Gritters

[craig finton]

Why do people winge so much about the gritters whenever the weather turns cold?

Water freezes at 0^oC. If the gritters put rocksalt on the roads, they can lower that temperature by a couple of degrees so that even at -2^oC, we can still keep the level of ice down though not eliminate it. However, in temperatures as low as -6^oC, like we've had recently, it doesn't really matter how much salt is put on the road because any water will still freeze anyway and any snow on the roads won't melt.

I think some people think that Harry Potter is driving the gritters able to turn any frozen road into a summertime pathway at the wave of a wand and that they should be free to drive in the same way they would on a summer day.

So I think a realty check is in order.

This is England and it's Wintertime. During some English winters - it snows. When it does, drivers need to adjust their driving accordingly by driving slower than normal and with extra care. This may even mean, God forbid,  that they have to set off a bit early in order to get to their destination on time.

This is reality - so deal with it!

[SRMoore]

Craig - We are British, moaning about the weather and the French are our favorite pastimes. Deal with it

[craig finton]

Craig - We are British, moaning about the weather and the French are our favorite pastimes. Deal with it

But they're not moaning about the weather, they're moaning about the gritter. By the way, 'favourite' has a 'U' in it - don't get me started on americanisms - bloody Yanks 

[steveL]

Can I just wander off on a tangent on this to say that the  Americans use the spelling they do because this was the way the English spelt their words at the time of the Pilgrim Fathers. The differences have arisen because us Brits have actually changed the spelling of some words since the 17th Century . . .  color to colour, for example.

[SRMoore]

Thanks for pointing that out. I now know the dictionary on my new phone is set to English (US). Sodding thing automatically 'corrected' it for me.

[Stig of the Seaton Dump]

Salt may not be effective but would a snow plough be to move the snow before it got compacted and became an ice rink.

Plus it does help letting off steam now and again ..as long as the gritter drivers are not sensitive souls and take it to heart.