E-petition to ban loose surface dressing
Discussion
I saw this last night come round on twitter, and thought you all might like to read it and sign it if you agree with it. Personally I never really thought about it, until I got back on a road bike as my council has starting using this stuff, on my local roads and they are all very aggressively cambered. Whats worse is when you get the wheel tracks left by cars, my council don't send the road sweepers down to clear the 3 mounds of loose gravel from each carriage way, just leaving the wind and rain to wash it away.
Quite a few times over the last couple of rides I've had the back wheel slip down the camber unexpectedly because of this stuff, which caused my backside to start twitching like a rabbits nose!
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/67408
Quite a few times over the last couple of rides I've had the back wheel slip down the camber unexpectedly because of this stuff, which caused my backside to start twitching like a rabbits nose!
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/67408
Nowt wrong with surface dressing. The masses misunderstand what it's for. It's not designed to fill pothole but to retexture the road surface. And when laid properly, and driven over sensibly, it doesn't produce stone chips etc. The stone chips are caused by Mr Transit Van coming the other way at 50mph. If everyone stuck to 20mph, things would be fine. For what it is, it is highly cost effective and reliable. I have zero issues riding my semi-slick shod MTB on it.
Some good info.
http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/SDtext.htm
I won't be signing, and would urge others not to. There isn't the money in the coffers to relay every road surface after every winter.
Some good info.
http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/SDtext.htm
I won't be signing, and would urge others not to. There isn't the money in the coffers to relay every road surface after every winter.
OpulentBob said:
Nowt wrong with surface dressing. The masses misunderstand what it's for. It's not designed to fill pothole but to retexture the road surface. And when laid properly, and driven over sensibly, it doesn't produce stone chips etc. The stone chips are caused by Mr Transit Van coming the other way at 50mph. If everyone stuck to 20mph, things would be fine. For what it is, it is highly cost effective and reliable. I have zero issues riding my semi-slick shod MTB on it.
Some good info.
http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/SDtext.htm
I won't be signing, and would urge others not to. There isn't the money in the coffers to relay every road surface after every winter.
But there should be money in the coffers to sweep up the loose chippings though. That doesn't always happen, or doesn't happen effectively. High speed roads are being degraded by the implementation of surface dressing because loose chippings cause damage to vehicles. This is unacceptable.Some good info.
http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/SDtext.htm
I won't be signing, and would urge others not to. There isn't the money in the coffers to relay every road surface after every winter.
The govt needs to spend less on stupid projects like HS2 and more on the transport mechanism that the majority want to use - roads.
Watchman said:
But there should be money in the coffers to sweep up the loose chippings though. That doesn't always happen, or doesn't happen effectively. High speed roads are being degraded by the implementation of surface dressing because loose chippings cause damage to vehicles. This is unacceptable.
I'd say the unacceptable element is as much driver behaviour as anything. A dressed road has 20mph (advisory) limits signed for a week or so afterwards. If all vehicles did this, then the chippings would be suitably rolled/pressed in to the road surface. It's the truck, van, boy racer, whoever, that flies along it at 40, 50, 60mph, and the wash blows the chippings from the road, where they're needed, to the verge. The signs aren't there to piss people off, they're there to give genuine advice to drivers.I maintain if the signs were obeyed, there would be minimal stone chipping or issues of piles of stones at the side of the road. Dressing is a s
tload quicker, quieter, cheaper and more sustainable than closing roads overnight to resurface. It's just a massively misunderstood treatment. Stone chips to vehicles are NOT unacceptable. They are inevitable and you accept it every time you take the car out. It happens. Just like wear to tyres, shocks etc. A winter's worth of gritting and salt will do more damage to a car than driving on a dressed road at the advised 20mph limit. Of course, if you see a dressed road, you can always turn around and pick another route.
If it was dangerous, the Police, BRAKE etc would have had it outlawed by now.
Can I ask those that agree with the petition, how fast do you drive through freshly dressed areas (say, <2weeks)? Be honest now...
OpulentBob said:
Nowt wrong with surface dressing. The masses misunderstand what it's for. It's not designed to fill pothole but to retexture the road surface. And when laid properly, and driven over sensibly, it doesn't produce stone chips etc. The stone chips are caused by Mr Transit Van coming the other way at 50mph. If everyone stuck to 20mph, things would be fine. For what it is, it is highly cost effective and reliable. I have zero issues riding my semi-slick shod MTB on it.
Some good info.
http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/SDtext.htm
I won't be signing, and would urge others not to. There isn't the money in the coffers to relay every road surface after every winter.
And if we all just got along and shat fairydust, things would be fine.Some good info.
http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/SDtext.htm
I won't be signing, and would urge others not to. There isn't the money in the coffers to relay every road surface after every winter.
The job of highway engineers is, however, to design highways for actual people, who will use said highways in the way actual people, not imaginary ones, will use them.
Though I have to agree with someone from GG - it's all very well saying ban it, but who's willing to pay for the better solution?
paranoid airbag said:
And if we all just got along and shat fairydust, things would be fine.
The job of highway engineers is, however, to design highways for actual people, who will use said highways in the way actual people, not imaginary ones, will use them.
Though I have to agree with someone from GG - it's all very well saying ban it, but who's willing to pay for the better solution?
There is no treatment that can be undertaken as cheaply and effectively, with as little disruption as surface dressing. Did you read the link I posted? It's not a cure-all for every road defect in every location. It's a tool for retexturing, when the road isn't worn out, but the skid resistance is. The job of highway engineers is, however, to design highways for actual people, who will use said highways in the way actual people, not imaginary ones, will use them.
Though I have to agree with someone from GG - it's all very well saying ban it, but who's willing to pay for the better solution?
I don't need you to tell me my job, thanks, I'm quite good enough at it.
If, however, the government want to outlaw it in favour of a fully designed pavement every time the skid resistance slips (ahem) a little, then that's better for me and my pocket. Dressing doesn't need designing. Recon does. Hence more overtime for me.
Eidt I'm having the "shat fairydust" line for the next argument with the Mrs.
Edited by OpulentBob on Tuesday 19th August 13:55
Alex said:
I don't want surface dressing, however well "pressed down" by my tyres it is at 20mph.
I want smooth tarmac, like they have in Germany.
You mean like the autobahns, rather than the estate/B roads? Because their non-Primary routes are no less patched and rough as ours. Same as France - the toll roads are pristine but their equivalent of "county" roads are abysmal. But that doesn't stop me being told several times a year "Why can't you make a road like Germany or France?". I want smooth tarmac, like they have in Germany.
If you don't want SD, then best you have a word with the DfT, your MP and Council, as their budgets are based on a certain amount of dressing on roads that aren't worn out but are failing skid resistance.
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