Undertaking a gritter on the motorway

[christoph]

I was on the M6 earlier today travelling south near the M53 turn off. A gritter was in the middle lane gritting, why it was doing this in may I have no idea, anyway a coach under took the gritter using the hard shoulder. Surely this isn't legal and what makes it more irresponsible is that the coach was full of people.

[deeps]

Expect to see more of this as a result of man made climate change...gritting in May haha.

Sorry but I don't blame the coach driver one bit for not wanting to get splattered in rock salt.

[agent006]

christoph said:

what makes it more irresponsible is that the coach was full of people.

Why? If the driver could see that the hard shoulder was clear for the duration required to complete the maneuvre then i don't see that it was irresponsible at all.

[vonhosen]

Illegal though.

[christoph]

Sorry I forgot to mention that the road was bending slightly to the left so he couldn't of seen if it was totally clear ahead or not

[deeps]

christoph said:

Sorry I forgot to mention that the road was bending slightly to the left so he couldn't of seen if it was totally clear ahead or not

Don't forget he was sitting alot higher up than a car driver and probably had good visibility over the bend.

[deeps]

vonhosen said:

Illegal though.

But still far far safer than the police car I saw on Wednesday, three lanes of solid slow moving traffic and he comes zooming up the hard shoulder at about 90mph with suicidal confidence.
Legal though.

[allaway]

Would it be OK for me to drive thru a red light as long as I can see its safe? Do i have to drive legally at all?

[turbobloke]

allaway said:

Would it be OK for me to drive thru a red light as long as I can see its safe?

Like they do in the USA for right turns (would be left turns here of course)? Possibly help with reducing congestion so, no chance of it happening here before road pricing is introduced.

allaway said:

Do I have to drive legally at all?

At least sometimes

[monkeyhanger]

I'd call it sensible driving to avoid a totally unnecessary hazard on the Motorway.

Gritting in May? What possible sane reason can there be ?

>> Edited by monkeyhanger on Saturday 20th May 18:52

[philthy]

I'd say sensible as well or would you prefer every truck/coach/car in lane 3?

How the continentals manage to get from A-B without carnage is a mystery, after all, they all "undertake"

>> Edited by philthy on Saturday 20th May 20:14

[vonhosen]

philthy said:

I'd say sensible as well or would you prefer every truck/coach/car in lane 3? How the continentals manage to get from A-B without carnage is a mystery, after all, they all "undertake"

Can't remember ever seeing undertaking utilising the hard shoulder on the continent myself.

[philthy]

I was of course referring to the fact that the continentals pass on the left.
Perhaps you're right though, the driver should have just sat in a shower of salt in lane one instead of giving the gritter a wide berth.

[micky g]

Was it a warm day? One reason they may have been 'gritting' would have been dusting the road to stop tar from bleeding.

If it was cool thay may have been sealing an open surface.

In either case it is highly unlikely it would have been rock salt.

I wouldn't recommend undertaking a gritter, you are likely to sustain damage to your paint and / or, a dangerous driving charge!

[hanse cronje]

no its rained all day, blowing a gale at the moment

[Fat Richie]

hanse cronje said:

no its rained all day, blowing a gale at the moment

Complete and utter waste of time (and taxpayers' money) gritting then! Bet your boots that come next winter they'll have run out of the stuff!

[catso]

vonhosen said:

Can't remember ever seeing undertaking utilising the hard shoulder on the continent myself.

Not been to Italy then?......

[christoph]

micky g said:

Was it a warm day? One reason they may have been 'gritting' would have been dusting the road to stop tar from bleeding. If it was cool thay may have been sealing an open surface. In either case it is highly unlikely it would have been rock salt. I wouldn't recommend undertaking a gritter, you are likely to sustain damage to your paint and / or, a dangerous driving charge!

No It had been raining about 2 miles before I got to the gritter.

[7db]

philthy said:

I was of course referring to the fact that the continentals pass on the left.

Isn't that the side you'd expect them to pass on?

[micky g]

christoph said:

micky g said: Was it a warm day? One reason they may have been 'gritting' would have been dusting the road to stop tar from bleeding. If it was cool thay may have been sealing an open surface. In either case it is highly unlikely it would have been rock salt. I wouldn't recommend undertaking a gritter, you are likely to sustain damage to your paint and / or, a dangerous driving charge! No It had been raining about 2 miles before I got to the gritter.

They must have been sealing the surface - ring the local authority and ask but i'll bet you diamonds they wasn't spreading rock salt!

>> Edited by micky g on Sunday 21st May 01:28