Petition Re. Filthy & Dangerous Road Surfacing
Discussion
I'm sure some pedantic troll will argue that I'm a prat for posting this, but anyone who isn't a tit & uses our roads should sign up:
https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petit...
https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petit...
Edited by Tribal Chestnut on Saturday 16th August 20:49
Mainly drafted up by road cyclists I believe as it's not the most pleasant of surfaces to ride on. But, if a quick resurface improves the grip on an otherwise polished surface then surely it's a benefit? It's pretty regular up in the north of scotland and if I'm honest I quite like the surface for driving on. Less so for riding a road bike though if I'm honest, but given the majority of users are cars/trucks and vans they'd surely be the primary group of users to keep happy?
I shall stick my head above the parapet...
I'll take a nicely patched and surface dressed road over a potholed and shiny mess any day.
Surface dressed roads have good consistent grip too.
Yes it can be a nuisance for a short while after it's done, but it's not a problem in the scheme of things.
Surface dressing is used to seal the road surface as a heavily repaired and patched road will have lots of joints and every joint is a failure point.
The other key reason is to restore skid resistance to a worn or polished surface.
Ban surface dressing and the roads would deteriorate rapidly. Surface dressing costs something like £1-£3/m2, as opposed to resurfacing at more like £12-£40/m2.
The issues arise from irresponsible motorists driving to quickly over fresh sites, poor workmanship, incorrect specification of the binder and types and chipping methods etc. But the process itself is brilliant if designed correctly and applied well.
So I won't be signing.
I'll take a nicely patched and surface dressed road over a potholed and shiny mess any day.
Surface dressed roads have good consistent grip too.
Yes it can be a nuisance for a short while after it's done, but it's not a problem in the scheme of things.
Surface dressing is used to seal the road surface as a heavily repaired and patched road will have lots of joints and every joint is a failure point.
The other key reason is to restore skid resistance to a worn or polished surface.
Ban surface dressing and the roads would deteriorate rapidly. Surface dressing costs something like £1-£3/m2, as opposed to resurfacing at more like £12-£40/m2.
The issues arise from irresponsible motorists driving to quickly over fresh sites, poor workmanship, incorrect specification of the binder and types and chipping methods etc. But the process itself is brilliant if designed correctly and applied well.
So I won't be signing.
I actually agree that now it should be banned. It is only meant as a temporary road surface yet is now used run of the mill.
It's bloody dangerous when on a motorbike especially for the first week it is down. Several stretches I use have been done in the last 2 months and they are lethal.
It's bloody dangerous when on a motorbike especially for the first week it is down. Several stretches I use have been done in the last 2 months and they are lethal.
It's bloody dangerous for a good week or two following laying. I nearly lost my front wheel and had a mini-tank slapper exiting a junction at slow speed earlier this year. Ridinh on a loose surface is dangerous. The idiots at Herts CC have bee throwing this crap around with gay-abandon this year. In most instances that I have seen locally serious road imperfections are still present underneath the dressing and soon reappear.
I'd rather have potholes and ruts than be riding on a beech.
I'd rather have potholes and ruts than be riding on a beech.
BigTom85 said:
poor workmanship, incorrect specification of the binder and types and chipping methods etc. But the process itself is brilliant if designed correctly and applied well.
)
Perhaps this is where the problem lies. If no one is capable of designing, specifying, laying or signing-off this 'wonder' surface then maybe the idiots should throw in the towel and consider something else to do with their cash. )
According to a highways chap I know the issue is that where this is done you typically get 10 years of service for 1/20 of the cost of relaying the tarmac in a fraction of the time.
On another note why not buy vehicles suitable for the roads you - a chap at work has had 3 alloys deformed in a year because he drives rural Scottish roads. Don't spec the biggest wheels with almost no tyre!
On another note why not buy vehicles suitable for the roads you - a chap at work has had 3 alloys deformed in a year because he drives rural Scottish roads. Don't spec the biggest wheels with almost no tyre!
They do this routinely where I live - Aberdeenshire. After a week there are visible ruts where the cars and vans have been running and banks of chips on each corner. Many drivers don't stick to the 20mph limit and overtake, showering the cars/bikes they're passing with gravel. I avoid them where possible on 2 wheels.
I did complain to the roads dept when they finished off a patchwork of road repairs on 1 mile-long stretch by apparently dumping bucketsful of chips around each individual patch. On a bike it was a 20mph slalom along a twisty, heavily cambered road with following vehicles inevitably 2 feet behind complaining about having to go so slowly.
I don't like this method of road repair.
I did complain to the roads dept when they finished off a patchwork of road repairs on 1 mile-long stretch by apparently dumping bucketsful of chips around each individual patch. On a bike it was a 20mph slalom along a twisty, heavily cambered road with following vehicles inevitably 2 feet behind complaining about having to go so slowly.
I don't like this method of road repair.
I can see the argument about it being cheaper but I can't see it being that much more expensive to spend a couple of hours rollering it down.
Surely it must come under leaving the highway in a fit state or similar? It's all very well saying that they put down a 20mph speed limit but it's not enforceable is it?
If a haulage firm were to dump a lorry load of gravel onto a road leaving it in a dangerous condition for motorcyclists and other road users would they not be charged or otherwise responsible for cleaning it up?
Surely it must come under leaving the highway in a fit state or similar? It's all very well saying that they put down a 20mph speed limit but it's not enforceable is it?
If a haulage firm were to dump a lorry load of gravel onto a road leaving it in a dangerous condition for motorcyclists and other road users would they not be charged or otherwise responsible for cleaning it up?
I have no issues riding it on bikes with narrower section tyres, and wide bars, I'd prefer I wasn't on it but 21/19 fronts make a big difference.
But on a sportsbike when it's fresh, it is a nuisance.
The problem I have is it being poorly signed so you can come round a corner expecting grip to be greeted by gravel.
But on a sportsbike when it's fresh, it is a nuisance.
The problem I have is it being poorly signed so you can come round a corner expecting grip to be greeted by gravel.
Of course, it wouldn't be the fact that it's a perfectly acceptable road dressing, IF IT'S PUT DOWN CORRECTLY. And why isn't ? Because it's another bloody ex government job bunged of to private enterprise, who cut every corner possible to stuff money into their pockets. I've been watching some loacal pot hole bodging (sorry, maintainance) to confirm this.
Dressing in itself isn't the issue. Certainly, it's a bit s
t when it's first laid but if it's done properly, swept regularly, well signposted and other drivers/riders stick to the reduced speed-limit for a few weeks then it should be fine.
The problem is they often aren't swept, leaving piles of gravel around, other road users don't stick to the lower speed limits, throwing up stones that chip and scratch our vehicle as well as displace more gravel, and they often aren't laid properly.
I don't think it should necessarily be banned, as a process and surface it has it's place, but it needs to be done properly.
t when it's first laid but if it's done properly, swept regularly, well signposted and other drivers/riders stick to the reduced speed-limit for a few weeks then it should be fine.The problem is they often aren't swept, leaving piles of gravel around, other road users don't stick to the lower speed limits, throwing up stones that chip and scratch our vehicle as well as displace more gravel, and they often aren't laid properly.
I don't think it should necessarily be banned, as a process and surface it has it's place, but it needs to be done properly.
0a said:
According to a highways chap I know the issue is that where this is done you typically get 10 years of service for 1/20 of the cost of relaying the tarmac in a fraction of the time.
Yep, that's the nub of it. Everybody wants A1-quality work, but is only happy to pay for cheap patching. How much of a tax rise would people be happy to pay, in order to have all UK roads surfaced beautifully all the time?0a said:
On another note why not buy vehicles suitable for the roads you - a chap at work has had 3 alloys deformed in a year because he drives rural Scottish roads. Don't spec the biggest wheels with almost no tyre!
And another big fat *ding* from here.0a said:
According to a highways chap I know the issue is that where this is done you typically get 10 years of service for 1/20 of the cost of relaying the tarmac in a fraction of the time.
On another note why not buy vehicles suitable for the roads you - a chap at work has had 3 alloys deformed in a year because he drives rural Scottish roads. Don't spec the biggest wheels with almost no tyre!
Bingo. Too many 'Ring' spec cars these days. Our roads feel a lot worse because all our cars have hard suspension and rubber band tyres. Drive a 1980's car down a 2014 road and it still feels like a 1980 road. On another note why not buy vehicles suitable for the roads you - a chap at work has had 3 alloys deformed in a year because he drives rural Scottish roads. Don't spec the biggest wheels with almost no tyre!
Obviously, dressing is a bugger for bikers and in some parts of the UK road surfaces are genuinely bad but if everyone went back to higher profile tyres and softer suspension then 90% of the problem will go away.
DonkeyApple said:
Drive a 1980's car down a 2014 road and it still feels like a 1980 road.
I've had a few 1980s cars recently, and if I'm honest they ride like st on today's crater strewn roads. Older cars simply don't have sufficiently good damping to be able to cope with large potholes that were probably rare in the 80s.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff