TOT about driving conditions the week

No - it was working (albeit rather asthmatically) last week. If they could get funding for a schoolboy to fix their site it's quite useful, allowing you to look at the motorway cameras output and matrix board displays.

Reply to
Peter Parry
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Yep, we usually leave the snow tyres on all year on the car - it doesn't seem to impact grip during the warmer months, and they seem to wear at such a slow rate that it probably works out cheaper than having two sets of wheels (and far less hassle).

Not allowed chains where I am, or studded tyres, but a set of snow tyres does the job well enough.

Yep! Ours will run through 6" or 7" of snow OK; more than that and it's very slow going. Thankfully they're good about keeping the roads clear here, and one of our neighbours keeps coming over and ploughing the driveway out.

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules

Yes, but taking the car is way more fun :-)

Reply to
Jules

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "The Medway Handyman" saying something like:

What made me laugh this morning was a journalist townie walking over the snowy road to a bridge and pointing at a heron, saying "And there's a heron desperately seeking shelter". Riiiight... the heron was simply standing in the middle of the river looking for fish/frogs/condoms/whatever they eat.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

Couldn't agree more with all of that... people are way too ready to expect everyone else to sort their problems for them, rather than doing a bit of work themselves.

Which reminds me, I've still got 150' of foot-deep snow to clear out so that the propane delivery truck can get through. Why they put the tank waaaay round the back of the house, I don't know! :-)

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules

Doesn't trafficengland.com do that which I thought was the "official" Highways Agency portal for this info? Mind you that was saying no maps too busy last night, oh still is...

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

To be fair, that happens here too sometimes, even though we *know* we're going to be snow-covered for several months of the year. I suppose that below a certain number of teachers, they can't run the whole school (as you say) - but merging classes doesn't really help as it diverts too much from the planned teaching to really be useful; it's no great loss just to shut the place.

What we do have are quite a lot of late starts, where they'll open the school a couple of hours late. More often than not, that's due to the cold rather than the snow (pretty much all the kids get bussed in to school here, and they don't want them standing out and waiting for the bus when it's -30 out)

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules

Jules gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I couldn't be dealing with the winter tyres through the summer - not only is there less grip, but there's a lot more road noise, and the ride's harsher.

Meanwhile, since the snow outside here is about up to the front bumper, I'm staying put...

Reply to
Adrian

The problem there is if it's predicted to fall enough that come time to go home it's too deep for anyone to come and pick their kids up (or for the buses to run) - having to keep kids in the school overnight and feed them all might be a bit of a nightmare.

I've seen them close early once like that over here, but then we did get about 2' of snow in 12 hours so it was understandable (just about every business shut early, too)

Reply to
Jules

Bob Eager gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

But it gets even funnier when they DO get it moving, then find they've got no braking or cornering grip.

Reply to
Adrian

Hmm, what year was it when the M11/A14 ground to a standstill and lots of people were stuck there for hours? I was still in the UK then, and have some nice photos of HGVs - when it was already clear that things were going to get very ugly - trying in vain to get up an ungritted slip-road and off the motorway.

A couple had already fallen off the edge of the road (it was one of those that loops around and goes over a bridge across the motorway) and several more had simply ground to a halt and were partially blocking the road.

By 8 or 9pm nothing was moving on that entire road - it was standstill traffic all the way (I knew a route through back-roads, but could still see the main road)

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules

GB wibbled on Wednesday 06 January 2010 13:58

JN Random courier turned up today with a package from Rapid too - I congratulated him.

Reply to
Tim W

Axtually, I was mainly thinking of when they *are* moving; they're a menace, with that lack of grip.

Reply to
Bob Eager

Avoid London. I go via Winchester / Southampton when travelling NW from Pompey.

Reply to
Bob Martin

When you use your private vehicle for a business trip, the Inland Revenue consider that allowing for wear and tear, maintenance, insurance, fuel, depreciation, etc., you are not making a profit when during a year, you claim 40p a mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p a mile thereafter.

SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

This is a very sensible suggestion. Unfortunately, due to the idiots who piss about in car parks durng the evenings and nights, the law now treats car parks to which the public have access (such as supermarket and council ones) as public highways, so any passing plod looking to improve his stats can nick you for it. Stupid isn't it?

SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

Unfortunately it is a great loss. Even keeping the kids there and just allowing them to play is worthwhile. Take my son's primary school - 250 kids can't go to school (no notice at all), so probably a couple of hundred parents suddenly have to find alternative childcare or take the day off (now three days) damaging businesses. Luckily my office is shut and if it wasn't my parents are not far away, but others are not so lucky.

People arrange their working lives around school drop off and pick up times (my wife works part time specifically for this reason) and sudden changes are a major problem for many.

SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

Yes, I am blessed with US roads - loose crap all over them, bumps and dips and rough surfaces aplenty :-/ I'm used to road noise and harsh ride, and on that loose stuff I think the deeper tread does a good job at 'cutting through' to the actual surface beneath (hence the comment about my not noticing grip being any worse with M+S)

There are quite a few unpaved roads around here that are just dirt, too (good fun to drive on, but hell on paintwork)

Reply to
Jules

snip

I very nearly did until I looked at my morning paper, Berkshire and Northern Hampshire look like getting the worst of the snow. I'll phone the wife about 8-00 pm and get update. I can't see the roads I will be using being a problem, I'm just worried that there might be tailbacks, or road closures, like there were yesterday. Thanks for the other info.

Dave

Reply to
Dave

not journalists, unfortunately. *chomp*

Reply to
Jules

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