Is there a rule that says you mustn't overtake one?
Coming home last night I was stuck behind one on a single carriageway A-road, doing 30 mph. There was a long queue of cars behind it, but not a single one overtook, despite plently of safe opportunities.
There was no actual snow or frost, they were only gritting as a precaution (Pointlessly, as it turned out. Today is warm and sunny). When I got the opportunity I overtook all the queue.
I know there is a risk of a small spray of grit when passing, but not as much as gets thrown up from following a line of cars behind a gritting lorry. In any case if you pass one going the opposite way you have no choice.
It was interesting that the lorry kept on gritting even when passing through a village, spraying pedestrians and people's front doors and windows.
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I know there is a risk of a small spray of grit when passing ........
A large spray of grit, I would say.
Perhaps drivers aren't keen to overtake because the fact that they would be going faster than the gritter would mean the speed of impact of the salt/grit on their vehicle would be increased.
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I had noticed before I started that there was very little high-level spray, entirely confined to the amount that other cars' wheels would throw up anyway. There was none of the usual feeling of going through a sand-blaster. Perhaps no body else bothered to notice.
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It seems ever since the M11 fiasco 2-3 years ago, councils deploy gritting lorries at the drop of a snowflake. My part of NW Wales is so maritime it rarely gets ice, let alone standing(?) snow.
Here at least, it seems more about nervous council officers being more afraid of compensation claims if it's deemed they didn't fulfill some statutory obligation or other if sub-zero temps. are forecast. Some gritter drivers, I'm sure, take a perverse pleasure in spraying all & sundry - mind you, that's a general failing applicable to many local public servants - famous for 15mins & all that.
I've no compunction about overtaking the things - normal rules apply AFAIK. In fact I make a point of overtaking for the obvious reason of not picking up the fresh salt & then listening to the oxidation fizz. I don't think the grit hitting the car (when overtaking) does as much harm as soaking the stuff up for miles
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Yes, the motorways round Liverpool have had so much grit spread on them that my blue car was white the other week... I ran out of washer fluid on the way home and had to leave the motorway completely. Couldn't see a thing!
I imagine the risk of damage from grit is a lot less than if you pass an oncoming grit truck. The momentum of the grit carries it towards you in that case rather than in the same direction as you when overtaking.
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No one has commented that a thick spread of that pink rock salt, especially on a damp road, is itself very slippery. I would guess a lot of motorists have come to grief on it.
As for sand-blasting your car, that's what the paint is for, isn't it?
Bit of topic drift: a friend's BMW had all the chrome trim on one front quarter changed from glitter to satin-finish by a sandstorm in the Sahara.
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Gritters Bah! Around here they are always out when not needed an in when they are! - once went past an oncoming one when my window was down one night (saw his yellows, but thought it was a breakdown wagon) Ouch! never made that mistake again! Any other driver would be done for losing his load!
Billy
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until you've been overtaken by one whilst cycling in shorts you've no right to complain.
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I cycle.
I've been known to cylcle in shorts when it's hot.
I couldn't possibly conceive me cycling in shorts when gritting lorries are about ;>)
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I cycle. I've been known to cylcle in shorts when it's hot. I couldn't possibly conceive me cycling in shorts when gritting lorries are about ;>)
Interesting point - if you are on a cycle wearing shorts and a gritter lorry passes you and actually hurts you with the spray of salt, can you do anything like have him charged for assault or driving without due care and consideration?
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until you've been overtaken by one whilst cycling in shorts you've no right to complain.
My sympathies. It hurts just as much when you overtake one on the motorway,on a motorbike and wearing an open-face helmet! :-(
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Re. this and other posts about the appropriateness of gritting or not on occasions. I would counsel patience - I believe it is extremely difficult to forecast whether road conditions will warrant gritting or not and the consequences of getting it wrong are not exactly trivial. Wind, temperature, humidity, rainfall and other factors can affect whether and when to grit - e.g. it's no good gritting before heavy rain or wet snow, which washes the salt away only to freeze later in the night.
Re. overtaking - I tend to hang back and not overtake on motorways because the gritters usually run out of grit at some point and then present a safe opportunity for an overtake. Mind you, I don't want to hold anyone up, so I try to hang back as far as possible from the gritter. This plan only falls down when coaches or HGVs overtake me and shower me with grit.
New ed. of the Highway Code may say something?
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RE. this and other posts on the appropriateness of gritting or not on some occasions. I would counsel patience - I believe it is extremely difficult to forecast whether and when road conditions warrant gritting or not, and the consequences of getting it wrong are not trivial. Humidity, variable cloud cover, wind, existing moisture on the road surface, precipitation, traffic volume and other factors may all have a bearing - e.g. it is no good gritting before rain, which then washes the grit away only to leave a wet road which freezes when the sky clears later in the night.
RE. actual decision to overtake - my preference is to hang back and not overtake, but to leave a gap big enough for anyone who wants to between me and the gritter or the vehicle in front. On motorways I have found the gritters often run out of grit, so simply waiting for this to happen (well back) My biggest concern is heavies and coaches undertaking the gritter as it sits in lane 2, so I leave even more room (presumably these vehicles cannot legally overtake gritters as they are forbidden both from undertaking or using lane 3?)
Does the new ed of the Highway Code offer any advice?
P.S. Apologies if I have inadvertantly posted this twice. My previous version appears to have disappeared.
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Perhaps the queue behind the gritter thought that the road ahead was already icy and didn't want to come to grief whilst overtaking him.
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Having lived and worked in the Peak District for over 33 years, I'd always hang back and assume the roads were icy.I'd rather be held up for a short while than risk a prang. Seen many lunatic overtaking manouvres coming to grief.
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You would have to be going at some speed to pass the ones round the leeds bradford area.
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Many years ago, I recall seeing them three abreast on the M1 doing close to 70!
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When winters were really bad in Buxton, not even gritters ventured out beyond the town centre into the deep drifts. The local quarries used to send their excavators out to the trouble spots- huge buckets with 6' wheels covered in a large chain mesh. I was heading down towards Sunnyfields one dire winter and I saw a digger literally scoop a car up to clear the road.
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Many years ago I recall seeing them three abreast on the M1 doing close to 70!
Now they have one big gritter that does all 3 lanes by driving down the middle one. Last time I saw one I dont think it was doing 70 but it was going quite quickly AFAIR.
I always do a rapid overtake so that although the grit impact speed is higher, the exposure time is shorter. The grit imacting sounds bad but ive never had any damage caused..
;o)
Edited by Rich 9-3 on 05/03/2008 at 18:18
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On Motorways, providing the gritting lorry is not going at a cracking pace, wait until you reach the next junction then whizz up the slip road to leave and down the next one to rejoin and with a bit of luck you have undertaken it :o)
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Nice idea in theory. Not sure if the gritters travel that slowly.
Although picture the scene - going up the slip road trying this to get past the gritter and ironically hit some ice and spin out!
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