Gritter drivers........

Tell us what you think or some of the experiences you have had with these delinquent retards that spray the roads and about everything else ........

 

They are annoying but you cant expect them to stop spraying every time they see someone. I do remember a couple of years ago I was at a junction onto the A22 and a snow plough came along spraying a huge wave of slush, hammered the car big time, he could have avoided that if he wanted to.

 

Just been out playing, main roads are pretty good tbh, though i guess it my freeze up. Highways agency have done pretty well this time for a change, but then we had enough warning., Heh I just left at 3-30 this morning to get into London, do work and get out, was on way home at 9 traffic was light as well even at 9am into London, many not go to work today

 

What gets me is that some gritter drivers loon around as if they're at Brands! And the damn stuff goes everywhere bar the road its meant to be on.....

Came across one yesterday, and the salt was being sprayed all over the place, all over the cars nearby, seemed it was set far to high and was bouncing off the road to the verges.....
Agreed that this may be needed at times of crisis but the councils seems to throw this stuff around like its going out of fashion on just a whim of a little frost......Our council taxes......

A total waste and a damn nuisance.... those that have ridden for a number of years will know the damage of a tiny bit of salt in the wrong place on a bike will rot it rapidly!
It does say 'Gritting' on the lorries.....then grit for some traction, not the damn salt!

But then again we live in England and we all know it all goes tits up at the sniff of some snow ......And at a time of severe cut backs it just seems so bloody wasteful to spread salt when its not really needed. Would seem wiser to save it for as and when it's needed....

If road users can't drive suitably in cold and slightly frosty conditions then they shouldn't be driving....If they want to drive like idiots on crack then let them take the consequences....we all should know how to drive when the weather is bad but some don't or won't, total ignorance and stupidity, then let them get on with it.....

The amount of salt that gets left on a junction.....What's that all about???? don't they turn the bloody thing off when stopped?????

Wonder where all this salty shite ends up? Not going to be to clever for the environment I'm sure......


Remember also to wash your bike with cold water to disperse the salt before the good warm wash, or you'll dissolve the salt into the nooks and crannies and that's not good.....
And you'd be surprised at the amount of salt that is still on the roads during the rest of the year.....especially on the middle of the roads near to the white lines.....the part we ride close to as a rule use......Makes me cringe when i see some dust being blown across the road during the summer months.....

 

May I add a mild extra complaint to this? My road (a cul de sac) and those nearest me are never gritted / salted during the winter. There is a bin halfway down our hill, and for the ten years we have lived here, a small party of the able-bodied blokes meet up once per year at least to walk up and down, spreading shovel-fulls. But the bin is small and none of us know much about the science of gritting - spread during snow fall? Before? How about afterwards or when you've had your tea? It's all pretty amateurish and ineffective.

I have always told myself that the tiny part of my council taxes which is devoted to buying and spreading grit is probably better spread on a main road somewhere else in Tunbridge Wells. Community spirit and all that. But then there are probably two dozen households in my road which all need to get up the hill to work, to shop and so on, but cannot unless I or one of my neighbours with a 4x4 spend three or four hours pulling them up. This despite the aforementioned amateurish DIY gritting! To illustrate just how ridiculous the situation is (in my road), I have been the only vehicle able to get out before now, because I happen to have a full set of snow chains for our LandRover. The regular tyres just wouldn't do the job.

It would be nice to have a council gritter come visit now and again! Mild complaint over...

 

The very same in our road....... Although saying this, we have no salt bin........

 

Large council lorry = Large dim lorry driver = Large amounts of overtime = giving it Large around the streets = Complete friggin mess......

 

Also, this crap that they spread contains antifreeze , please wash your pooch's paws after a walk (yeah I know it sounds daft) but they tend to like the taste of antifreeze which means, they lick their paws then die.....or at least get very ill. This stuff is VERY poisonous for the furry ones (don't be rude now! )

 

Yeah, I read that just today.

 

Saw it yesterday.....not something everyone thinks about though is it.

 

I think that applies to a lot of us in the summer. We all get our driving kicks somehow

If frost is forecast, the grit does a lot more good if it goes down first, in which case it can prevent frost on the road altogether. Applying it afterwards is better than nothing, but you can't polish a turd

But much better than the alternative

I think 'as and when it's needed' is when it's icy/snowy. Which is now.

It does go a bit wrong in the UK when it snows, but our climate is unique. We're the only country on this latitude where we get decent amounts of snow combined with daytime temperatures above freezing, meaning the previous day's snow can melt and then reharden into a treacherous mix of slush and ice. Siberia's on the same latitude as us, and that's largely ice desert - so they can focus on dealing with weather they know they'll have, whereas we have to be prepared for a wide range of conditions which may or may not happen. When you're a jack of all trades, you master none, so I prefer to be thankful that our council is trying, and they're doing a better job than they did last year.

Without a gritted road the consequences you mention could be a nasty rear ender, and you'd be even more angry about that

I honestly don't know, but it does seem handy to have junctions more heavily gritted. Starting and stopping need more traction than just, er, going. Or something.

Good advice, thanks. I didn't know that. Sorry I've gone on a bit, btw

 

What with the salt problem......

All we have to do now is look out for the farking bastard great pot holes again!!!

You seen some of these feckers!!!
Bastard councils ..... if you do the job right then do the job ferkin properly........You wankers! (sorry, i meant masturbators)

Bloody shame some of these plebs on the council aren't on here, love to give them some stick!!!!
Then again if they were then they would know the dangers 'we' face,
Even in my car some of these pot holes are so bloody dangerous that a biker would lose their sphinker control riding over some!

Bad enough when the car hits some! farkin worries me wondering what might be buggered.....

Makes you bloody wonder..... and have the audacity to rob us of road tax to.........





Fornicating illigitamate houses of poo!!!!!

 

There's a huge one near my house. It's on a railway bridge. Sometimes I wonder how long it'll be before I fall through it and end up on the 08:56 to Charing Cross

 

The potholes only seem to get a fast fix these days, what is it with that? The "fill" breaks up, causing more problems and lo and behold, the pothole has returned within a couple of weeks.
Nasty road disintergration on way to Rye via Udimore.....just outside of Broad Oak, Brede, I think it is. Right on a corner, It has had the "quick fix" but already it is breaking up.

 

I'm thinking of looking for a gritter job in Tonbridge. Oh what fun I'd have.

 

Your spelling sir is shite, it really is!