Bloddy road gritters
Discussion
R1 Indy said:
I did it once in a 7 with only an aero screen and pair of sunglasses!
I decided it would be best to wear a helmet in winter after that!! plus the car was full of bloody salt!
When I had my Focus CC (I know, I know), I went out enjoying the fresh air one dry, sunny Saturday in late November. On the way home, just after sunset, I see flashing lights coming towards me in the distance. Had to duck as I passed the thing & got hit on the head by a bit of grit that flew into the car then bounced off the inside of the passenger window! Thankfully only 2-3 bits of salt actually got in, the rest hit the bodywork.I decided it would be best to wear a helmet in winter after that!! plus the car was full of bloody salt!
OP - as others have said, stay well back out of the salt spray, then overtake as quickly as possible. Leave a free lane if you can, though this isn't usually possible with them running in the middle lane of 3 lane motorways. I'm always amazed at the people who think tailgating a gritter is a good idea - see plenty of them every winter.
wibblebrain said:
It's not powdered table salt! It's salt and grit and stones. So it does damage the paint, just like any stone and grit would do so,
I accept the need to salt the roads, the intention of the post was to see if anyone could volunteer a strategy for minimising the damage.
The frustration is that it wasn't really freezing, although I guess they were forecasting that it would be eventually that night. (It wasn't)
Not overtaking isn't really an option because they're travelling so slowly that it's unrealistic to consider sitting behind them for the length of time you would need to.
Strategy? Either cane it past as fast as you can, or don't overtake it. Those are about your only options. Not sure what else you want us to say, really? I accept the need to salt the roads, the intention of the post was to see if anyone could volunteer a strategy for minimising the damage.
The frustration is that it wasn't really freezing, although I guess they were forecasting that it would be eventually that night. (It wasn't)
Not overtaking isn't really an option because they're travelling so slowly that it's unrealistic to consider sitting behind them for the length of time you would need to.
I remember driving on this part of the A3 as a gritter was gritting the main carriageway: https://goo.gl/maps/dcbX6sZWkEs
It sounded like it was raining stones.
It sounded like it was raining stones.
Patrick Bateman said:
Boosted LS1 said:
stuno1 said:
WTF is with some of these replies?!?! He isn't saying they are not needed and provide a good service, he is saying it has damaged his bumper.
I agree, this used to be a helpful place. At 9:14 this morning the OP wrote:
"About the salt, it wasn't even cold or frosty last night. Why do they even grit when the roads are wet and no forecast for cold weather. Council muppets again. Do they not check to see what temperature it will be. They will be moaning when we do have a cold snap that they have ran out of salt. Egits."
Riley Blue said:
Quite right:
At 9:14 this morning the OP wrote:
"About the salt, it wasn't even cold or frosty last night. Why do they even grit when the roads are wet and no forecast for cold weather. Council muppets again. Do they not check to see what temperature it will be. They will be moaning when we do have a cold snap that they have ran out of salt. Egits."
Did he?At 9:14 this morning the OP wrote:
"About the salt, it wasn't even cold or frosty last night. Why do they even grit when the roads are wet and no forecast for cold weather. Council muppets again. Do they not check to see what temperature it will be. They will be moaning when we do have a cold snap that they have ran out of salt. Egits."
Patrick Bateman said:
Riley Blue said:
Quite right:
At 9:14 this morning the OP wrote:
"About the salt, it wasn't even cold or frosty last night. Why do they even grit when the roads are wet and no forecast for cold weather. Council muppets again. Do they not check to see what temperature it will be. They will be moaning when we do have a cold snap that they have ran out of salt. Egits."
Did he?At 9:14 this morning the OP wrote:
"About the salt, it wasn't even cold or frosty last night. Why do they even grit when the roads are wet and no forecast for cold weather. Council muppets again. Do they not check to see what temperature it will be. They will be moaning when we do have a cold snap that they have ran out of salt. Egits."
If I knew the forecast was not that cold, why didn't the council ? Do they get different info from the rest of the population ? They even have their own local weather stations to check. Farcical again, like the rest of their departments.skyrover said:
Willy Nilly said:
It's rock salt dug out of the ground in Cheshire. If there were stones in it where do all the stones go? The roads would be covered with them, but it just dissolves, because it's salt. It's not damaging your paint either.
Well this is something I disagree on...The side of the road is normally covered in little pebbles after heaving gritting
Gritters piss me off too if I'm out in my car but they're just something we are going to have to put up with I'm afraid. I've had paintwork damaged by them in the past and on the particular time I remember it was on a 30mph road,but if you are on opposite sides of the road traveling towards each other the Grit is going to be hitting you at considerable speed.
But what is the alternative? You can't risk ice on the roads as this could lead to far worse damage than stone chips or even serious injury and death.
One thing that does annoy me though is the 'it's only a car' comments. This is a car enthusiasts forum for a start so people who reply with that should maybe f
k off elsewhere. Also some people drive cars which are more expensive than your average house. Would you say it's only a house if someone to come round to your home and started chucking stones at your windows??
Didn't think so.
But what is the alternative? You can't risk ice on the roads as this could lead to far worse damage than stone chips or even serious injury and death.
One thing that does annoy me though is the 'it's only a car' comments. This is a car enthusiasts forum for a start so people who reply with that should maybe f
k off elsewhere. Also some people drive cars which are more expensive than your average house. Would you say it's only a house if someone to come round to your home and started chucking stones at your windows??Didn't think so.
Nedzilla said:
Gritters piss me off too if I'm out in my car but they're just something we are going to have to put up with I'm afraid. I've had paintwork damaged by them in the past and on the particular time I remember it was on a 30mph road,but if you are on opposite sides of the road traveling towards each other the Grit is going to be hitting you at considerable speed.
But what is the alternative? You can't risk ice on the roads as this could lead to far worse damage than stone chips or even serious injury and death.
One thing that does annoy me though is the 'it's only a car' comments. This is a car enthusiasts forum for a start so people who reply with that should maybe fk off elsewhere. Also some people drive cars which are more expensive than your average house. Would you say it's only a house if someone to come round to your home and started chucking stones at your windows??
Didn't think so.
Well said that man But what is the alternative? You can't risk ice on the roads as this could lead to far worse damage than stone chips or even serious injury and death.
One thing that does annoy me though is the 'it's only a car' comments. This is a car enthusiasts forum for a start so people who reply with that should maybe f
k off elsewhere. Also some people drive cars which are more expensive than your average house. Would you say it's only a house if someone to come round to your home and started chucking stones at your windows??Didn't think so.
Funny you should mention this today, last night I nearly had a head on collision with one, down a narrow street with cars parked both sides, so it basically became a one way street, so I had to reverse a few hundred yards in the pitch dark, then squeeze into a space and got the drivers side of my car sprayed with grit at close quarters as a form of thank you.
No frost whatsoever this morning, so I don't know where they had their weather info from.
I have seen people travelling inches from the rear bumper of gritters on dual carriageways though, plenty of space to overtake, but I've seen people just sitting there getting the front of the car turned to bare metal/plastic, bewilders me.
Not much you can do really, other than keep your distance and hope one doesn't come in the opposite direction.
No frost whatsoever this morning, so I don't know where they had their weather info from.
I have seen people travelling inches from the rear bumper of gritters on dual carriageways though, plenty of space to overtake, but I've seen people just sitting there getting the front of the car turned to bare metal/plastic, bewilders me.
Not much you can do really, other than keep your distance and hope one doesn't come in the opposite direction.
MDMA . said:
It was me who said the above, not the OP. But last night lows were3 degrees ( in my area ) so why were the gritters out in force ? Perrier does not seem to freeze in the fridge at this temperature so why would the roads freeze If I knew the forecast was not that cold, why didn't the council ? Do they get different info from the rest of the population ? They even have their own local weather stations to check. Farcical again, like the rest of their departments.
Road temperatures (where ice forms) can be significantly different to the air temperature. If I knew the forecast was not that cold, why didn't the council ? Do they get different info from the rest of the population ? They even have their own local weather stations to check. Farcical again, like the rest of their departments.Gary29 said:
Funny you should mention this today, last night I nearly had a head on collision with one, down a narrow street with cars parked both sides
Exactly what speed were you doing down a narrow street with cars parked either side if you had difficulty spotting and avoiding hitting a large truck painted bright yellow with flashing lights all over it?snorkel sucker said:
It's only a bloody car.
You'll get over it.
You appear to have wandered onto the wrong site. Let me help:You'll get over it.
http://www.simple-knitting.com/
Gritters do an essential job and we'd all be ranting if they didn't do their rounds. It is a dreadful moment, however, when you realise there's one coming the other way and you've nowhere to hide or pull over. Had just detailed my car a couple of weeks ago when it received a salt blasting. No paint damage though...
Boosted LS1 said:
stuno1 said:
WTF is with some of these replies?!?! He isn't saying they are not needed and provide a good service, he is saying it has damaged his bumper.
I agree, this used to be a helpful place. Galveston said:
MDMA . said:
It was me who said the above, not the OP. But last night lows were3 degrees ( in my area ) so why were the gritters out in force ? Perrier does not seem to freeze in the fridge at this temperature so why would the roads freeze If I knew the forecast was not that cold, why didn't the council ? Do they get different info from the rest of the population ? They even have their own local weather stations to check. Farcical again, like the rest of their departments.
Road temperatures (where ice forms) can be significantly different to the air temperature. If I knew the forecast was not that cold, why didn't the council ? Do they get different info from the rest of the population ? They even have their own local weather stations to check. Farcical again, like the rest of their departments.At the moment, A830 Glenfinnan is showing an air temp of 5.8 - nowhere near freezing. The road is showing 1.4. Most stations report air temperatures lower than road at the moment, not a surprise given it's daylight, but have a look after dark - it should be the opposite way round.
Galveston said:
Road temperatures (where ice forms) can be significantly different to the air temperature.
Not to mention that weather forecasts are always an estimate. Therefore, any response is done on the balance of risk. Od it's 80% likely to be frost conditions then you'd probably expect them to grit.The alternative is people complaining that the roads were frozen, why didn't the council forsee this?
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