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Motorcycle road safety: Get a gripLast Updated: 12:01am GMT 26/01/2008
Comments
I must ALSO point out that my research in this area was NOT "for TRL" ( I used to work there [1987-1994]) it was for my PhD while at The University of Southampton! And I don't even work for them now..... "SMA is a German product - and not used in the UK", eh? SMA is not "a product", it is a type of negative textured road surface and thousands of square metres of this are laid annually by local authorities thoughout the UK ( some grit it all prior to traffic like Devon CC).
"Dr John Bullas described his research for the TRL, but this appears to have been only on wet surfaces"... totally utterly, comprehensively 100% incorrect statement! my PhD thesis looked at dry road friction! HA started using only BBA/HAPAS approved materials HOWEVER they are still negaative textured road surfaces, not generic materials but commerical products Whilst it is very concerning that local authorities are knowingly using a surface that has poor grip characteristics what is more scandalous is the number of pot holes in all grades of roads- many of these are quite capable of throwing motorcyclist off his bike. It is my opinion that UK is now below third world level in terms of road surfaces.Mr Broon and co will no doubt hire some more consultants to "investigate" the situation. In the Scottish Highlands we have recently had problems with newly surfaced stretches of road icing over much much more readily than other stretches. The consequences are serious when you pass from older surface onto this new surface, there have been a number of serious accidents. Could these two things be related? Now that enough time has passed for the dust to have settled, we can take stock of what has come to light. Obviously a lot of people who were unaware there might be a problem have been enlightened, and quite a number who have suffered unexplained skids have discovered what might have caused them. Three dissenters have put their heads above the parapet, for which I am grateful. Paul Smith rebuked me for not learning more about the subject by consulting Wikipedia. Silly me, I never thought of that. Instead I went to the websites of the Transport Research Laboratory, (probably the foremost authority in the country), the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee, (what you might call the trade association), and the BBC, (who could be said to be totally impartial).
Having read George Saunders report on the use of SMA in road surfacing it beggars belief that in spite of all the evidence the material is still being used. I too had a low speed spill when exiting a roundabout. The front end just suddenly stepped out and the next thing my wife and I were sliding down the road following the bike. At the time I could see no evidence of diesel spill or any other slippery material, but having read this article I am left wondering if that was the cause of the accident.Considering the amount of money we road users pay in taxes to use these roads surely the least we should be getting is decent SAFE surfacing. As motorcyclist having just returned home 10tyh Feb from hospital with a broken leg after skidding on tight slow (15mph) right hand bend Sawbridge road, between Gaston Breen and Sawbridgeworth in Essex, I am furious that we have a situation where knowingly motorcyclists lives are being put at risk with poor skid resistant surfaces. I too assumed a diesel spill. A motorist following me witnessed my skid, the bike oscillated then slid from under me I was helpless to try to recover this skid and tried to ride it out without breaking! The complete road surface is less than a year old. I will be following this up with Uttlesford DC to check to see if SMA is the cause as the road conditions were perfect dry winter warm day at 12:15!
'A person in consultancy' (Feb 4) has missed one of this article's most important points, namely that even the heaviest four-wheeled traffic will never wear the slippery surface off the area between their wheel tracks, which is where most motorcyclists will ride. I have had similar experiences to Margaret Winter (January 29, 2008 11:55 AM). On one occasion my horse almost went down completely as his legs just slid from under him on the new surface. Fortunately, I was leading him at the time and the road was clear. If I had been riding I could easily have been thrown - possibly into the path of oncoming traffic.
Yet another example of the Government blundering on regardless despite best scientific advice to the contrary - hard to believe when you consider how many aspects of life previously considered safe have been hijacked by the overbearing Health & Safety maniacs to the detriment of all of us. Still, if it means they can employ yet more "Consultants" in the vain pursuit of eventually getting the answer they want (ie yes...it's safe) then why not? It's not like the taxpayer is funding them - oh....hang on...yes we are ! What a complete farce. Fortunately as far as these different road surfaces are concerned, I have just felt a twitch in my back end so far, mainly under acceleration and turning slightly but I generally allow a good margin of safety when cornering. I also have integrated brakes which appear to be better under these conditions.
I have walked about 100miles on Italy's country roads and I noticed two things. First the surface was fantastic, why can't we have a similar type of surface and construction here in the UK? Second there were few to no patches. If a portion of the road had to be mended, then a large section, either lane-width or full-width was laid, rather than just patching up a tiny bit. Why can't we have such methods in the UK? As soon as you leave the A roads and Motorways in Northern Ireland, most roads are a disgrace. Now it is often the Republic of Ireland that has the better roads when up until about 10 years ago it was the opposite. Every time a little section of road is patched, either the patch wears out because it is such a poor material or more potholes form round the seams of the patch. I too have requested information from my local county council, Oxfordshire, about the use of SMA on the counties roads. As a car driver who regularly drives with a 9 month old in the back it has been very eye opening and a little scary. Does make you think if the Government are willing to use a road surface that has been deemed unsafe in other EU countries then what else are they trying to pass off onto us that isn't as beneficial as they are proclaiming. This makes me so angry. The government are fuly prepared to alter the road surface if a horse loses it's footing yet if a biker is killed or inhured? Well, I guess it's another biker off the road so can only be a good thing. This is how the government seem to be thinking towards bikers and it is totally unethical and wrong!! Something needs to be done. Being a member of a consultancy which is contracted to maintain sections the Highways Agency network (all consultancies are required to carry out an annual survey of skid resistance) I am astounded at the uneducated comments and shock tactic paragraph writing exhibited here. The majority of posters have absolutely no idea of the behavioural properties of this surfacing.
Hi Guys, As a BMW R100GS rider who has ridden 75000 miles on skinny enduro tyres without a wet skid accident or even a close call since 1989 through several winters I would suggest a lack of road craft and lack of knowledge of the SMA/ thin surfacing debate colours the rants I have been reading on this blog. TRL works independantly to HA and there are several published and unpublished papers on this subject. Road safety does cost a lot of money and UK roads are nearly the safest in the World.link give a wealth of information, some readable though most not. Read it Ride it. REMEMBER U.K. roads are nearly always damp so take care. thin surfacings have a host of advantages over other materials , smooth quiet and very acceptable for all race tracks. After reading K Brown's comments, I have copied his letter and will send it to all of the County Councils on whose roads I ride. All other road users should do the same so that the weight of work for these bodies answering the FOI requests, (which by law have to be answered within 20 working days), outweigh the cost of using substandard road surfacing material. Let us be united in this, petitions to the Government do not work, but hitting those responsible where it hurts most, in their budgets, may bring results.
I came off my bike just recently on 26.01.08 and my father-in-law pointed out this article to me. How can I find out from the council, just more information on road surfacing on that particular road. It's on the A34 Stratford Road, just before the Robin Hood Island going towards the city. As a new rider I thought there was already more than enough to contend with on our roads! This takes multi- tasking to a new level. Not only do we have deal with multiple hazards on the tarmac, (with the lightning reactions of a nervous fighter pilot), we now have to analize what's IN the tarmac at the same time. No wonder I often arrive home singing "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees. Unfortunately, councils will ride THEIR luck until court costs soar and manslaughter charges start to appear in the papers. Until then, "TARMAC HAZARD MAPS" should be issued. Re SMA: "By the way, it is not cheaper then its alternaitives."....
Fractured wrist - get solicitor to sue now. If no cover on motorbike policy then check household insurance or RAC AA. Could even go no win no fee since if successful solicitor will double his fees. Please actually DO read the reports on thin surfacing produced by TRL (where I used to work) and read the report written for the AA and County Surveyors Society ( I was the researcher) here (add http etc): preview.tinyurl.com/3dezfc
There are several roads in the country where
I would like J Clarkson to finally get serious and use his influence to help tackle this. Write to him. I have. I lost front wheel grip at slow speed on a T Junction in Wincanton, Somerset when surprised, due to a lorry badly parked & put it down to harsh braking but did notice the road lines did have a "greasy substance" on that came off on my gloves, so I now wonder? Road surfaces in parts of Dorset are woefull too! Are we really that surprised by the penny-pinching of our local councils? However, as the majority of the victims will be bikers - who were supposed to be at the centre of the traffic reduction/control policy according to Mr Blair some years ago - who are a minority of road-users/voters, are we really that surprised? I'm not - but then again I ride a bike to work in all weathers and have done for nearly 30 years. It's just sad, really! I am now scared to get back on bike ... luckily I use it mainly for commuting so I know the roads well. Most are falling apart so I now know to be extra careful if and when they get resurfaced!
I wonder what the real cost savings are, here in Gloucestershire I know of several locations where this stuff has been used. At each location there is a post and sign erected (sometimes several in one location) to warn of a slippery surface. Presume the signs are a perfunctory attempt to ensure "duty of care". I was involved in an accident on my bike in 2003, on the A5137, when going around a corner the front wheel slipped out, both bike and I slid across the road, I broke three ribs, and did £500 damage to my bike, At the time I put it down to cold tyres, cold day, damp surface etc. However the road surface had been relaid several months before this. I have seen evidence of a car spinning off in front of me during heavy rain along with other roadside evidence of cars sliding off. The four sharp corners on this stretch of road were later recovered with something light coloured, obviously to give better grip though this is wearing out rapidly now and potholes are appearing daily. Is there a website where RTA's are recorded for particular roads? Another example of local authorities doing work on the cheap. You get what you pay for! Isn't this what the road tax is supposed to be for? From Wikipedia:
I'm a very new biker, and also a serving police officer... regularly attending RTCs. Now that this has come to my attention, I will raise it with my Force and colleagues when reporting on causation. Personally I have today submitted a Freedom Of Information Request to my local authority... Northamptonshire County Council, which reads:
As a long retired Highway Engineer I well recall the careful testing of materials to safeguard against low friction values in road asphalts. In many well trafficked roads additional hard stone chippings were rolled into the new surface to improve friction. The new practises described in your article now explain the presence of Slippery Road warning signs on a recently resurfaced local A road.
To misquote a famous saying; "It's the money, STUPID!"
Open Note to The RAC and AA, get your legal departments to find out who to sue over the Use of SMA in road repairs and then sue the pants off them. My husband is a biker and has concerns about the use of SMA but I am woried about my safety because I am a horse rider and a lane in our vicinity has recently been resurfaced. I could not understand why my normally footsure horse kept slipping. Having talked to fellow riders in the area who have had similar problems we now realise it is the surface. It is all very well saying that the surface improves with traffic but this is a quiet country lane with little traffic. Would I have any redress should I suffer injury? You should also know that the DfT stats for motorcycle accidents include a category of "Death and serious injury". This category includes any fracture, yes even your little finger, and any stay requiring 24hr in hospital. So a concussion requiring obs and a broken pinky is the same as dead. I believe that this is a clear indication that HMG really don't care. The DfT figures also do not take into account fault, so don't cound being hit from behind. It probably means that looking for the stats to help rid the roads of SMA is a futile waste of time. This raises an interesting point: on the roundabout at the intersection of the A23 and the A5 near Lichfield, I slid off my BMW whilst accelerating (reasonably) from the 2nd traffic light on the roundabout. Inexplicably, the bike slid sideways, then gripped and high-sided me, almost breaking my wrist. I could only suspect it was some diesel residue, since no direct liquid was evident. The bill was astronomic, reflecting the cost of plastic these days.
I've been a motorcyclist for over 30 years now and after two accidents, almost identical to Mr Saunders' (slow speed, straight line, touch of front brake... Wham..!!) I had thought that I was beginning to "lose my grip" on things... It's interesting to note that on both occasions, the site of the accidents hade been subject to recent road repairs. Because of this I had assumed that it couldn't be the road surface to blame. Now I really do wonder..? Apropos my earlier comment regarding a skid out of control by Lake Rudyard, I would also like to note that I now observe a very large number of signs that indicate a slippery road surface.
Having had one or two relatively low speed 'slides' which fortunately I managed to contain and recover and having found no foreign substance on the road, this article brings enlightenment!
And has anyone else noticed that they don't bother removing the remains of the old worn out white lines anymore?
I'm an Accident Investigator/lawyer's agent and I spend my week talikng to people that have been involved in RTCs. The injuries range from minor whiplash to multiple fractures. If it could be shown in just a few cases that the road surface is/was a contributory factor in an accident then the arrival of a few claims on the council's doorstep would see it removed or replaced very quickly. However it's usually far easier to say the motorist or motorcyclist was speeding and the accident was their fault; something the Police are usually quite happy to do. Only the fatal and serious injury accidents are investigated properly; the rest (where the police attend) are done on a tick-box questionaire. Ergo no claim against the council/Highways Agency, budgets stay down, trebles all round and yet the accident statistics keep going up. Can someone please organise a serious protest about this? I'm sick of our Government doing everything on the cheap, and their callous casual disregard for the lives of motorcyclists beggars belief. They should withdraw this stuff immediately, and resurface with proper tarmac, surely? It'd be interesting to see who makes SMA and whether the company has some links to Labour we should know about? Is this the same stuff they use to cover the gaps and joins between the patching on roads? I remember that being extremely slippy as well. For a Government that appears to care so much about "green issues" I am bewildered as to why they appear to be so anti-motorcyclist. From lethal road surfaces to shutting down a huge number of motorcycle test centers, they are forcing more and more bikers to change over to cars. An increasing amount of taxation (in various forms) for the road user and any way to decrease expenditure on roads is used, life is cheap and cheaply treated by those in authority. Maybe those who sanctioned the use of this surfacing material should be named and held to account. Are councils using cheaper road surfacing so council employees can get higher salaries based on road maintenance costs being reduced?
It is criminal to lay any road with anything other than the best gripping, and best draining surface available. I would suggest that this is quite simply a situation where the powers-that-be are more concerned about the quick fix i.e. saving money now than looking to the long term, passing the costs of crashed motorcycles (and cars, remember their coefficient of friction will be reduced too) on to the consumer through the insurance companies and of course any injuries incurred become the problem not only of the individuals and families concerned, but also that of the already strained-to-breaking point NHS. My car span out of control while I was turning a corner near Lake Rudyard on a road had recently been resurfaced. Based upon my 30 odd years of driving experience I didn't think I was going unduly fast. Of course, culpability is hard to assign. The fact is that the car did spin out of control. Nevertheless, my only comparable skid was on a patch of black ice.
Accidents as a direct result of this surface, laid by authorities with full understanding of the risks and implications, shall be the responsibility of those authorities. Accordingly, they should be sued for death, injury and damage resulting from an accident that occurs. I am greatly surprised that OSHA has taken no action against the authorities. A few more speed cameras will fix this type of problem and help fill Governmet coffers. A few more dead will just help justify the cameras!
As an exmotorcyclist and now supercar enthusiast I was both surprised and disturbed to read George Saunders' article on SMA road surface. This is a disgraceful and almost criminal incompetence on the part of the Government and Highways Agency. The Telegraph should consider mounting a campaign and petition to bring about the abolition of this surface. On a more practical note please let us know how we can recognise the material and surface so that at least we have an opportunity to adjust road speed in time.
How would the "duty of care" stand up to scrutiny of the use of this material?
"SMA has a few properties that would appeal to local authorities - it is cheap and quick to lay - but does this justify being so reckless about the safety of road users?"
This is a deeply concerning article, and as a novice rider I'm grateful to George Saunders for bringing this matter to my attention. If a retired police inspector with 54 years riding experience has had an accident due to this cheap road surface, then what hope is there for the rest of us?
This is to be expected in a 3rd World country, is that what we are now? We have a bunch of FAILED accountants running this country now. The use of SMA is disgraceful. Govt and local authorities are aware of the danger and yet choose to place a small financial saving above the lives of road users. Based on the story in the 26 January edition,the use of SMA, discontinued by the Highways Agency in the 1990's on safety grounds, is scandelous.
Connect Road Operators responsible for the A35 in Dorset appear to have used SMA for their recent comprehensive road resurfacing program as red grit (quartzite ?) was spread on the new surfaces to improve traction until the new surface was worn in. It would seem to me that the laying of SMA would ammount to Malfeasance (sp?) and that any competent lawyer wouñd be able to claim substancial damages if it were found to be causatory to any accident.
Once again this government & their lackys have proven that they believe money is more important than lives!. As a 'biker, if I ever succumb to a road smeared with SMA & as the authorities know of its dangers, they will have one helluva law suit thrown at 'em.
This is so typical of the government in the UK, It's about time they put the road and fuel tax money where it belongs, back into the roads for the benefit of the road users, after all enough is enough, we are taxed to hell and back for using our vehicles and the state of the roads is terrible, ie: potholes, raised or sunken manholes, anti-skid surfaces at road junctions are also useless as they tend to break up in next to no time, someone should put the prime-minister on a Motorcycle for 2 years riding all year round, an then dare to try and justify their/his penny pinching ways In MCN this week there was a story that local councils would not be repairing potholes until they were 50mm deep. What with this and slippery repairs a motorcyclist's chances of survival are being undermined by our authorities. Is it any wonder that accidents to motorcylcists are on the increase!! It's really very little surprise that our councils are prepared to risk the lives of road users, all in order to save money on their budget. I too am a 70 ear old motorcyclist with over 50 years experience and an ex advanced rider instructor.
I have experience of this road surface.In 2004 I was riding my motorcycle along a local B road.The weather was good with little traffic.As I approached a 30 MPH limit,a cat ran out some distance from me,I was already slowing down but touched the front brake and the bike instantly slid.This happened so quickly that it nearly dislocated my right thumb.When I got up I noticed a recent termac repair which looked smooth and shiny.I subsequently contacted my local council who stated that the repair material was fit for purpose.The speed at which I crashed made me initially think it was diesel,which I have come across before.I skidded across the road and could have been seriously injured if there had been oncoming traffic. I read this and could NOT believe that this sort of product is being used on our roads.
There was an article on TV about this problem a couple of years ago, but with reference to car accidents. I'm a biker and have fortunately not experienced this problem yet, so to help me and other bikers why doesn't the Highways Agency publish a list/map of roads re-surfaced in SMA. Then we can avoid them... This sounds like the same stuff that has been used on some highways in Queensland (I believe some 1300 Kilometres of the Bruce Highway north from Brisbane.) It has a fearsome reputation for poor grip in the wet and there have been a number of fatalities associated with it. A recent enquiry cleared the material blaming speed as the cause of the crashes. (The whitewash is in the report not on the road!)
Until Court costs outweigh the savings as far as they are concerned yes. Post a comment
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