Salt and Gravel/“sand”?

Who hates the shit these trucks put all over the roads as much as me???


Every winter they return... Instead of using their snowplows more aggressively, and people actually learning how to drive better they put salt, chemicals, and paint and glass chipping gravel all over the roads.

I certainly don’t agree with lots of government regulations, however these are a couple of practices I would love to see banned.

Even though there isn’t a single cloud in the sky and it’s 44 degrees, they are out in full force pouring this salt crap all over the roads simply because it “might” snow tomorrow.

I’ve never been afraid of driving on snow and ice, why are so many other people afraid of it?

Yes I’m probably ranting a little, but sometimes that can help a man feel a little better about a situation he cannot seem to do much else about.

I just don’t like people causing harm to my vehicles, and I wish someone could invent a better method that is less harmful to my taco and more environmentally friendly.

 

I do hate those salting trucks, but I hate driving on ice more.

Its between having to wash my truck more often and just having it rust away over 20 years vs driving on a iced over road and possibly wrecking into another car or having another car wreck into me. Ill take the slow rust death over the instant crashing death.

 

Like I said, if they would just plow the roads and people be better drivers.

 

They claim that stuff works in lower temperatures, when it's too cold for conventional salt.

I wish more people would stay off the roads in inclement weather.

 

Asking people to be better drivers is alot to ask. Alot of people (like my wife and her mother) get terrible anxiety while driving in snow, they do things irrational and cause more harm than good. There are alot of people that have a hard time driving on a sunny day, snow just makes normal "ok" drivers worse.

Plowing can only do so much, snow packs down the road, when it gets run over, it starts turning into pack ice. A normal snow plow is generally unable to get this ice pack up. Those spray trucks drop a slurry of salt water on the roads, this acts like a cooking spray on a pan. The ice pack cant stick to it very well allowing the plows to clear the ice pack easier.

In all there is no perfect system and right now salt/sand is the best most cost effective way we have. Do I like it? no, but its better than the other options.

 

Why does it take people so long to get moving from a stop in the snow?

Allowing more time for breaking makes sense IMO. Taking more time to get moving, will usually cause an accident

 

I totally understand what you’re saying and agree with nearly all of it. I even agree that until someone comes up with something better we are probably stuck with salt and gravel. I’m simply hoping that good change comes sooner than later.

 

Taking more time to get moving is usually a traction issue, if your wheels are just spinning then you are not going to be accelerate very fast. 4wd and awd help alot with this, but the vast majority of cars are just 2wd, and most people dont run dedicated snow tires (or even good all season tires) bald tires are very common for people while driving in the snow. Lack of knowing how to accelerate in snow plays a roll too. Many people were never shown how to drive in the snow and they just mash the gas pedal till they start moving.

I do hope they come up with something better, around here they use so much salt that even in the summer you can get salt residue on your car after a rain storm.



I have spent 35 years in MN, driving in it for the past 20 years. I have driven rear wheel drive or 4wd for the vast majority of this time. (had a saturn sl2 for a little while) We used to use sand on roads more than salt, it was great but made a terrible mess in the spring and summer. It clogged sewers, it filled ponds and rivers with sand runoff and was generally damaging to everything and it made dry clear roads slick (sand slides when breaking on it) Windshields would get sand blasted every time you drove, eventually it was so hard to see out you had to buy a new windshield.

 

Aka "liquid rust"