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Posting this has got more to do with me needing to vent since my partner has already gone to bed than anything else…
Just been from chi to Worthing and back, 50 mile round trip, and got the chills from passing 3 road traffic accidents!
Now, I could already tell that with temperatures dropping below zero and ridiculous rain previously, it was worth being careful. So I packed both my warm coats just in case, and filled the flask with hot Ribena. Obvs. Drove well within the speed limit and chose the main road - it will be gritted better than my preferred back road route. Or so I thought.
Well, actually I had no issues with ice at all. Drove ~60mph on the dual carriage way and didn’t find any ice despite the car reporting -1C. surface was dry all the way there. As I arrived at my destination I’d already noticed two police cars on blue lights.
Quick turn around and headed home. Temperatures by now into -2.
Blue lights ahead, stationary on the dual carriage way. Slowed. Spotted a car, dark, no lights, buried in the central reservation about 100 yds before I reached the blue lights. I can only describe the dark car as spooky.
Plod directed us off onto the slip road. Hopefully he was there to deal with the dark car. Had it been seen yet?
Sat nav found me back onto the dual carriageway within two miles. Slowed to a stop to rejoin the carriageway from a right angle (not a slip road), only to look left and see a dark van, no lights, crashed into a wall on this curve. What on earth is going on? Police in attendance already. Both airbags hanging out the van, no occupants now. Scary.
So I, and a car that had been in front of me throughout and presumably similarly concerned, gingerly roll along the dual carriageway at no more than 40 mph. But other traffic joins us from junctions and seems to race past, unaware of the potential danger. Another tailgates me, despite me being so easy to pass on a near empty dual carriageway.
And sure enough, within five miles of the last, another pile of at least two cars on the opposite carriageway, smoke rising and police already in attendance.
Finally I realise there’s no grit, it’s all been washed away by the rain. It cant be replaced quick enough. And worst of all, despite driving cautiously and wearing all-season tyres, it’s probably one of these other drivers that’s gonna kill me.
Then I got home. Phew. Hope everyone else is ok.
Glad you got home safe and sound, I know the feeling when you’re just glad to get off the road.
Tailgating when there’s a clear lane to overtake is a special kind of stupid, drives me potty.
There was a bump on the bend behind our house this morning about 5 mins after me muttering about people driving too fast etc etc, then bang! Someone understeered wide on a left hander straight into a car coming the other way. Very low speed but totally predictable and avoidable.
Stay safe out there.
It's rubbish round here. I'm just a bit further West.
Police announced on Facebook that they've closed the B3006 (up near Selborne on the A3) and said it's icy so find another route as well as bits of the A272 apparently being shut for the same reason.
I'm not sure which unlit, not gritted, unclassified roads are likely to be a major improvement to get round those two. Maybe there's something specific about them with flooding but if they're bad there's a lot of potential for others to be worse ... 😬
Other roads nearby aren't that great either.
Seen some shocking driving over the last few days... I just don't understand what's wrong with some people.
Tailgating when there’s a clear lane to overtake is a special kind of stupid, drives me potty.
Yep they should be stuck in a sealed box with unwashed synthetic cycling kit and some three weeks wet wetsuit boots.
I've just done Guildford to Woking and back, picking son up from a night out with college friends and saw one car in a hedge and another van being put onto a low loader, although in fairness that could have been just a breakdown. And a couple of blue lights on the trip as well.
It's not just the cold, where it's been so wet not only has it washed any grit away, there's still standing water in gutters and in some dips in the roads. As this is splashed or just carried by tyres away from the puddles, it sits on the road spread in thin layers which can then freeze far quicker than a solid mass of water. Where the car was off I reckon 20m either side of the standing water was starting to just turn into surface ice.
Clearly struck a chord with you lot, otherwise you wouldn’t read such a long post 🙂
I’ll bring some light to the conversation. Whilst in hindsight, i should have stayed at home and travelled on any other night that wasn’t sub-zero so soon after rain, I did collect a beautiful red frog 44 bike for my 4 year old daughter.
And from a jolly nice chap, look up jay’s cycles if you’re looking for a custom build or high-end servicing around Brighton/Worthing.
, I did collect a beautiful red frog 44 bike for my 4 year old daughter.
🙂
It's just perfect conditions for evil ice here- snowed last night on wet ground, tiny bit of rain, just warm enough to thaw a bit during the day... It's stealthy too, nothing really looks that slippy. It was a day just like this when I broke my hip!
Trains not running this evening then?
Seen some shocking driving over the last few days… I just don’t understand what’s wrong with some people.
sunday evening I drove up the m74 to glasgow from England. Over beatock summit where it gets fairly high there was standing water on the road in place a lot of spray and a dense snowstorm that really cut visibility. At times i was down to 50 mph. Most other vehicles slowed but a few came past at well over 70 mph including a bus!
Seen some shocking driving over the last few days… I just don’t understand what’s wrong with some people.
I think the thing that still surprises me the most,is the vast number of people that fail to seasonally adjust their driving technique ,by any amount.They tool along in all conditions,ignore any need to increase braking/stopping distances,trust all the buttons,toys and assisted driving systems onboard to read the road and keep them out of trouble.
Maybe it's coming from a lifetime of riding two wheels all year round,but from October- March everything changes about the way I drive and ride.
I got beeped at from behind yesterday up near Bristol, as I had the audacity to slow down at a massive puddle, as there was a motorcycle coming in the opposite direction. I wasn’t keen on obliterating them with a massive bow wave
Still bad this morning in the southeast. Warned wife it might be it. She rings me to say yes there are random icy patches. I ring her back to warn her there is an accident on her route and a big queue. She's probably going to turn around as a bus going to other way just splashed water over the car and it instantly froze across the windscreen...
Roads closed, including main roads, due to lots of accidents in my part of Somerset. Usual indignation on FB about councils not gritting roads, which of course they have, but with all the runoff off fields it’s getting washed away. Yup, that’s totally predictable, but takes a moments consideration which appears more than some are capable of
Seen some shocking driving over the last few days… I just don’t understand what’s wrong with some people.
It’s the perfect conditions for chaos. Lots of rain then plummeting temperatures. The motorway by us (M66) has terrible drainage which means lots of standing water, which will then freeze.
Sure enough, it was closed last night due to a multi-vehicle pile up as soon as the temperatures dropped. It was closed for over 6 hours to clear it up, so it must have been bad. No fatalities, fortunately
Everyone who uses it regularly knows where the black spots are, but as you back right off and be extra careful there’s always the inevitable BMW/Audi axis of bell-endery hammering past you down the outside lane at 90mph
Looking out of the window this morning, I’m just glad I don’t have to drive anywhere
Stay safe everyone
Just watched one of the neighbours driving away with the wipers still trying to clear the ice off the windscreen, and tiny letter boxes scraped on the side windows. I'm guessing the windows would be steamed up inside as well.
When she turns out the end of the road she will have the sun in her eyes as she approaches the primary school.....
As an update to that last post, the local newspaper website is reporting that the motorway is still closed and the fire brigade were cutting people out of vehicles overnight. Some people are critical in hospital. 🙁
Be careful out there folks
Oh my days, never had such a terrifying school run. Very little gritting has gone on where I am, N Hampshire, sheet ice everywhere and at one point was down to 10mph with my hazards on. There will be a lot of cars in ditches right about now, be careful everyone.
I may cycle offroad today...
sunday evening I drove up the m74 to glasgow from England
Hang on you did what 😯 tjagain driving and being in England shock
Glad I'm WFH today, even though London is usually warmer and doesn't suffer as much as more rural areas.
Just seen this pop up in my feed...
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-64301329.amp
Hang on you did what 😯 tjagain driving and being in England shock
Acting as chauffeur for my aging parents. Not by choice of course 🙂
I just don’t understand what’s wrong with some people
I think a lot of people simply have no idea why it would be a problem and are then confused when they crash. Or they blame the car. Once I was stopped on my bike just off a big flat roundabout and a Fiat 500 came flying around it understeering and it hit the curb near the exit and bounced onto the large grass verge, with broken suspension. Driver was shaken up and kept saying that the steering locked - I think she blamed the car. However it was obvious that she was going far too fast on a damp road under trees and the ESP had stopped her steering too hard and causing a spin, which would have seen her upside down in the trees. She had no idea that she was going to fast.
I've seen many people (of all ages and genders) drive down to the bottom of our hill to turn round, in heavy snow, and then get stuck. I spoke to one woman who thought something had broken on her car because it wouldn't move despite being on a snowy hill; I had to explain that snow was slippery and it meant she couldn't drive.
I had to explain that snow was slippery and it meant she couldn’t drive.
mansplainer..
filled the flask with hot Ribena
You what??
I really don't like driving at all these days, not just in bad weather, as there's too many absolute wallopers out there. Tailgating, lane hogging, no indicating, phoning / texting whilst driving, generally not concentrating on the job in hand.
Winter tyres would probably help in most cases.
Was comical back in December watching my BiL trying to get off the sloping drive in a straight line without hitting the parallel kerb in his Audi with super low profile summer slicks.
In one of those crashes the driver pf a Porsche was killed when he ploughed into the stationary police car.
Which was probably lit up like a xmas tree as it wad stopped on a live carriageway.
mansplainer..
Yeah I explained and she just said 'oh..' in a grumpy way. I think she felt stupid once it was pointed out but it really had not occurred to her.
Been years since we've been caught out by a proper snowfall round here, but a good 10-12 years back we had heavy snow on ungritted roads overnight and the Col d'Ilson became a compacted icy mess as lots of people tried to fishtail their way up it.
Lots of retired folk were wrapped up warm with hot cups of tea at the ends of their drives watching the entertainment. I floated up on the MTB being cheered by the crowd (who probably didn't know what an Ice Spiker Pro was till it went over their foot!)
I bought the Ice Spikers after a terrifying slide on black ice the winter before, with my cycle helmet bouncing on the tarmac as I thought "I only bought this jacket yesterday!"
In the mid 90’s I was asked by one of my colleagues (I had a reputation for being interested in cars) to explain why their brand new car was so bad during the drive in to work on a day where there was about an inch of snow. It was a E30 BMW 320i.
When I explained that they had a reputation for being crap in snow and the wet being RWD with their semi-trailing arm suspension they were horrified ‘but it’s a BMW so it should be good’ and didn’t like my suggestion of putting a couple of sacks of potatoes in the boot to help with traction.
Long winded way of saying many people don’t understand the basics of driving to conditions because they aren’t really interested.
Winter tyres definitely make a difference in these conditions *ducks*.
Having said that, I can only get up the hill in the AWD with winters, not the 2WD van, so they aren't entirely magical. Can't easily walk up it either though.
This is all a great example of people becoming increasingly insulated from the impact of their decisions in the real world. I'm convinced very few people really appreciate how heavy cars are, and how much damage they can do when out of control, even at relatively low speeds. Similar principle in my tiny mind to people not appreciating the psychological damage they do themselves and others via being anonymously vindictive on social media.
he ploughed into the stationary police car.
Obviously not enough hi-vis and no helmet either! 😗
Ironic post.
Can't get out of Worthing. Been sat stationary on the A27 for an hour.
Ambulance just squeezed past so assume the worst.
Sigh
I was due to go into the office, called to say I will wfh. Sounds like the sensible decision.
Whole of the South Coast seems to be at a standstill at the moment!
Piece of cake last two days on my MTB with snow studs. Fortunately I have a 90% off road commute to work, and with decent tyres it's safer than walking. The trickiest bit was walking from the bike shelter to the office.
@pictonroad, the A27 is currently shut from Lancing (manor leisure centre) towards the Shoreham flyover and looks rammed from Lyons Farm onwards. A259 Worthing to Shoreham looks rammed too. Google maps is showing a lot of crashes on the surrounding roads.
Take care out there everyone.
Im WFH today and am looking at clear skies and frozen ground so the car is staying put and a cheeky bike ride this afternoon beckons...
Seems strange to be where I am - central belt Scotland - hearing about snow/ice-induced chaos on the roads, and have perfectly fine conditions myself. Not usually the case.
Winter tyres definitely make a difference in these conditions *ducks*.
Coincidental photo memory popped up from 2007 this morning - the only time I've had to abandon a car at the bottom of the hill to my previous house (thankfully in a friend's driveway) and walk. Wide Bridgestone RE040 performance tyres on a light FWD hot hatch - the worst tyres in snow I've ever used. That was the last winter I drove without winter or all-seasons. Same hill, far worse snow years later in a BMW 330i with winters was childs' play.
Ironic post.
Can’t get out of Worthing. Been sat stationary on the A27 for an hour.
Ambulance just squeezed past so assume the worst.
Sigh
It took me an hour and a quarter to get INTO Worthing today matey..... FFS!
Issues are:
Crash on Steyning bypass
Burst water main from Lancing to Shoreham flyover
Backed up traffic both leaving and entering worthing!!
Pants!
DrP
I'm trying to figure out if I can go for a road spin this afternoon...
you'll spin one way or another...
DrP