Gravel / resurfacing on roads
Discussion
The other day we took the car to go to the local supermarket and on the way back we suddenly came upon a resurfaced area of the road that lasted approx 0.8 mile, with just two warning signs when you were right on it. We and all the other cars had to drive very slowly through that mess of a road, with gravel spitting away in all directions, some of it went into the disk brakes and got stuck there and luckily it came off later (judging from the horrendous noise which luckily eventually stopped). When we arrived home I looked at my brand new tyres (less than one month old) and they have been impregnated with those stone chips, like dozens of them, and I have to take a blade to remove them one at a time. Obviously all those "cuts" into the rubber cannot be good for my tyres.
I do not understand what the council was trying to do there, simply throwing gravel on the road like that, and that gravel (or the truck that was carrying it) found its way on another road, miles away, making travelling over that road dangerous with again stone chips flying in all directions.
Should I complain to the council?
I do not understand what the council was trying to do there, simply throwing gravel on the road like that, and that gravel (or the truck that was carrying it) found its way on another road, miles away, making travelling over that road dangerous with again stone chips flying in all directions.
Should I complain to the council?
I sent them this:
The nature and quality of the resurfacing is appalling and dangerous. The contractors literally threw gravel on the surface of the road and did not press it down resulting in stone chips being ejected in all directions by oncoming traffic.
There were insufficient warnings of the works and as a result in two cases we found ourselves on these terrible road conditions.
Many days after the "works" and we can still see a large quantity of loose gravel on the sidewalks, the pavements, on house drives and in the middle of the two lanes.
The conditions are extremely dangerous for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, and causing considerable damage to all vehicles.
Personally we have had a windscreen chip on the Portsmouth Road and also a stone chip lodged in our brake disks causing a huge noise and mechanical damage to the car. In addition dozens of these stone chips have got embedded into my tyres causing excessive wear where each of these tyres costs £160.
I find it unacceptable that you either approved this kind of road repairs or that your contractor left the roads in such bad condition. I believe you should identify the person within your council who is personally responsible for this decision and reprimand him/her if not outright fire him.
Yours faithfully
....
- ****************************************
The nature and quality of the resurfacing is appalling and dangerous. The contractors literally threw gravel on the surface of the road and did not press it down resulting in stone chips being ejected in all directions by oncoming traffic.
There were insufficient warnings of the works and as a result in two cases we found ourselves on these terrible road conditions.
Many days after the "works" and we can still see a large quantity of loose gravel on the sidewalks, the pavements, on house drives and in the middle of the two lanes.
The conditions are extremely dangerous for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, and causing considerable damage to all vehicles.
Personally we have had a windscreen chip on the Portsmouth Road and also a stone chip lodged in our brake disks causing a huge noise and mechanical damage to the car. In addition dozens of these stone chips have got embedded into my tyres causing excessive wear where each of these tyres costs £160.
I find it unacceptable that you either approved this kind of road repairs or that your contractor left the roads in such bad condition. I believe you should identify the person within your council who is personally responsible for this decision and reprimand him/her if not outright fire him.
Yours faithfully
....
Riley Blue said:
Agreed - this bit is just plain daft:
"In addition dozens of these stone chips have got embedded into my tyres causing excessive wear where each of these tyres costs £160."
Are you serious? You cannot understand why having dozens of sharp stones cutting and getting embedded into your tyres is actually bad?"In addition dozens of these stone chips have got embedded into my tyres causing excessive wear where each of these tyres costs £160."
Neonblau said:
What do you want them to do? You haven't invited a response. They're hardly going to sack someone because a guy writes to them about little stones in his tyres.
Unless there are plenty of complaints relating to the conditions: there were cyclists being hit (actually I thought they were suicidal), there were windscreens being hit (including mine), paintwork on cars got damaged - I hope that some of these people also complained. They may take notice.OK, I would assume a Discovery is made to ride on very uneven terrain and on dirt tracks so it should be immune to potholes? Better not buy a Discovery then 
But I agree with the condition of the roads and the numerous potholes, ruining suspensions, wheels and tyres and the cars too. Roads in Greece are much better than in Esher and Oxshott, probably the most expensive areas in the UK. What are they spending the money on?
But I agree with the condition of the roads and the numerous potholes, ruining suspensions, wheels and tyres and the cars too. Roads in Greece are much better than in Esher and Oxshott, probably the most expensive areas in the UK. What are they spending the money on?
I believe we have neglected our infrastructure in the UK and we still are neglecting it - energy, roads, trains, hospitals, schools, shipyards, steel factories etc. I believe we should not be expecting people to "learn to drive around the potholes" but rather ask "why are there so many potholes and why do we spend our money on everything else except on ourselves, since we have paid it in the first place". I mean if someone knocks on your door and demands £250 which is the monthly council tax payment, would you not want to know how he is going to spend it? And would you not want him to spend the money on you and your family and on your own village, since you have paid it, before he spends it on projects that you will not benefit from?
Riley Blue said:
Totally serious. You considerably exaggerate the problem - if a problem is what it is, which I doubt.
How is having sharp stones cutting into your tyres and embedding into the grooves, and never coming out, not a problem? I did not say this was the biggest problem. I presume the biggest problems in order of priority would be the cyclists who are risking bodily injury, then the motorists that can get injured by flying projectiles (we had to roll up the windows), and then mechanical or decorative damage to the vehicles, like paintwork, windscreens, brakes and tyres. And I could mention what others have mentioned, skidding, but I did not experience that, so I cannot comment, but I did experience, first hand, everything else I mentioned.
I believe, maybe incorrectly, that there is very little or no accountability when you work for the council. You will always get paid your salary, you can turn in past way past 9 and leave before 5 and take hours for lunch, and no one will butt an eyelid. No bi-yearly reviews, no appraisals, no b
king from your boss, nothing. And this is NOT how it works in the private sector.
king from your boss, nothing. And this is NOT how it works in the private sector.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff