Lycanthrope:
Personally I think we should [zb] the gritting and learn to drive to the conditions like the rest of the world, don’t see canadians or scandinavian people driving like dicks and crashing, they change their tyres for the season, carry chains, and drive appropriately for the conditions, if the british public was the same we wouldn’t have 90% of the chaos we do have when we get 1mm of snow.
Roll on the proper winters with snow measured in metres !
Urban myth.
I saw plenty (dozens) of rigs ditched in the winter when I was driving Canada/USA.
I drove on compacted snow in the cities for months (no gritting done), but most cars do have very effective winter tyres…and the snow is generally dry powder.
The car drivers in Calgary, shut the city down last year in the first snowfall of winter!
Suedehead:
Dont most gritter drivers sit in the cab of the council 3 way tipper reading the paper most days?
Bit of frost, o/t kicks in . . jobs a goodun
Or one of those flashing sign lorries. How come you see at least 3 of these things, each with a crew of at least 2, plus 2 or 3 men watching 1 man strim grass/pull ragwort?
Suedehead:
Dont most gritter drivers sit in the cab of the council 3 way tipper reading the paper most days?
Bit of frost, o/t kicks in . . jobs a goodun
Or one of those flashing sign lorries. How come you see at least 3 of these things, each with a crew of at least 2, plus 2 or 3 men watching 1 man strim grass/pull ragwort?
What with all of the cutbacks for councils looming,the ones that are left might actually find out what a days work is
Agree with your comment re the lorries with more flashing lights than a rave, giving warning of a hedge flailer 5 miles ahead.
Why cant we just have a manakin wearing a hi viz, waving a flag like over the water ?
The gritters were out on the M4 last night as I passed through Swansea, plenty of frost in the morning.
Whatever they used in the grit last year was pretty potent stuff, had to have all the wiring replaced for the marker lights after the wiring turned to green mush
Grayham:
The gritters were out on the M4 last night as I passed through Swansea, plenty of frost in the morning.
Whatever they used in the grit last year was pretty potent stuff, had to have all the wiring replaced for the marker lights after the wiring turned to green mush
Probably a combination of salt,molasses, brine and eye of newt.
CRAIG-D:
the road was bone dry this morning yes there was a frost but after the monkeys had put grit on the dry road it draws the moisture from the air and makse the road wet and dosent dry so at the next hint of a frost they have to go out n grit again. to early imo
Contrary to popular beleif, the water/salt mixture is actually better than leaving the roads untreated. So much so, that the H.A. are now spreading brine (salty water) on the roads as a means of preventing frost. A salt + water solution has a freezing point of well below zero, and sticks better to the road surface (won’t be blown away by passing vehicles like dry salt tends to be) - and so provides better protection against frost. Dry salt is also a preventative measure in areas where gritters don’t have the ability to spread brine - as soon as frost tries to form, it is melted and thus creates a brine solution. It then stays in solution, sticks to the road, and prevents and further frosting.
Simples!
A further point - beleive it or not, in freezing conditions dry salt will work faster at melting frost if it is spread on the road and then sprayed with water.
How do I know this? Well, maybe I’m one of the ‘monkeys’ that CRAIG-D refers to…
Lycanthrope:
Personally I think we should [zb] the gritting and learn to drive to the conditions like the rest of the world, don’t see canadians or scandinavian people driving like dicks and crashing, they change their tyres for the season, carry chains, and drive appropriately for the conditions, if the british public was the same we wouldn’t have 90% of the chaos we do have when we get 1mm of snow.
Roll on the proper winters with snow measured in metres !
Urban myth.
I saw plenty (dozens) of rigs ditched in the winter when I was driving Canada/USA.
I drove on compacted snow in the cities for months (no gritting done), but most cars do have very effective winter tyres…and the snow is generally dry powder.
The car drivers in Calgary, shut the city down last year in the first snowfall of winter!
Urban myth, hmmmm, more like a load of bollox, the antics of some of these clowns over here has to be seen to be believed, Canadians in particular drive in snow as if it wasn’t there, they also spend a lot of time in the ditch because of that They may have winter tyres on their cars, but they think they make them invincible, it’s the same as an Italian in the fog, they think their fog lights are a force field
Americans are even worse, some have the Canadian philosophy, but most of them are terrified of snow, you see lorries running down the interstates at 10mph with their hazard lights flashing, those that go a little faster are forever falling off the road Now we do get a lot of snow here, but it’s not the conditions that are the problem, it’s the way they drive in them, most of them lack the ability to drive smoothly around a bend, it’s almost as if they’re steering with levers rather than a steering wheel
They are starting to use a new kind of grit over here too, it’s a tree hugger friendly mineral, can’t remember what it is ATM, it may be good to the birds and trees, but it is evil stuff that corrodes through wiring in seconds and it makes my shiny black lorry not shiny and not black, I hate it
Bonsaiman:
Saw the gritters out last night on the M40, dash read 5/6 C, bit bloody early i thought hope it doesnt snow too much, might not have enough to go around
Yeah, they start gritting in October and then they are surprised that they are out of salt in January
Lycanthrope:
Personally I think we should [zb] the gritting and learn to drive to the conditions like the rest of the world, don’t see canadians or scandinavian people driving like dicks and crashing, they change their tyres for the season, carry chains, and drive appropriately for the conditions, if the british public was the same we wouldn’t have 90% of the chaos we do have when we get 1mm of snow.
Roll on the proper winters with snow measured in metres !
…or just use the all-season ones. As I do. When my tyres were slashed, I replaced them with four season Vredensteins. They are better on rain than summer ones, so perfect for Scotland. Did not noticed any bigger fuel usage, the only problem is a minimally louder noise, but my car is not the quietest one anyway…
I am going to replace the two other ones with the same before winter comes.
It’s really fun watching faces of the people who are struggling to drive up the small hill near my home - they try, then they slide back, crashing into next one waiting at the bottom… Then when they all stop, I just carry in the middle of the road and go up the hill no problem
CRAIG-D:
the road was bone dry this morning yes there was a frost but after the monkeys had put grit on the dry road it draws the moisture from the air and makse the road wet and dosent dry so at the next hint of a frost they have to go out n grit again. to early imo
Contrary to popular beleif, the water/salt mixture is actually better than leaving the roads untreated. So much so, that the H.A. are now spreading brine (salty water) on the roads as a means of preventing frost. A salt + water solution has a freezing point of well below zero, and sticks better to the road surface (won’t be blown away by passing vehicles like dry salt tends to be) - and so provides better protection against frost. Dry salt is also a preventative measure in areas where gritters don’t have the ability to spread brine - as soon as frost tries to form, it is melted and thus creates a brine solution. It then stays in solution, sticks to the road, and prevents and further frosting.
Simples!
A further point - beleive it or not, in freezing conditions dry salt will work faster at melting frost if it is spread on the road and then sprayed with water.
How do I know this? Well, maybe I’m one of the ‘monkeys’ that CRAIG-D refers to…
Yes. So we have our road salted. In effect the falling snow melts. And what it does? Does it stay there creating a layer of water? No, it flows to the ditch taking the salt with it. Less salt of the road - higher the freezing point. In effect at some point the water flowing to the ditch freezes. And instead of layer of snow we do have layer of ice until the next gritter goes that way, when everything starts from the begining. .
Improvement as hell.
When driving in winter, I was allways choosing roads of the “second category of winter treatment”, that is the roads where only the excessive snow is pushed over by the snowplough and only dangerous bends are gritted with sand etc.
Much safer to drive.
And don’t forget enviromental impact of salt to the trees and other flora next to the road…
Last night M1 north bound J36 — 38 19-30Hrs temperature 13 degrees salt spreading in progress, cross wind blowing salt straight of carriageway, 21-45Hrs on my return temperature 11 degrees & the forecast for a low of only 8 degrees,
My thoughts what a waste
They may have winter tyres on their cars, but they think they make them invincible, it’s the same as an Italian in the fog, they think their fog lights are a force field 
hope it doesnt snow too much, might not have enough to go around