How are icy roads being treated?

H

Happy_Harry

Registered User
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Apologies for the maybe silly question, but in the last few weeks we have seen very bad road conditions where I live due to the frost. Every morning it is like russian roulette getting into the car and drive, hoping other people are taking as much as care as I do when driving on icy roads.

In other countries I lived , and where it used to be much colder, there was never the same danger because the roads were treated, either with salt or more environmentally friendly with grit. In the almost 9 years I have lived in this country I have never seen a salt truck in action.

4/5 years ago there was day with fairly heavy snow ( 5-6 inches) and I tried to get to work but after 5 minutes I just turned back home as the traffic was totally gridlocked: Nobody had done anything about the snow and drivers here are not used, nor trained to drive through snow, nor are the cars here equipped to do so.

So are roads being treated here at all, or just the motorways and the city ?
 
I think the irish cuncils prefer to use daylight, much cheaper.

Never mind ifpeople can't move till noon.

They do grit roads but seems to be a rare event. Probably a budget for about 3 days a year.
 
I reguarly see gritting trucks out as soon as it looks like icy conditions looming. I often remark how quickly they are out. I`ve seen them at night too.
 
iggy said:
I reguarly see gritting trucks out as soon as it looks like icy conditions looming. I often remark how quickly they are out. I`ve seen them at night too.
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Only on N and M roads. These are gritted if the forecast is for frost. Paid for by the NRA.


The councils are under no obligation to grit R and L roads at all.
 
Hi,

The council up to about 4 to 5 years ago used to grit the roads where I live -I live on a C road if that's the correct expression - they have stopped doing this since and the road conditions and pot holes are desperate especailly if you drive over a pot hole that is full of water and you are not expecting it.

Angela59
 
Frank said:
I think the irish cuncils prefer to use daylight, much cheaper.

Never mind ifpeople can't move till noon.

They do grit roads but seems to be a rare event. Probably a budget for about 3 days a year.
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I don't know where you live but the Councils in the areas where I've lived during the past 15 years or so have been very diligent in gritting all significant roads whenever there is a threat of frost.
 
I live in Kildare and the first grit I saw was last Saturday afternoon!! after the fact as always.:rolleyes:
 
Here in the South East I've seen gritters out if ice is forecast overnight. Infact I just drove down to Wexford town and the car and windscreen are covered in salt now.

They're not so diligent about the country road I live on though..and I wish someone would grit the car parks.
 
I live in Roscommon and where I live is NEVER gritted, in the 16 years that my family have lived here.

However, two weeks ago, we woke up one Wednesday to gritted roads. It hasnt happened before, nor since, but one day!

Woohoo!!
 
I live in Meath and roads are gritted but drivers were instructed this year that with cut backs the Council is only going to grit major roads.
 
Hi,

I saw the gritter lorry on the way to school with kids about 9.00 a.m. - they could have been out earlier - this was on one of the main roads. I live between carlow/kilkenny. They never girt the minor roads anymore and they are the worst ones.

Angela59
 
They treat them with a mixture of disdain and contempt up here.


It doesn't really work, but we feel better about it.
 
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