molases

Martyn Bolt said:

concerns have been raised on other groups about the problems
encountered when councils etc use a new type of winter salt.

It seems one has additives , which although they help when it is icy
can leave the road surface slippery.

has anyone any experience.

So far in Kirklees i have 2 cyclists falling off at the same point on
different days, one motorcyclist in similar state and am aware the
the problem occurs from north to south.

I think we need to try and collate data to prompt an investigation ,
if there is a by product we need to react before someone is seriously
hurt.

martyn

I am in Ipswich and have noticed that the roads have been slipper this
year. On two occasions I have noticed that my front wheel has slipped when
making right turns. I commented to a friend that I thought this was the
case and they said that the council were using an additive with the salt
that is supposed to reduce salt damage to the road surface.

It seams to me that traction is reduced during wet warm conditions.

John T.

Quoted message said:

I think we need to try and collate data to prompt an investigation ,
if there is a by product we need to react before someone is seriously
hurt.

Why do we think it's slippery - is there a link to some tests?

"Mark Thompson"
<pleasegivegenerously@warmmail*_turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I think we need to try and collate data to prompt an investigation ,
if there is a by product we need to react before someone is seriously
hurt.

Why do we think it's slippery - is there a link to some tests?

not enough rain but enough moisture to leave the [censored] on the road, a good
downpour should clear it away.

cheers
Jon_H

Martyn Bolt said:

concerns have been raised on other groups about the problems
encountered when councils etc use a new type of winter salt.

It seems one has additives , which although they help when it is icy
can leave the road surface slippery.

has anyone any experience.

This was mentioned on cam.transport earlier this winter, apparently
the same stuff was used last year and they promised not to do it
again after a spate of accidents involving cyclists. In Cambridge,
where 25% of residents commute to work by bicycle, one would
think cyclist safety should be particularly high on the agenda, but
generally they do what suits 'em.

See this link for more:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/cam.transport/browse_frm/thread/4a8ada0e100f3c62

Quoted message said:

So far in Kirklees i have 2 cyclists falling off at the same point on
different days, one motorcyclist in similar state and am aware the
the problem occurs from north to south.

I think we need to try and collate data to prompt an investigation ,
if there is a by product we need to react before someone is seriously
hurt.

I locked my front wheel twice last week in dry conditions (once when
riding near the edge of a cycle lane, once in the main carriageway)
and had a slightly unnerving cornering experience where it felt like
the front wheel was right on the limit. All in Cambridge. I do hope
they've not returned to using molasses.

Simon

Martyn Bolt said:

concerns have been raised on other groups about the problems
encountered when councils etc use a new type of winter salt.

It seems one has additives , which although they help when it is icy
can leave the road surface slippery.

has anyone any experience.

it seems to me that my local council are salting[1] a *lot* more since
that time the highways agency got caught out on the M11 a couple of
years back. Perhaps the relative dryness of this winter means that the
salt hangs around for longer. Anecdotally I have lowsided twice on
coners this winter and can think of several incidents where one end or
other has slipped at quite low speeds. Goodness knows how one would go
about translating this self-selecting sample into anything meaningful
though

best wishes
james

[1] I do not know if they are using a different mixture