Save money on road salt?

[LandingSpot]

What do you think would happen if we bought NO salt whatsoever?

Would the other costs of snowy and icy roads increase sufficiently to justify the need for the expensive salt we throw on the roads every year?

Or would everybody just have to learn to take it easier, drive slower, more considerate, perhaps even stimulating local busineses buying accessories to help cope with the conditions?

Even the bodyshop repair industry would be stimulated creating more jobs and such...

At what point does the country switch from trying to keep it snow and ice free over to methods of dealing with it when it does come?

Discuss

[ShadownINja]

The salt industry would die.

[homerjay]

MarJay said:

I think you're missing the point. The Norweigans don't salt the roads over in Norway. However, they have a consistent weather pattern which is pretty predictable. Around September time they get the first snow, and then the temperature stays below freezing from then onwards generally.

This means that if it snows, the snow doesn't melt and stays powdery. If it is cleared with a snowplough, the road underneath is smooth and not icy.

Ok, so flying back to the UK for a bit... we get snow but the ground temperature rises above zero. The snow melts. Overnight this melted snow refreezes causing a sheet of ice. Even with magic winter tyres, snowploughs, snow chains, snow socks and whatever, you can't drive up a motorway slip road on sheet ice. Neither can you stop or steer when you need to. The Salt makes the snow saline which lowers its melting point. If the temperatures were to drop to below the freezing point of saline, then I think we'd have less of an issue with sheet ice anyway, as with Norway.

Salting is the best and only solution for a country whose climate hovers around the freezing mark...

very good

thread closed.

[homerjay]

i think weve passed the point to educate people to drive on snow and ice.

[MarJay]

I think you're missing the point. The Norweigans don't salt the roads over in Norway. However, they have a consistent weather pattern which is pretty predictable. Around September time they get the first snow, and then the temperature stays below freezing from then onwards generally.

This means that if it snows, the snow doesn't melt and stays powdery. If it is cleared with a snowplough, the road underneath is smooth and not icy.

Ok, so flying back to the UK for a bit... we get snow but the ground temperature rises above zero. The snow melts. Overnight this melted snow refreezes causing a sheet of ice. Even with magic winter tyres, snowploughs, snow chains, snow socks and whatever, you can't drive up a motorway slip road on sheet ice. Neither can you stop or steer when you need to. The Salt makes the snow saline which lowers its melting point. If the temperatures were to drop to below the freezing point of saline, then I think we'd have less of an issue with sheet ice anyway, as with Norway.

Salting is the best and only solution for a country whose climate hovers around the freezing mark...

[spoonoff]

LandingSpot said:

What do you think would happen if we bought NO salt whatsoever?

Would the other costs of snowy and icy roads increase sufficiently to justify the need for the expensive salt we throw on the roads every year?

Or would everybody just have to learn to take it easier, drive slower, more considerate, perhaps even stimulating local busineses buying accessories to help cope with the conditions?

Even the bodyshop repair industry would be stimulated creating more jobs and such...

At what point does the country switch from trying to keep it snow and ice free over to methods of dealing with it when it does come?

Discuss

I'm guessing you live in the South.