W 12 X T C

"rant mode on"
washed my car the other day one of the only dry days we had over the christmas break. go out later that night for a nice drive. all of a sudden horror of horrors turns off a roundabout about quater of a mile away towards me. usually i will turn around straight away. but there was nowhere to do it. (have been know to just do a 3 point turn in road even if i have to stop him) but had a line of cars behind me. so not an option.
the beast gets closer and closer untill what felt and sounded like machine gun fire flew past me. barstuard.
does that flayling stone chucker have to be that high up. i thought it was going to take my windows out.
one of these days i am going to follow one of these punks home and sit on his drive chucking handfulls of gravel at his car . see how he likes it.
"rant mode off"


anyway hope everyone had a good christmas and new year.

Jamie_B

Quite agree I had to over take one the other day I can still hear that grit on shiney paint sound

si97

not the gritter mans fault, still pisser when it happens, the worst is when you catch on up in the middle lane of the motorway

overtake?!?!?!?

slow down?!?!?!?!

aaaaaaaah... try and overtake it at next junction?!?!?!?! (go for it)

Dracoro

**** happens but nothing you can do about it. I'm sure you'd also complain to the council if they didn't grit the roads. They can't win.

Best thing you can do is pull to the left as much as poss and go through slowly if you can't do a u-turn.

si97

also think about the times your car is parked on the road and a lorry goes past.

as #4, they have got to do it.

W 12 X T C

i don't need them gritted. i have AWD

stevey

iTrader: (2)

i am one of the t**ts who drives a gritter not much we can do soz the spinners are that high up because of the speed bumps some idiots also put in lol if your leeds based flash your lights if it's me i'll turn it of unless i dont like you in which case i'll turn it up

si97

summer tyres are so good on ice aren't they with AWD.

yeah who needs grit!!!! yeah im talking to you in the ditch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

W 12 X T C

i know it has to be done. some of you are taking this the wrong way. it was just a little rant and stevey its the machine i have a problem with not the drivers. does the flashing your lights trick work with most gritter drivers?.

si97

stevey... good man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

stevey

iTrader: (2)

w 12 x tc prob not as most are in too much of a rush to get home lol do what i had to do get a cheap car for the winter and leave the scoob for those special occastions it's the best thing i have ever done you wont beleive how much money you save on petrol lol

Carl2

I got stuck behind one for a few miles last night for the first time (at 30mph). Noone would overtake him, they'd rather sit there and subject their cars to all that salt. He was chucking a heck of alot of salt out tho, I was more worried about skidding on the salt than any ice that might have been around.

PS. I'm a gritter driver too
Our spinners aren't that high, maybe knee level, but it depends on what level it's set to as to how far it throws it out.

Bubba po

I'd like to introduce you all to the future inhabitant of a ditch near you.

Ver.4

If your on the motorway and this happens, usually the gritter drive in the middle lane, so drive around them but in the hard shoulder. Naighty i know but saves the grief.

mart360

dear mr council leader , i wish to sue you, for the lack of grit applied to the aXX i was travelling along this at high speed when i found that the legendary scooby handling was crap when introduced to mr black ice...

i now have whiplash and a written off scooby and demand recompense


Dear mr scooby driver to quote a phrase from planes trains & automobiles

"i guess your fukced" ..

the local council grits roads to provide a safer environment for motorists in the prevalant conditions.

just because you suffer from paranoia about stone chips, we would like to offer you some advice...
















buy a landrover !!!!!!!!!!!!!



shesssssshhhhhh

M

speedking

Or they could spend a bit more money on liquid de-icer as used all over the continent . Saves bridges getting corroded as well.

wide

Too sensible

JohnD

iTrader: (5)

Exactly that happened to me along the M25 at 11:30pm a while back. Gritting lorry in the middle lane at 35mph shooting out grit like a crop sprayer! I accelerated past but caught a full shower of the stuff. The noise was horrendous! I washed the front of the car when I got home but had to wait to next day to see if there was any chips - luckily very few, I think the grit is very light and has little inertia. However, there was grit on and around the engine, so I took out the air filter and found some in the filter box! so out came the Dyson!
JohnD

W 12 X T C

the road does not have to be covered with ice for that to happen.

GeeDee

iTrader: (2)

Has anyone any recent experiences of motorway gritting acceptable or bad?

I have been past them before with no major problems but last night I was on the M40 and I guess the gritter was doing around 50. I joined the moderate queue but by the time I was at the front I realised that this one was not “normal” and I had a big queue behind me.

Initial investigations when I got home indicted a cracked lens and peppered paintwork to my bonnet although I will need to wait until daylight and the car has been cleaned.

I have also received a response from my e-mail sent to the Highways Agency when I got home basically saying that gritters are covered by the Highway Code and passing them is my responsibility.

My gripe here is not the fact that there was a gritter nor that it was in the middle lane but that the gritting was so aggressive and so high. I think this is speed related. Ie the faster the gritter goes the faster the spreader spins. I guess the drivers want to get home!!

In future, I like the idea of using the hard shoulder.

Graham

cw42

iTrader: (1)

Got stuck behind a gritter out in the country lanes last night. On the road from holmfirth to digley reservoir of all places here
flashed him, indicator on, plenty of oppurtunity for him to pull over for a second while I go past, but no dice, he was too busy! Eventually got his attention on the far side of the reservoir, and he kindly let me past
Wouldn't mind, but it wasn't even cold enough for it last night, and washed the car again today.

chris.

wide

Its a winter hazzard. Better than stuffing your pride and joy up once its down though.
And things aint going to change

Pedroskate

Picture the scene.....crisp clear winter evening so out for a blast in the Caterham (hood down obviously), came round a bend and what should be coming the other way! Slowed right down, leaned over as far as I could into the passenger seat and burried my head. The spray of salt is just the right height to blind you and easilly filled every corner of the interior. That was last year and I'm still finding salt!

stevey

iTrader: (2)

if the motorway griters are calibrated the same as ours you shouldnt exceed 30mph any thing faster and it just chucks it anywhere realy

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I can't belive the wasteful spending of our local council...this year they've gritted residential side roads and country lanes!!!

What a waste of money! I mean main roads and bus routes etc, fine. But a narrow country lane in the middle of nowhere but a single farm house is plain daft

explore

aaaaaaaah... but i think it is there fault, they dont need to travel as fast as they do, the slower the more grit on the road and not on the kerb side and bushes, plus wouldnt hit cars as hard. i have notice that gritters down here in the south are now going a lot faster, after a trip to york the other day i noticed they travel alot slower and there is more grit on the roads.

Mrs WRX

A few years ago on Christmas day Other Half was standing at the bottom of the drive putting presents in the boot when a gritter went past and gritted the back of his freshly shaved head!

He said it really stung, but i didnt give any sympathy as I was laughing too much.

stevey

iTrader: (2)

ali-b the reason this is starting to happenen is a women won a legal case against one of councils to the sum of 1.5 million therefore we are starting to do secondary roads aswell now

Carl2

The output is related to road speed, so that the same amount of salt should be dropped per square meter all the time. That amount is dictated by the opening of the gate on the back of the wagon, the spinner speed and belt setting. I grit a town so never get above 30 normally

I live in North Yorks (work for local town council) and County (council) do seem to blather the roads with salt to the extent of it resembling a desert sometimes.

mart360

Get real guys..

OEM parts producers and car producers, have a minimum adherrance and chipping spec for painted products..


there is no way that gritting lorrys & the material they use come anywhere close, to what the painwork on your car must endure..

I should know i used to do, and witness the testing.

To check a painted panel, the panel is placed in a cabinet, and a 6" dia tube placed one metre away.

This tube is loaded with Gravel, of varying sizes, the average being 1/2 inch diameter, approx a large handfull

the tube is then pressurised and a plug drives the gravel out, with considerable force. you work it out, the cabinet is sealed and all persons are evacuated from the test room!!

The spec for pass fail is no flaking or chipping of the topcoat, dents are permitted if they fall within an agreed parameter, however the paint surface must remain intact.

Gritting lorrys are small fry.


mart