Road Conditions - Who do we moan too?

[Str8 Jacket]

I know that a thread has been started about this before and I did try to HTFU, honest BUT....

On the Wgtn motorway, over the fly-over (both directions) they have used a really slippery something over the joins of the road. I find both my FXR and the VFR lose the front end just ever so slightly in the wet and its very disconcerting. Today a car pulled in front of me just as I was going over one, naturally I grabbed the brakes which caused me to almost lose the front end completely. Luckily I was able to loosen my grip on the brake and save it.

I know it is a long shot, especially since we are the 'scum of the road' but who can we write too/email to see if anything can be done. I know, I know very doubtful that they are going to close the road and fix it just because some neurotic female is a bit disconcerted. The lady on the phone at the Council was able to tell me; "oh, I dunnooooo" when I rung to ask where to direct my observation!!

Cheers in advance.

[rastuscat]

Coz it's a motorway it's mostly funded by what used to be called Transit NZ.

They are now part of NZTA. The Wellington office is thus

Level 9, PSIS House
20 Ballance Street
PO Box 5084, Lambton Quay
Wellington 6145
New Zealand
Telephone: 64 4 894 5200
Fax: 64 4 894 3305

Good luck.

[slofox]

Just moan on KB - you'll probably get more reaction than from NZTA...

Our local roading authorities round here solve problems like that by putting up a sign showing a car sliding...real useful, that...

[Str8 Jacket]

Just moan on KB - you'll probably get more reaction than from NZTA...

Our local roading authorities round here solve problems like that by putting up a sign showing a car sliding...real useful, that...

lol, well I reckon I could at least try, right!

If not then I will just start taking the Old Hutt Rd in wet conditions..... ;)

[Berries]

Ring the number above and ask to speak to the Safety Engineer. Tell them what you wrote above and they will get it fixed. Don't go in with the 'scum of the road' attitude though as it won't get you anywhere. Report the issue, with a decent location, and tell them why it is a concern.

If you get nowhere on the phone email info@nzta.govt.nz and expect to wait a few days for an answer.

[Str8 Jacket]

Don't go in with the 'scum of the road' attitude though as it won't get you anywhere.


What, even if I use my best sarcastic tone? I mean, I was planning on taking out a newspaper advert and all, gee stupid stupid me!

[Berries]

I didn't mean it like that, it was just a view from the opposite side of the fence. If someone comes in with an attitude then it gets picked up straight away and you feel less like helping them. Particularly when the issue is rarely that persons fault.

[JR1]

I know that a thread has been started about this before and I did try to HTFU, honest BUT....

On the Wgtn motorway, over the fly-over (both directions) they have used a really slippery something over the joins of the road. I find both my FXR and the VFR lose the front end just ever so slightly in the wet and its very disconcerting. Today a car pulled in front of me just as I was going over one, naturally I grabbed the brakes which caused me to almost lose the front end completely. Luckily I was able to loosen my grip on the brake and save it.

I know it is a long shot, especially since we are the 'scum of the road' but who can we write too/email to see if anything can be done. I know, I know very doubtful that they are going to close the road and fix it just because some neurotic female is a bit disconcerted. The lady on the phone at the Council was able to tell me; "oh, I dunnooooo" when I rung to ask where to direct my observation!!

Cheers in advance.

shit i know what you mean bro, those joints feel like there made of plain sheet metal or something when you ride on them. doesnt help that they join on corners.. they NEED to be covered with something.

[Str8 Jacket]

I didn't mean it like that, it was just a view from the opposite side of the fence. If someone comes in with an attitude then it gets picked up straight away and you feel less like helping them. Particularly when the issue is rarely that persons fault.
Tis OK mate, I was typing in jest. I am one of these corporate, contract managing, vendor bashing types so I think I will be OK when I ring them. Thanks for the advice though :)


shit i know what you mean bro, those joints feel like there made of plain sheet metal or something when you ride on them. doesnt help that they join on corners.. they NEED to be covered with something.

Yep, twas one of the ones on the corners. I shall ring the person above tomorrow and let ya'll know if I have no luck.... I am sure we could at least try and make the road a bit safer. Afterall ACC would agree, wouldn't they? :rofl:

[Trudes]

Have a chat to Nudey, he fixes all my roading issues ;)
And if he can't, he may be able to put you onto the right people to talk to.

[slofox]

You may as well try SJ. The worst that could happen is nothing...

[Str8 Jacket]

You may as well try SJ. The worst that could happen is nothing...

Im loving your enthusiasm mate!! You can lead my protest when I organise one....

[slofox]

Im loving your enthusiasm mate!! You can lead my protest when I organise one....

Well, I'm being serious here for once. I do think it is worth a try believe it or not. Nothing ventured nothing gained etc etc. We have one particular guy round these parts who acts as a riders' advocate and he does get some attention. Not always a solution to a problem but at least he is making sure that the roading authorities know of our concerns. If we don't try to have these matters seen to we can't complain. So yes, I do think it is worth a try.

[Neshi]

yup.. nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[Robert Taylor]

I know that a thread has been started about this before and I did try to HTFU, honest BUT....

On the Wgtn motorway, over the fly-over (both directions) they have used a really slippery something over the joins of the road. I find both my FXR and the VFR lose the front end just ever so slightly in the wet and its very disconcerting. Today a car pulled in front of me just as I was going over one, naturally I grabbed the brakes which caused me to almost lose the front end completely. Luckily I was able to loosen my grip on the brake and save it.

I know it is a long shot, especially since we are the 'scum of the road' but who can we write too/email to see if anything can be done. I know, I know very doubtful that they are going to close the road and fix it just because some neurotic female is a bit disconcerted. The lady on the phone at the Council was able to tell me; "oh, I dunnooooo" when I rung to ask where to direct my observation!!

Cheers in advance.

We can improve the suspension on those bikes that will way better equip them for such conditions. This is not said in humour, the improvement that can be effected is substanial. Especially the front ends which haves very very poor brake pitch dive control

Getting central and local Governments to spend more money on roads is just not going to happen when there is no money in the kitty. Unless you are happy with substanially higher taxes which all of the parasites would feed off first anyway!

[Robert Taylor]

The reality is we have a cocktail of b grade roads ( or worse ) and bikes that perform adequately on first world and predominantly well groomed Northern European and North American roads. But get them on our roads and their limitations are very quickly exposed. Those that have invested in high quality suspension realise just how average many bikes are.

This is not a ''party political broadcast'' as such, the improvements that can be effected are often very very substanial.

[Tryhard]

I hate the black squigly repair lines. They give me the shitz!

[Slingshot]

There's a patch about a foot wide on those strips where there's good grip...just aim for that.

[FatHead]

I know that a thread has been started about this before and I did try to HTFU, honest BUT....

On the Wgtn motorway, over the fly-over (both directions) they have used a really slippery something over the joins of the road. I find ........

Hey SJ, I almost went sideways myself both in and out of town today for the same reason. Put me down to ride on down to the NZTA if you need numbers. Might just give them a call myself tomorrow and see if we can bombard them with enough calls they have to do something about them. Cheers Brian

[Pumba]

What every one has said is indeed correct (including Roberts comments, and if I kived in a country that paid decent wages I would happily invest in some of his springy up and down bitss, but alas I digress)

The Road Controliing Authority fro the State Highway network is the NZTA (there are exceptions but we wont go into those), and if you find any problems on thier network DEFENTINLY call/email and tell them about them, the same goes with local roads, the RCA is normally the Local Council (once again there are exceptions).

The reality is most of these roads only get a full condition survey on them every few years (dependant on importance to the network) and even then they dont pick up everything. We/you use the road every day so if a problem is raised they will normally investigate and see if a maintanence solution fits into the budget, or if somthing more major is required.

Yes it is buricratic bull shit, but its a system and you can get a shit load more sone working inside that system than just bitching to the internet/yor friends/work mates etc.

Right that is my rant over for the day please resume to your regular KB bullshit

[sAsLEX]

Getting central and local Governments to spend more money on roads is just not going to happen when there is no money in the kitty. Unless you are happy with substanially higher taxes which all of the parasites would feed off first anyway!

There is money.

If they planned for more than a financial year they could maybe put down a high grade surface which wont rip up within the next 3-6 months like most NZ roads, sure it would cost more now....... but then you wouldn't need to do the same job again next year. But this sort of thinking just does not happen with bureaucrats.

See the big oil cleaning vessel in the Gulf of Mexico is not allowed to suck up oil, as it discharges more than 3ppm out the back....... compared to the 1 part per 1 it takes in from the front ...... but those are the rules...... fuckin idiots at the best of times politicians and bean counters.

[sAsLEX]

The reality is most of these roads only get a full condition survey on them every few years (dependant on importance to the network) and even then they dont pick up everything.

I wonder who inspects the new roads and accepts the work completed on them?

The Esmonde road interchange up here is a myriad of jumps due to none of the roads quite lining up. They reduced the speed limit to 30 for a bit over one of the jumps but have since left it at the original limit....... without doing anything.

[Str8 Jacket]

We can improve the suspension on those bikes that will way better equip them for such conditions. This is not said in humour, the improvement that can be effected is substanial. Especially the front ends which haves very very poor brake pitch dive control

Getting central and local Governments to spend more money on roads is just not going to happen when there is no money in the kitty. Unless you are happy with substanially higher taxes which all of the parasites would feed off first anyway!

It wont improve the friction coefficient of a sport demon on wet steel-like object though will it? Not to mention that you probably wouldn;t really want to spend the $$ on a 24 year old commuter (though it has done Wanga's)....

What I do think though is that I send them an email detailing what happened asking them to consider rectifying the roading conditions while riding another route. That way if they don't and a serious accident occurs then I can prove that they already knew about the risk.

[Str8 Jacket]

The reality is we have a cocktail of b grade roads ( or worse ) and bikes that perform adequately on first world and predominantly well groomed Northern European and North American roads. But get them on our roads and their limitations are very quickly exposed. Those that have invested in high quality suspension realise just how average many bikes are.

This is not a ''party political broadcast'' as such, the improvements that can be effected are often very very substanial.

Well considering that I normally ride an FXR to work which I also bucket race I think you can guess that I aint in a position to splash out on any type of suspension for it, let alone my 'real' race bike!!! :laugh:

[Str8 Jacket]

Maybe I will just start using the bloody cycle lane to get to work. Oh yeah, when its built........

[Robert Taylor]

It wont improve the friction coefficient of a sport demon on wet steel-like object though will it? Not to mention that you probably wouldn;t really want to spend the $$ on a 24 year old commuter (though it has done Wanga's)....

What I do think though is that I send them an email detailing what happened asking them to consider rectifying the roading conditions while riding another route. That way if they don't and a serious accident occurs then I can prove that they already knew about the risk.

Dont hold your breath for a result anytime soon! But I wholeheartedly agree.

In road racing circles especially we are always looking to improve grip and its amazing what can sometimes be achieved. While Ive never been able to find the batteries for my magic wand ( ! ) perhaps relate it in these oversimplistic terms.................the job of the suspension is to also place enough pressure on the tyres. If there is not enough pressure placed on those tyres ( especially in low grip conditions ) then the coefficient of friction is somewhat reduced. Within sensible parameters of what is achievable more pressure placed on the tyre most often equates to more grip.

Contrary to popular misconception it is also often beneficial to increase spring pressure and or spring rate and damping rates in colder conditions, that puts more pressure on the tyres, works them harder and raises their operating temperature. Very often raising tyre temperature is the first and most beneficial preoccupation in improving grip.

As with everything the parameters can be ''tight''. But overall there are big gains that can be made with any bikes suspension.

[Berries]

Getting central and local Governments to spend more money on roads is just not going to happen when there is no money in the kitty. Unless you are happy with substanially higher taxes which all of the parasites would feed off first anyway!
They don’t need more money, they just have to spend what they have more wisely. A clear safety issue is something that would have money spent on it (up to a point).


Put me down to ride on down to the NZTA if you need numbers. Might just give them a call myself tomorrow and see if we can bombard them with enough calls they have to do something about them. Cheers Brian
That’s kind of what I meant earlier. If one person rings/emails then they have to look into the issue, they can’t just ignore it. Get 50 people ringing up about the same issue at the same time then not only do they get pissed off with everyone they don’t have time to deal with it either.

NZTA are going to have to take more note of motorcycle safety issues as a result of Safer Journeys so I don’t think anyone is wasting their time in telling them what the issues are.

[Str8 Jacket]

Dont hold your breath for a result anytime soon! But I wholeheartedly agree.

In road racing circles especially we are always looking to improve grip and its amazing what can sometimes be achieved. While Ive never been able to find the batteries for my magic wand ( ! ) perhaps relate it in these oversimplistic terms.................the job of the suspension is to also place enough pressure on the tyres. If there is not enough pressure placed on those tyres ( especially in low grip conditions ) then the coefficient of friction is somewhat reduced. Within sensible parameters of what is achievable more pressure placed on the tyre most often equates to more grip.

Contrary to popular misconception it is also often beneficial to increase spring pressure and or spring rate and damping rates in colder conditions, that puts more pressure on the tyres, works them harder and raises their operating temperature. Very often raising tyre temperature is the first and most beneficial preoccupation in improving grip.

As with everything the parameters can be ''tight''. But overall there are big gains that can be made with any bikes suspension.

Hey mate, totally understand what you're saying. I guess for me its all a bit much when I ride and FXR150 for 15 mins each way to work on a relatively straight piece of road!! I am goin to riase my concerns and go from there. TBH, until I had this particular moment where I realised that it could have been really dangerous I was prepared to HTFU and just ride over them. Today shit me and I realised what could have happened. They (transit) may ignore me, they may not. You never know until you try though, eh!

[sAsLEX]

A clear safety issue is something that would have money spent on it (up to a point).
.

Like installing lethal roadside furniture through out the country that is banned in the EU...... when concrete barriers are a little more expensive initially.....

[Capinure]

dude , my mate and i know exactly how you feel. its a nasty sudden loss of traction, it doesnt matter if its my little krr150 or 636 or my mates vtr1000.

[mikemike104]

Coz it's a motorway it's mostly funded by what used to be called Transit NZ.

They are now part of NZTA. The Wellington office is thus

Level 9, PSIS House
20 Ballance Street
PO Box 5084, Lambton Quay
Wellington 6145
New Zealand
Telephone: 64 4 894 5200
Fax: 64 4 894 3305

Good luck.

Ten4 that, I did a loan for a lady the other day who worked NZTA, I got talking to her and her job was to approve new roads after the proper design process, anyway, after mentioning to her that I had found a couple of shit pieces of road around Ham's she told me if I wanted too I can call the NZTA and report it and that they did keep a record of such complaints and did have staff that reviewed the parts of the road that had been complained about.

They ended up fixing the two bits of road on my commute that I had issues with anyway before I could call in. :2thumbsup

[scracha]

I dunno Helen. ACC, Matamata Piako district council (gravel on nearly EVERY junction...I shit you not), repeated near misses caused by wandering stock (calls to local coppers about this are not treated with any urgency at all) and overzealous speed restrictions have made me think it's just not worth the hassle riding in New Zealand. After 18 years of riding in all conditions, for the first time my roadbike is tucked up in the garage for winter pending a review of the situation come summer.

Besides, bikers are bad and selfish. Instead I'm gonna be a good local boy, go down the pub, get pissed and drive my fucked old 4x4 home instead.

[Berries]

Like installing lethal roadside furniture through out the country that is banned in the EU...... when concrete barriers are a little more expensive initially.....
Like I said, up to a point. They are yet to be convinced about the negatives of wire rope barriers. As it would seem are a few people on KB. The difference being the issue here is one that could cause a loss of control and directly contribute to a crash happening whilst barriers only matter if you have already lost it.

[Str8 Jacket]

I dunno Helen. ACC, Matamata Piako district council (gravel on nearly EVERY junction...I shit you not), repeated near misses caused by wandering stock (calls to local coppers about this are not treated with any urgency at all) and overzealous speed restrictions have made me think it's just not worth the hassle riding in New Zealand. After 18 years of riding in all conditions, for the first time my roadbike is tucked up in the garage for winter pending a review of the situation come summer.

Besides, bikers are bad and selfish. Instead I'm gonna be a good local boy, go down the pub, get pissed and drive my fucked old 4x4 home instead.

Wish I had teh choice. I have no car licence and Public Transport cost me more than 3x what it costs to commute on the bike.....