yeah i wish the side streets were all gritted and treated but if resourses are running low i’d rather they concentrate fully on the main roads, because id rather crash at 20mph on a side street than at 60mph on a trunk road.
Hey!
What’s all this?
Who asked for common sense on this thread?
no grit no salt no nowt in huddersfield! i drive to work on the a62 manchester road and it has been white over every time its snowed and every day its icy,really dangerous in patches. since the 23d december ive only seen them grit it and my village once yet on new years eve the salt yard in slaithwaite just down the road had 20 odd 8 wheeler loads of grit delivered? and if the main roads are supposedly ‘clear’ why havent you emptied my bins kirklees? grrrrrr! there thats better