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Post by michael on Jan 17, 2018 11:58:45 GMT
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 17, 2018 12:20:56 GMT
Looking at some of the photos, there didn’t seem to be a huge snowfall but people were still unable to move. A68 was shut overnight due to drifting and crashes apparently.
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Post by johnc on Jan 17, 2018 13:06:31 GMT
We've had loads of snow. On the road down to the house last night it was scraping on the bottom of the car and it was a bit of a battle to get out this morning. The main roads are pretty clear now and it seems to be milder but the parents in law didn't get back from Harrogate until 3am this morning having set off over 12 hours earlier - 2 lorries on the M74 apparently jacknifed and blocked the road for hours: they are wishing they had just stopped off at Kirkby Lonsdale for the night.
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Post by racingteatray on Jan 17, 2018 13:18:45 GMT
This goes back to the point about the UK having one of the lowest rates of winter tyre ownership in Europe despite Edinburgh and Glasgow being at the same latitude as Labrador and Moscow.
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Post by Big Blue on Jan 17, 2018 13:45:14 GMT
This goes back to the point about the UK having one of the lowest rates of winter tyre ownership in Europe despite Edinburgh and Glasgow being at the same latitude as Labrador and Moscow. Yes this is one of the curious things about life North of Muswell Hill. From what I can make out from news bulletins over the past decade or so is that it is definitely going to snow. However one of the drivers (sic) on winter tyres in Europe is regulation. How can you regulate in the UK when there is no expectation in the SE and SW that it will snow? That said if there were some form of regulation it would need to be sensible as in Germany the rules are something like "under icy conditions you must have winter tyres" meaning you could be fined if there was a cold snap early morning frost in early May. Other countries have 1 Nov-15 April as fixed dates. Odd thing is for most UK drivers tyres with M+S markings would suffice all year round and avoid getting stuck in the light snow that brings parts of the UK to a standstill a couple of times a season (current snow dumps in Scotland is an exception). Vredestein Quatric or similar on a three or five series are speed rated to 168mph and would make a difficult to handle car in the snow into just a car to take a bit more care in in the snow. Not many of these drivers are looking for the grip and handling limits in the dry but bash the motorways and A roads all week long. |
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 17, 2018 13:54:42 GMT
Agree with that. Our summers aren’t particularly warm and they are often wet too.
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Post by racingteatray on Jan 17, 2018 18:46:46 GMT
It seems to me that if Italy can have a rule that in only certain regions and over certain altitudes and between certain dates you must have either winter tyres or chains in your car, then surely the UK could do the same.
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Post by PG on Jan 18, 2018 13:14:23 GMT
It seems to me that if Italy can have a rule that in only certain regions and over certain altitudes and between certain dates you must have either winter tyres or chains in your car, then surely the UK could do the same. Quite. And the governments in Scotland and Wales are devolved, so can't they do it anyway? Perhaps if more manufacturers started offering all season tyres as standard at new (or even an option), things might change. I tried to order our Shogun with M+S tyres and the only way to get them was throw away the tyres it came with, which unbelievably were highway terrain based tyres - so a grassy field was about doable but anything else was an issue - and buy our own. I think a lot of Land Rover product now comes with all season tyres as standard, based on something that Harry said in one of his garage reviews. |
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Post by Boxer6 on Jan 18, 2018 13:59:34 GMT
It seems to me that if Italy can have a rule that in only certain regions and over certain altitudes and between certain dates you must have either winter tyres or chains in your car, then surely the UK could do the same. Quite. And the governments in Scotland and Wales are devolved, so can't they do it anyway? Perhaps if more manufacturers started offering all season tyres as standard at new (or even an option), things might change. I tried to order our Shogun with M+S tyres and the only way to get them was throw away the tyres it came with, which unbelievably were highway terrain based tyres - so a grassy field was about doable but anything else was an issue - and buy our own. I think a lot of Land Rover product now comes with all season tyres as standard, based on something that Harry said in one of his garage reviews. Only certain areas are devolved, but even those are being eroded again. Road building etc is devolved I think, but not sure if any vehicle-related is. I doubt it though. |
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Post by johnc on Jan 19, 2018 10:30:18 GMT
I heard from someone who was at a talk recently with the Fraser of Allander Institute and several other people high up in Scottish finances. Apparently we, as a country, are well and truly bankrupt and the spending plans of the Scottish Government outstrip the income to a worrying level. Maybe that's why there is no money to repair the roads.
One thing was said which will resonate throughout the whole of the UK is that people no longer do things to help themselves, they call on the Council which then puts massive strain on resources: 20 or 30 years ago if a council tenant had a loose door knob they would get out a screwdriver and tighten it up or if there is snow in front of their property they cleared it - now they call the council. The message was that people nowadays do not want to take responsibility for anything and they want someone else to sort it. I must say that I was surprised to hear that there was this kind of talk from a largely public sector panel but the message I got from the person who was there was that these people are really concerned.
The Scottish Government have jurisdiction over speed limits (which they reduced for HGV's) but not over things like winter tyres. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Jan 21, 2018 10:38:45 GMT
That, John, hits the nail right on the head. Everybody expects things done for them. The amount of moaning that went out on Arsebook about "the council haven't gritted" when, in actual fact, I bet they bloody well had been out gritting. People have this expectation that grit will magically clear a road. And, of course, they all moaned the council hadn't gritted despite everyone knowing it was going to snow from the forecast. Yet they still all ventured out ill-prepared!
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Post by Boxer6 on Jan 21, 2018 12:17:21 GMT
That, John, hits the nail right on the head. Everybody expects things done for them. The amount of moaning that went out on Arsebook about "the council haven't gritted" when, in actual fact, I bet they bloody well had been out gritting. People have this expectation that grit will magically clear a road. And, of course, they all moaned the council hadn't gritted despite everyone knowing it was going to snow from the forecast. Yet they still all ventured out ill-prepared! Our street was gritted the other night, but with a couple of inches of snow on top shortly after and no traffic, they might as well not have bothered. What our council have been better at this year is gritting pavements; most footpaths round our way have been done and are largely safely usable, unlike last year when folk were falling all over the shop! Didn't do it the other month mind, when I fell and ripped my hand open .. .. .. |
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