Although the weather here has been good recently, some of the roads are incredibly greasy.

This afternoon I got wheelspin during an overtake.

At 60 mph in 5th gear :eek::eek::eek:

It's something to do with the type of grit/salt they are using now

I had the same experience a while back in Portugal, also the tarmac being used, builds up.

Hey

I sent an email to Clarence on Monday, heres the reply I got back, might be useful...

Dear Mr. Dickens,

I refer to your enquiry regarding winter maintenance operations.

The material used to prevent the formation of salt and ice is rock salt. This is a natural product mined in Cheshire. The only additive is a small amount of anti-caking agent. This product has been used in Wiltshire for at least thirty years. It is produced (crushed) to a British Standard and has a controlled moisture content. A number of authorities use an imported salt (basically marine salt from the Mediterranean and some use either salt but with a 3% dosage of animal by product (usually a molasses).

I have consulted with a colleague (a highway engineer) who is an advanced motor cyclist. He concurs that this year the roads appear to be more slippery than previous years following salting activities. He has carefully inspected various sites but has been unable to reach a conclusion. In discussion, we currently believe that it is the relative high humidity that is leaving more residue on the surface than normal. Salt attracts and retains moisture. However, it needs to do this because the salt needs to turn to brine to become an active de-icer, if it remains crystallite in dry weather it has no de-icing properties.

I hope these comments are useful.

P. Smith

Highway Network Support Manager

ive noticed it too, not really with wheelspin but the back end of the car coming round.

also i noticed it when out running one nite when crossing a main road, the road underfoot almost felt greasy. was incredibly slippy

Our lot use local salt too. FYI, the molasses are there so that when the salt is scattered, it effectively sticks to the road surface, rather than bouncing off it (or blown off it in high winds), hence less salt needs to be put down. Incidentally, the roads are unusually greasy around here too. Odd because the amount of salt that has gone down this year has been very small because of the lack of cold weather.