Gritting the Roads

[Lord Bracknell]

Why did the Lewes - Brighton main road look like this on Thursday morning?

... when a mere mile or so away, it looked like this?

 

[BensGrandad]

I have seen about 3 lorries driving down the A272 into Haywards Heath all had snow plough things on the front and a full back of salt/grit whatever but none of them had the spinner on to spray the salt/grit on to the road what is the point of carrying the stuff and not using it. Is it West Sussex Council that is responsible in Haywards Heath.

 

[Vankleek Hill Seagull]

Why did the Lewes - Brighton main road look like this on Thursday morning?

... when a mere mile or so away, it looked like this?

Aren't the National Highways Agency responsible for major trunk routes e.g. A27 and the Lewes Road is the responsibility of Brighton & Hove City council?

 

[RexCathedra]

The sheer volume of traffic, and the ratio of salt to sand also make a difference. Some places here use calcium chloride, which works better at lower temperatures than plain old NaCl.

 

[franks brother]

I’m not having it!
Simply sick and tired of the excuse that for 90% for the year a snowplough lies idle and therefore is uneconomic.
A combine harvester lies idle for a much longer period of time for most of the year, in fact it probably only gets used for a fortnight at the most, are you saying that we should simply do away with this machinery because of that fact?
We get snow, we grow crops, and machinery is used for both these purposes and is a necessary part of our lives. A snowplough by the way is an attachment to the front of a lorry or tractor, a vehicle that can be used for other duties where necessary unlike a combine where the whole vehicle remains redundant until needed.

Councils have a duty to keep roads and pavements clear, we pay an extortionate amount of council tax for these and many other services that are being slashed and cut in an attempt to save monies that are being stolen by central government to be spent on things we simply cannot afford.
The Country is living beyond it’s means and will continue to do so in some vain attempt at being some sort of a global power.
Fact is, you are all taxed to death and see nothing for your money.
More cuts are yet to come as Joe public taxpayer begins to pay back the enormous debt that greedy bankers and failed speculators have left us.
They continue to claim massive bonuses and inflated salaries rather than pay money back into the economy that by rights they should have not been given in the first place.

 

[TrickyOne]

I’m not having it!
Simply sick and tired of the excuse that for 90% for the year a snowplough lies idle and therefore is uneconomic.
A combine harvester lies idle for a much longer period of time for most of the year, in fact it probably only gets used for a fortnight at the most, are you saying that we should simply do away with this machinery because of that fact?
We get snow, we grow crops, and machinery is used for both these purposes and is a necessary part of our lives. A snowplough by the way is an attachment to the front of a lorry or tractor, a vehicle that can be used for other duties where necessary unlike a combine where the whole vehicle remains redundant until needed.

Councils have a duty to keep roads and pavements clear, we pay an extortionate amount of council tax for these and many other services that are being slashed and cut in an attempt to save monies that are being stolen by central government to be spent on things we simply cannot afford.
The Country is living beyond it’s means and will continue to do so in some vain attempt at being some sort of a global power.
Fact is, you are all taxed to death and see nothing for your money.
More cuts are yet to come as Joe public taxpayer begins to pay back the enormous debt that greedy bankers and failed speculators have left us.
They continue to claim massive bonuses and inflated salaries rather than pay money back into the economy that by rights they should have not been given in the first place.

Absolutely and hat off to you sir!

 

[aftershavedave]

Why did the Lewes - Brighton main road look like this on Thursday morning?

... when a mere mile or so away, it looked like this?

and it's the same this morning. utter disgrace.

 

[sam86]

I’m not having it!
Simply sick and tired of the excuse that for 90% for the year a snowplough lies idle and therefore is uneconomic.
A combine harvester lies idle for a much longer period of time for most of the year, in fact it probably only gets used for a fortnight at the most, are you saying that we should simply do away with this machinery because of that fact?
We get snow, we grow crops, and machinery is used for both these purposes and is a necessary part of our lives. A snowplough by the way is an attachment to the front of a lorry or tractor, a vehicle that can be used for other duties where necessary unlike a combine where the whole vehicle remains redundant until needed.

Councils have a duty to keep roads and pavements clear, we pay an extortionate amount of council tax for these and many other services that are being slashed and cut in an attempt to save monies that are being stolen by central government to be spent on things we simply cannot afford.
The Country is living beyond it’s means and will continue to do so in some vain attempt at being some sort of a global power.
Fact is, you are all taxed to death and see nothing for your money.
More cuts are yet to come as Joe public taxpayer begins to pay back the enormous debt that greedy bankers and failed speculators have left us.
They continue to claim massive bonuses and inflated salaries rather than pay money back into the economy that by rights they should have not been given in the first place.

Franks brother for prime minister.

 

[Rowdey]

Why did the Lewes - Brighton main road look like this on Thursday morning?

... when a mere mile or so away, it looked like this?

Well the speed limits are different for start -30/40 at bottom of the Avenue, 60/70 on past Newmarket pub. Does that bear on a danger/speed to probability ratio type thing?

 

[Jim D]

I’m not having it!
Simply sick and tired of the excuse that for 90% for the year a snowplough lies idle and therefore is uneconomic.
A combine harvester lies idle for a much longer period of time for most of the year, in fact it probably only gets used for a fortnight at the most, are you saying that we should simply do away with this machinery because of that fact?
We get snow, we grow crops, and machinery is used for both these purposes and is a necessary part of our lives. A snowplough by the way is an attachment to the front of a lorry or tractor, a vehicle that can be used for other duties where necessary unlike a combine where the whole vehicle remains redundant until needed..

So, if we fit the snowplough attachment to the combine harvesters....?

 

[Husty]

The Country is living beyond it’s means and will continue to do so in some vain attempt at being some sort of a global power.

Im sure lots of people are aware of that, so why do you want the nation to buy a ludicrous amount of snow ploughs?

 

[Collar Feeler]

I’m not having it!
Simply sick and tired of the excuse that for 90% for the year a snowplough lies idle and therefore is uneconomic.
A combine harvester lies idle for a much longer period of time for most of the year, in fact it probably only gets used for a fortnight at the most, are you saying that we should simply do away with this machinery because of that fact?
We get snow, we grow crops, and machinery is used for both these purposes and is a necessary part of our lives. A snowplough by the way is an attachment to the front of a lorry or tractor, a vehicle that can be used for other duties where necessary unlike a combine where the whole vehicle remains redundant until needed.

Councils have a duty to keep roads and pavements clear, we pay an extortionate amount of council tax for these and many other services that are being slashed and cut in an attempt to save monies that are being stolen by central government to be spent on things we simply cannot afford.
The Country is living beyond it’s means and will continue to do so in some vain attempt at being some sort of a global power.
Fact is, you are all taxed to death and see nothing for your money.
More cuts are yet to come as Joe public taxpayer begins to pay back the enormous debt that greedy bankers and failed speculators have left us.
They continue to claim massive bonuses and inflated salaries rather than pay money back into the economy that by rights they should have not been given in the first place.

Hate to be a pedant but your comparison with a Combine Harvester is a poor one. Most farmers hire Combines at harvest time from specialist Agricultural plant hire firms because to purchase and own one would be uneconomical, in fact many farmers do this with much of the specialist plant they require at various times of the year. Also your random guess at for how long a combine is used each year is way out, the wheat harvest alone may take place all through August and well into September dependent on variety and weather etc. There are all the other grain crops too that are harvested at different times in different parts of the UK so a Combine can be profitable for 3-5 months a year. Gritter lorries are specialist trucks which cannot really be used for any other purpose since the hopper at the back is purely designed to accept and spread salt/grit. The snowplough is simply attached to the front on a special bracket. The councils can't win really, they could spend millions on a huge fleet of gritters and other kit and then we get mild winters for 5-6 years or more and they are not used. They still need maintaining and paying for and soon the taxpayer is moaning about this big unused fleet of winter vehicles. They have to strike a reasonable balance within a reasonable budget and have resources adequate for most winters which I think they have. It doesn't bother me that one severe winter out of 10 or more we have a few days disruption, I'd rather the money was spent elsewhere generally. But then some people just love moaning about anything don't they!

 

[Theatre of Trees]

I have seen about 3 lorries driving down the A272 into Haywards Heath all had snow plough things on the front and a full back of salt/grit whatever but none of them had the spinner on to spray the salt/grit on to the road what is the point of carrying the stuff and not using it. Is it West Sussex Council that is responsible in Haywards Heath.

Because grit is not effective when temperatures are below -4 therefore no point in wasting it. Therefore best to wait when the temperature rises and also when their is more traffic about to spread it and make it more effective.

 

[J2 BHA]

Read this on the BBC website the other day that was quite interesting:

BBC News - How exactly do you grit a road?

 

[Questions]

A snow plough only take sthe majority of the snow off, you still need the gritting and salt. All well and good that but when I go to my local chippy tonight and they`re out of salt because of you bunch of whingers I wont be happy.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The councils can't win really, they could spend millions on a huge fleet of gritters and other kit and then we get mild winters for 5-6 years or more and they are not used. They still need maintaining and paying for and soon the taxpayer is moaning about this big unused fleet of winter vehicles. They have to strike a reasonable balance within a reasonable budget and have resources adequate for most winters which I think they have. It doesn't bother me that one severe winter out of 10 or more we have a few days disruption, I'd rather the money was spent elsewhere generally. But then some people just love moaning about anything don't they!

The point I would make is that this hasn't been a particularly severe winter. In Sussex, we've had a couple of short-lived freezes and minor snowfalls.

Brighton & Hove City Council have failed to deal adequately with major routes in the city. In contrast, the trunk road has been kept in a safe and usable condition. And East Sussex County Council have been out gritting side roads to small villages like Glynde, keeping them safe and clear of snow.

It is disingenuous of the City Council to hide behind a general argument about "exceptional circumstances" and "severe winters". These are not exceptional circumstances, we are having a bog standard cold spell and Lewes Road isn't being dealt with.

The City Council is FAILING.

 

[BensGrandad]

Am I right or is just my imagination that in years gone by the gritters sprayed the grit over a wider area thus some of it landed on the pavement as well as the road. Just seen a gritter lorry going up Franklynn Rd Haywards Heath (A272) and the small spay attachment at the the bottom of the lorry seemed to only be gritting a very small area of the road. Still better than nothing I suppose.

 

[teaboy]

Why do bus companies not use winter tyres in weather like this? Then they might be able to go uphill - something that is not is short supply in Sussex!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Why do bus companies not use winter tyres in weather like this? Then they might be able to go uphill - something that is not is short supply in Sussex!

B&H Buses are currently using vehicles fitted with snow chains to reach outlying estates such as Hollingdean, Bevendean and Woodingdean. Just so that your brother can remain in contact with civilisation!

In earlier freezes, the Council gritted bus routes, so this wasn't necessary.

I just wonder how much damage the snow chains are causing to the road surfaces.

 

[BensGrandad]

I missed the 31 in Uckfield as we didnt see it, thats 3 couples as it couldnt park in the bus station as there are 5 abandoned B & H Buses parked there. I phoned B & H buses and they said they couldnt move them as the roads to and from Brighton are impassable. Why could they have not sent 5 drivers up in a minibus up the A23 and A272 on the 31 bus route from HH which is quite good.