Damned pea metal: Again!

[Mushu]

I've dealt with it too, scary shit at times.
I've decided complaining about anything is a waste of time, nobody cares, especially if you're included in a minority (bikers) you're best to insure your bike or make it crash survivable (rat/survival bike) although this isn't possible for those of us that ride what we want rather than putting stock in the arbitrary license system in this country (I ride an R6 on my 6L).
Had a real good ass pucker the other day, riding past the polytech on Aldwins Rd got distracted by a girl coming out the gate and didn't see the deep gravel on the corner, quite proud of the resulting slide given I recovered from it.

I have ridden all my bikes extensively on gravel, both the R6 and the ninja have been over the hill on Banks peninsula via the dirt roads. I did this specifically to learn how it will handle in the worst possible situation. The downhill parts were scary as fuck.

My advice is stop looking for ways to improve the situation and learn how to control your bike in a slide because nomatter how careful you are it will happen.

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[duckonin]

And our $30 per year (ACC) for safer roads goes where ? Meetings and cups of tea with sponge cake..

[FJRider]

My advice is stop looking for ways to improve the situation and learn how to control your bike in a slide because nomatter how careful you are it will happen.

I might agree with this ... life on two wheels is a lottery. How lucky are we going to be ... ???

This is also often a case of ... getting experience ... just after you need it the most. Experience on dirt bikes off road does help (a lot) in this regard.

Most road bike riders usually prefer to take the "Avoid gravel at all costs" option to avoid such issues. And get rather indignant when their lack of skill and experience (together with a dash of ignorance) ... plants them on the tarmac.

[FJRider]

And our $30 per year (ACC) for safer roads goes where ? Meetings and cups of tea with sponge cake..

"Administration" costs are a bitch ... eh .. !!

[Mushu]

And our $30 per year (ACC) for safer roads goes where ? Meetings and cups of tea with sponge cake..

Probably lining someones pocket, or 10 more huge lcd tvs for each government building or something equally as useless

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[FJRider]

Probably lining someones pocket, or 10 more huge lcd tvs for each government building or something equally as useless

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Any funds "paid" to a Government department ... regardless of Intended use heading/label ... goes into the Government slush fund. And could be used for anything the powers that be ... decide to use it to fund.

As roading budgets are pretty much set annually ... and usually paid out through the tender process ... excess funds in the Government coffers are used for "other" funding. (From Welfare to International aid donations)

Only roads under the control of Transit NZ get the Government funding directly. Lesser roads are subject to Local Government control and budgets. And have to apply for Central government assistance in cases of circumstances requiring it.

And the individual departments do have budgets they have to stick to. And account for.

[Mushu]

Any funds "paid" to a Government department ... regardless of Intended use heading/label ... goes into the Government slush fund. And could be used for anything the powers that be ... decide to use it to fund.

As roading budgets are pretty much set annually ... and usually paid out through the tender process ... excess funds in the Government coffers are used for "other" funding. (From Welfare to International aid donations)

Only roads under the control of Transit NZ get the Government funding directly. Lesser roads are subject to Local Government control and budgets. And have to apply for Central government assistance in cases of circumstances requiring it.

And the individual departments do have budgets they have to stick to. And account for.

Its pretty easy to fudge the numbers and put money anywhere you want, not that I care, I have decided all systems and governments are bullshit, I'm just along for the ride (due to a lack of options) so I just sit back and laugh, and no, I don't vote, never have, what's the point of selecting one group of dishonest morons over another. It's about as useful as religion.

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[Woodman]

Has anyone else noticed that their are a lot more roadworks started in March than in any other month?


Why is this?

[MIXONE]

Has anyone else noticed that their are a lot more roadworks started in March than in any other month?


Why is this?

It's the end of the financial year so any money left in the budget has to be spent or the funding for the following year will be cut.

[Katman]

I might agree with this ... life on two wheels is a lottery. How lucky are we going to be ... ???

You're joking, right?

[Trade_nancy]

OK - if it's boring - I'm sure I'll be told..but I did get a reply from LTSA yesterday. My reply is yet to go back to them. Some intersting comments that indicate the roading contractors policy is to NOT have warning or "Loose Metal" signage on these areas beyond the actual initial repair and suirt of white paint. So corners are left with gravel and they put up a 50KPH sign for a while.
See below:

Hello Mark,
My apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I have investigated your query as best as possible. However some issues are too general to comment on, are outside my area or it is not possible to pin point the contractor responsible. My maintenance contractor and reseal contractor are the same and have replied as

“When Downer undertake sealing work on the Highway, our sites are sign posted with a temporary speed restriction of 30Km/hr while the work is being carried out and then changed to 50Km/hr when work is completed and the site still has loose chip on the surface.
The site could be left with the 50Km/hr restriction for up to 48Hr before sweeping is carried out, depending on location, weather and other factors, and is then road marked.
Depending on type of seal coat applied, the site could require sweeping again after road marking.

Referring to the letter of complaint, I can say that in February 2013 there was no sealing under taken on our section of SH1 Desert Road. We consider the Desert Road as that section between Waiouru and Rangipo.

On the Thursday 21 March 2013 Downer carried out sealing of SCRIM sites on SH4 at RP176/8,176/9 and 188/7.5.

These three sites were left with a 50Km/Hr temporary speed restriction on them and swept on the Monday 25/03/2013. our Wanganui staff checked these sites on the Friday 22/03/2013 and all signs were in place as required.

Trust this is of some assistance. “


In order to monitor the works of our contractors, my consultant goes out into the field regularly in order to inspect that the traffic management plans are being adhered to. The above mentioned process is written into the contract and is best practice throughout New Zealand. However, I would add that this particular contractor does not blindly follow the generic best practice and if more effort is required, e.g. leaving the signs up for longer, doing more sweeping, then the contractor would improve upon the contractual requirements for the site specific conditions. If you could pin point the locations , I would be able to further investigate to see if an abnormally had occurred or if it was a different contractor involved. I would also like to be able to pass your comments on to other areas for their report, if appropriate.

It is regrettable that your experience has not been good. We do take on board your comments and we will continue to review our processes to see where we can improve.

Kind regards,

Barry O' Shea
Senior Asset Manager,
Palmerston North

[Ocean1]

OK - if it's boring - I'm sure I'll be told..but I did get a reply from LTSA yesterday.

I've mentioned it before, I've ridden over South Island chipseal literally 2 minutes behind the truck spreading the agrigate without lifting or disturbing a single piece of gravel. So why is it that most North Island chipseal applications are more like black porridge when laid and for months afterwards?

In my opinion NI contractors need to get their shit together, using private vehicles as rollers on poorly laid chipseal is an unacceptable practice.

[Smifffy]

Ah, so it was Downer. Hardly surprising then, in the South Waikato they seem to leave most roads in worse condition than they were in when the job started.

[Road kill]

Its the only country I've ridden in where a resurfaced road is worse than the original

Odd you should say that.

I've been wondering if this is a new thing to make people drive slower.

Take a perfectly good road surface and leave it covered in ruts an bumps in the hope it will slow people down.

Oh yeah,,,and never sign post the fucking gravel half way around the blind corner.

Anybody riding the Awhitu rd this coming week,,,,be aware there's traps out there.

[cheshirecat]

Odd you should say that.

I've been wondering if this is a new thing to make people drive slower.

Take a perfectly good road surface and leave it covered in ruts an bumps in the hope it will slow people down.

.

Yes I wouldn't be surprised either. They 'resurfaced' Shelly Bay road here leaving it awash with gravel. its a notorious place for boy racers and such. 'Traffic calming' is the term