How safe are our roads?

[Paulgertie]

There's a new type of road surface going down, until now bitumen was laid down and gravel/pebbles were rolled into it. With this system the gravel is already coated with bitumen, and needs only to be laid and compressed. The councils like it because it is hard-wearing and quiet and cheaper. The downside, is that the bitumen coating the gravel is oil-based, and this oil oozes to the surface for a while, until it is scrubbed away by passing traffic. A gang of roadworkers I came upon told me that "slippery road" signs are supposed to be left out after a road has been treated in this way. Ironically, it has the appearance of the perfect road surface. This is known as SMA, SMA can remain slippery for up to two years after it is put down. It is considered so dangerous that its use is banned in some countries, but 20% of the UK's motorways and "A" roads are now covered with it. Why has the Transport Research Laboratory not looked into it? It seems the TRL only does research into the effects of wet roads, and SMA is at its worst in the dry. See here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/4278419.stm .
Maybe we can get someone to listen here? http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SMAsphalt/
Paul

[squirrelciv]

That would account for my little stretch of the M4 between J33 & J34. It was recoated a couple of years ago and is terribly slidey. Lot of spray seems to get generated there too, don't know if there's a connection???

[bullet350]

there's a 100yd strech near me on a 40mph road just where there's a nasty junction. Its ok now but for the first few weeks it was very slippery (and that was during August).

I lost the front end on my old R100 Bmw on a hot summers day! I tried the front brake to see what it was like once my new tyres has 'run-in'. It just locked and slid with the camber of the road, and as most people know bm brakes are dire. I had to 'dab' my foot down at 20 mph to keep 1/4 of a ton of german iron upright.

Is it me or would the authorities not allow such a surface if it put cars in danger?

Here's hoping the next person to throw it away because of this stuff is the son of an MP; it would all be replaced within hours!

bullet350

[J Hop]

The most dangerous thing I've seen are those steel cable crash barriers ! Decapitation anyone ? Also potholes big enough to lose a landrover in aren't too clever.