Just me, or are winter gritters paid for by big auto?

[Jimbob76]

Too ruddy quiet on this forum these days, so here’s a topic to hopefully get a little light hearted conversation going, lol.

Last night was a bit cold. I took the dog out for a walk first thing and there was a little bit of frost. Well, I say frost, more like cold dew on the grass.

But don’t panic, m’local council, in their infinite wisdom, have sent the winter gritters out tonight, showering the streets with unnecessary salty car corroding nastiness. Because the temperature is gonna hit +3 degrees tonight

Christ, if it wasn’t for the new lockdown, I’d have serious concerns about driving to work tomorrow morning. Thank heavens the roads have been salted

God knows how you Scots deal with winter - I imagine you all just throw your car keys in the back of that kitchen drawer we all have (you know the one, that drawer that can hardly be opened because of all the ‘tut that’s been thrown in it) and leave ‘em there until early March, right?

I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but ***, is it just me that wonders if Audi/Merc/BMW (and all the rest of ‘em) make road salting donations to governments (probably as a tax deductible benefit), in the name of public safety, to make our lovely cars rot quicker, so we have to buy new ones more frequently?

I’m not playing that game - I’m going to walk everywhere until the clocks change back to summertime

As a child of the early 70’s, I remember when a bit of frost or ice was a tip-top opportunity to test how far you could skid down the playground in your worn out trainers, and when I was older, your car handling skills (I will admit I learned how to deal with ice, intentionally, in a knackered old Honda Civic I used to have in a cold and empty Sainsbury's car-park on an icy Sunday morning about 28 years ago - that was a great Sunday morning, me and an old mate laughed like drains, and learned a LOT very quickly, but that was when supermarkets didn’t open on Sundays, lol).

Nanny state, or necessary? I get it when the weathers really minging, but tonight, seriously?

Just me? Lol. Discuss...
(just a bit of fun, happy for this thread to deviate into a hundred different winter story directions )

 

[AlS3BE]

At 3 degrees we Scots still got our shorts on

 

[jrumball]

I only stop wearing shorts if it snows and then it's only to stop people starring ....

I have to admit I was really disappointed when they gritted yesterday as I was hoping to take the Spitfire out today for a good run before putting it to bed for the winter, It would just evaporate if I had taken it out today ! I have to admit I'm not so bothered about a modern car, though they will suffer this winter with less driving and sitting with salt on....

Picture for attention..... =)

 

[45bvtc]

Picture for attention..... =)

There's happy memories, jrumball: his and her's or her's and his depending on how you look at 'em:

​

 

[Jimbob76]

There's happy memories, jrumball: his and her's or her's and his depending on how you look at 'em:

View attachment 211753

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Loving that GT6 on the right. Always had a soft spot for them.

 

[jrumball]

There's happy memories, jrumball: his and her's or her's and his depending on how you look at 'em:

View attachment 211753

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Nice wheels on the spitfire !

 

[BarryG79]

Too ruddy quiet on this forum these days, so here’s a topic to hopefully get a little light hearted conversation going, lol.

Last night was a bit cold. I took the dog out for a walk first thing and there was a little bit of frost. Well, I say frost, more like cold dew on the grass.

But don’t panic, m’local council, in their infinite wisdom, have sent the winter gritters out tonight, showering the streets with unnecessary salty car corroding nastiness. Because the temperature is gonna hit +3 degrees tonight

Christ, if it wasn’t for the new lockdown, I’d have serious concerns about driving to work tomorrow morning. Thank heavens the roads have been salted

God knows how you Scots deal with winter - I imagine you all just throw your car keys in the back of that kitchen drawer we all have (you know the one, that drawer that can hardly be opened because of all the ‘tut that’s been thrown in it) and leave ‘em there until early March, right?

I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but ***, is it just me that wonders if Audi/Merc/BMW (and all the rest of ‘em) make road salting donations to governments (probably as a tax deductible benefit), in the name of public safety, to make our lovely cars rot quicker, so we have to buy new ones more frequently?

I’m not playing that game - I’m going to walk everywhere until the clocks change back to summertime

As a child of the early 70’s, I remember when a bit of frost or ice was a tip-top opportunity to test how far you could skid down the playground in your worn out trainers, and when I was older, your car handling skills (I will admit I learned how to deal with ice, intentionally, in a knackered old Honda Civic I used to have in a cold and empty Sainsbury's car-park on an icy Sunday morning about 28 years ago - that was a great Sunday morning, me and an old mate laughed like drains, and learned a LOT very quickly, but that was when supermarkets didn’t open on Sundays, lol).

Nanny state, or necessary? I get it when the weathers really minging, but tonight, seriously?

Just me? Lol. Discuss...
(just a bit of fun, happy for this thread to deviate into a hundred different winter story directions )

Haha quality post mate!
I did see a brand new gritter parked up at the Forth Road Bridge maintenance depot a few weeks back. First thought was *** here we go again it’s nearly winter lol

I hadn’t even reached the skid down the playground comment and that was the first thing I thought of

Even though I’m north of the border I’m still in shorts most days. The benefits of home working


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[45bvtc]

Nice wheels on the spitfire !

13" x 5.1/2" J late 60's Cosmics...

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[Jimbob76]

You plonker Rodney...

 

[Neil C]

Gritters were out on the A1M near Peterborough last week. Early afternoon, +15 degrees, pouring with rain, yet still spreading something all over the road.

 

[45bvtc]

Gritters were out on the A1M near Peterborough last week. Early afternoon, +15 degrees, pouring with rain, yet still spreading something all over the road.

Does Greta know...

Salt pollutes! So less is better for the environment.

When snow and ice melts, the salt goes with it, washing into our lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. It takes only one teaspoon of road salt to permanently pollute 5 gallons of water. Once in the water, there is no way to remove the chloride, and at high concentrations, chloride can harm fish and plant life. So less is more when it comes to applying road salt. It would not be a good thing to grit every road in the UK when it is frosty or there is snow.

De-icing chemicals can accelerate deterioration in concrete and steel structures. New construction methods are reducing this impact, but highways and bridges do suffer from chemical damage. Vehicle corrosion is also accelerated. Corrosion on vehicles and structures is estimated to be the largest cost impact of chloride based chemicals. Even relatively small amounts of chloride will significantly accelerate existing corrosion.

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[Flying Scotsman]

I have never understood why Brits use Gritters...salt mixed with grit and sand. The small stones can make a right mess of your paintwork. The probable reason is you still use summer tyres on winter roads and without the grit mix you would end up in the ditch. Here in the colonies (Vancouver BC) they do this procedure, they spread a brine solution on top of the road surface prior to freezing temperatures to stop ice forming, then if a dump of snow falls, it is plowed and salted...NO grit
I do remember well prior to leaving Scotland the futility of gritting and local councils lacking equipment and the know how to deal with winter conditions, not to mention the lack of skill that most drivers have in driving in winter conditions.

 

[AlS3BE]

I have never understood why Brits use Gritters...salt mixed with grit and sand. The small stones can make a right mess of your paintwork. The probable reason is you still use summer tyres on winter roads and without the grit mix you would end up in the ditch. Here in the colonies (Vancouver BC) they do this procedure, they spread a brine solution on top of the road surface prior to freezing temperatures to stop ice forming, then if a dump of snow falls, it is plowed and salted...NO grit
I do remember well prior to leaving Scotland the futility of gritting and local councils lacking equipment and the know how to deal with winter conditions, not to mention the lack of skill that most drivers have in driving in winter conditions.

Salt isn’t cheap so they mix it with other cr4p like sand and rocks. This ultimately breaks the road surface which isn’t that economical but they don’t seem to care.
Other problem is we don’t normally get winter that bad, bad snow happens every few years sometimes 5-10 years so the councils don’t want to invest in equipment and better salt/brine to clear the roads. This was very apparent when the beast from the east hit us, low supplies of salt, snow ploughs etc and we just got told to stay home unless it was necessary.
I’ve had winter tyres or all season on my cars for almost 10 years and would not go back to using summers in the winter.

this was the beast from the east, snow was past the bumpers. I just cleared the windscreen and drove out like I normally would. A6 didn’t even flinch. Winter tyres and Quattro at its best. So many idiots thinking their suvs with 4wd and summers would get through this and got stuck. Had to go out and rescue a mate who got his Land Rover stuck. His all seasons just wasn't up to the job in foot deep snow.
Keen to see what the haldex awd compares to the torsion awd in snow like that. Since getting the s3 we barely got a flutter of snow.

 

[45bvtc]

Salt isn’t cheap so they mix it with other cr4p like sand and rocks. This ultimately breaks the road surface which isn’t that economical but they don’t seem to care.
Other problem is we don’t normally get winter that bad, bad snow happens every few years sometimes 5-10 years so the councils don’t want to invest in equipment and better salt/brine to clear the roads. This was very apparent when the beast from the east hit us, low supplies of salt, snow ploughs etc and we just got told to stay home unless it was necessary.
I’ve had winter tyres or all season on my cars for almost 10 years and would not go back to using summers in the winter.
View attachment 211783
this was the beast from the east, snow was past the bumpers. I just cleared the windscreen and drove out like I normally would. A6 didn’t even flinch. Winter tyres and Quattro at its best. So many idiots thinking their suvs with 4wd and summers would get through this and got stuck. Had to go out and rescue a mate who got his Land Rover stuck. His all seasons just wasn't up to the job in foot deep snow.
Keen to see what the haldex awd compares to the torsion awd in snow like that. Since getting the s3 we barely got a flutter of snow.

110% agree - winter tyres, winter tyres, winter tyres for me...

 

[jrumball]

I have a set of summer tyres and wheels and then a smaller 16/17 inch with winter tyers used to always have Nokians which were amazing, this time I have tried Michelin Cross Climates they are a good compromise for English weather, not yet had a chance to try them in proper snow.

 

[pburv]

Too ruddy quiet on this forum these days, so here’s a topic to hopefully get a little light hearted conversation going, lol.

Last night was a bit cold. I took the dog out for a walk first thing and there was a little bit of frost. Well, I say frost, more like cold dew on the grass.

But don’t panic, m’local council, in their infinite wisdom, have sent the winter gritters out tonight, showering the streets with unnecessary salty car corroding nastiness. Because the temperature is gonna hit +3 degrees tonight

Christ, if it wasn’t for the new lockdown, I’d have serious concerns about driving to work tomorrow morning. Thank heavens the roads have been salted

God knows how you Scots deal with winter - I imagine you all just throw your car keys in the back of that kitchen drawer we all have (you know the one, that drawer that can hardly be opened because of all the ‘tut that’s been thrown in it) and leave ‘em there until early March, right?

I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but ***, is it just me that wonders if Audi/Merc/BMW (and all the rest of ‘em) make road salting donations to governments (probably as a tax deductible benefit), in the name of public safety, to make our lovely cars rot quicker, so we have to buy new ones more frequently?

I’m not playing that game - I’m going to walk everywhere until the clocks change back to summertime

As a child of the early 70’s, I remember when a bit of frost or ice was a tip-top opportunity to test how far you could skid down the playground in your worn out trainers, and when I was older, your car handling skills (I will admit I learned how to deal with ice, intentionally, in a knackered old Honda Civic I used to have in a cold and empty Sainsbury's car-park on an icy Sunday morning about 28 years ago - that was a great Sunday morning, me and an old mate laughed like drains, and learned a LOT very quickly, but that was when supermarkets didn’t open on Sundays, lol).

Nanny state, or necessary? I get it when the weathers really minging, but tonight, seriously?

Just me? Lol. Discuss...
(just a bit of fun, happy for this thread to deviate into a hundred different winter story directions )

I often wondered where Tadej Pogačar did his winter training...

 

[Jassyo06]

Its so the councils don't get sued basically if its "forecast" to be 6 degrees and below gritters are out....remember last September...they started gritting the roads up in Bathgate....."place of work"....grit the roads even in April up my way...so more than half the year they grit, l hate grit lorries with a passion.....my last S3's paintwork and windscreen where ruined by oncoming grit lorries driving at over 50 mph they don't care...and spreading even in rush hour....says everything about local government/councils

 

[pburv]

Its so the councils don't get sued basically if its "forecast" to be 6 degrees and below gritters are out....remember last September...they started gritting the roads up in Bathgate....."place of work"....grit the roads even in April up my way...so more than half the year they grit, l hate grit lorries with a passion.....my last S3's paintwork and windscreen where ruined by oncoming grit lorries driving at over 50 mph they don't care...and spreading even in rush hour....says everything about local government/councils

I had a grit lorry make a b line for me when my car was just over a month old. I swear I couldn't hug the verge any closer! He still got me. The noise was very distressing indeed

 

[Pinky1959]

Amey who now have the contract for south west Scotland ,have obviously spent a lot of money on new 70 plate gritters I met three today so they are at least prepared for the snow .
It would help if they sorted all the FKn potholes first.

 

[Neil C]

Amey who now have the contract for south west Scotland ,have obviously spent a lot of money on new 70 plate gritters I met three today so they are at least prepared for the snow .
It would help if they sorted all the FKn potholes first.

Two birds, one stone ?