Gritters last night

[Paul2412 10]

For the second time in 2 weeks we had the gritters round last night. With no sign of frost never mind icy conditions. Why are the council wasting the time, money and salt, gritting the roads when its not needed? No doubt they'll be on the news when we are under 2 foot of snow telling us it's not the council's fault we don't have enough salt to keep the roads clear.

To cap it all off as i sit here typing this a road sweeper has just gone past doing its rounds of the estate, i wonder if someone at the council has realised their mistake and is trying to reclaim the salt to recycle it

 

As you're clearly heavily involved in this area of expertise, I'm assuming you've applied for the job at the council?

[verynaughty 10]

For the second time in 2 weeks we had the gritters round last night. With no sign of frost never mind icy conditions. Why are the council wasting the time, money and salt, gritting the roads when its not needed? No doubt they'll be on the news when we are under 2 foot of snow telling us it's not the council's fault we don't have enough salt to keep the roads clear.

To cap it all off as i sit here typing this a road sweeper has just gone past doing its rounds of the estate, i wonder if someone at the council has realised their mistake and is trying to reclaim the salt to recycle it

 

I had the same thing a couple of years ago. The gritter was going through Oughtibridge on the main road, but strangely enough the Road Sweeper was directly behind the gritter sweeping it back up. Clueless and they wonder why it is wasted!

[verynaughty 10]

But why is it when we need the gritters when there has been a covering of snow they're nowhere to be seen. Do we really need them when there is a covering of frost, ice yes!

[Agbus 10]

I used to work in the control room for the gritters.All around sheffield there are ground/road temp monitors, that obviously monitor the road temps.If the road temps are low, then it could result in ice.It is not just about the air temp,frost or snow etc but the temperature of the roads play a big part.If we had frost for example and because the road temp is low, it will freeze as ice.

 

Was that the snow room at Olive?

[richkent 10]

Hmm, who to believe? I'm sure a random poster on an internet forum is bound to be the most reliable source of information

 

As the "random poster" I suggest you check out http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/roads/maintenance/winter/roads.

[nickyjo 10]

Does anyone reckon it will snow again this year?

[mike84 13]

But why is it when we need the gritters when there has been a covering of snow they're nowhere to be seen. Do we really need them when there is a covering of frost, ice yes!

 

Because grit has very little effect on snow. putting grit on top of snow is a waste.

[sleepercreep 10]

i think their out again collecting for gritters in need..

[Strix 11]

As the "random poster" I suggest you check out http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/roads/maintenance/winter/roads.

thanks for the link

 

There was a time when it was regarded as compulsory to provide the source of your info when posting on here - but people no longer take the time to post properly, resulting in meandering threads and silly squabbles

[Strix 11]

a word of warning to motorcyclists when the cold snap arrives in Sheffield:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/13/sticky_grit/

[leeby 10]

just a reminder everyone..make sure youve all got anti-freeze in your cars,last year cost me alot of money because i forgot..just a reminder to all now the cold is settling in.

[Strix 11]

... and a kilo of rocksalt to get you out of a sticky situation. If everybody did this, we wouldn't have the gridlock that we do when the weather gets the better of gritting planning!

(remember the year it rained just before it went dark? the roads were like skating rinks and nothing the gritters could do before or after - rain would have washed it away before, and after the roads were too full of stuck traffic to get a gritter though)