Thread: The M1 in the rain..WTH- GC to Brisbane

G'day Stevo68

Yeah! that's freaky stuff, we have it on a round-a-bout just up the road at Ningi on the way to Bribie, they have put a decomposed granite skin on it now, as it was averaging 3 cars a week in the scrub, and it is real spooky getting the 2a sideways at 25kph in the wet got to be fun after the first few times opposite lock on bitumen at 25kph in a 2a on bar treads

BUT that stuff is a REAL problem as you will have seen on the 6.00pm news regularly

cheers

Concreate may well be the way to go,there is no reason normal bitumen can be laid upon it.
You would have all seen big wheeltracks wearing into hwys by roadtrains.The vibration/weight of the trucks draws the water to the surface creating a pavement failure.A re-inforced concreate base would stop this.
If anybody has noted roadworks you will always see a Vibrating roller working in tandem with a rubber tyred roller.The vibe packs it down and draws the water up,the multi tyre pushes the dirt and moisture down.You remove the vibe roller as you fill the last of the dirt in.
Andrew

Originally Posted by inside

Driving is something the general QLDer does not put much pride in.

I think you could quite safely say that driving is something that most people don't put much pride in.
I have driven all over most of Australia and I have seen woeful driving "skills" in every State and Territory!
I have never been to Tasmania, but I am sure our southern members can tell us that drivers there are hopeless too!

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Concreate is all the go in the US.

The US interstate system is designed to take mass troop movements and tracked vehicles - a concept borne out of the cold war.

Concrete generally requires less maintenance, can be laid faster, flatter and takes heavier loads without deteriorating. Although when it cracks up - it ALL needs replacing.

There was much hoop-lah about the Newcastle freeway years ago when it was extended north from Gosford. The concrete pavement was hailed as the greatest thing in road engineering since whenever... until the surface cracked up a few years later and had to be largely replaced.

They now mix small specks of black aggregate into the concrete to fix the wet weather visibility issue but I don't know why our M1 didn't receive this treatment.

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Concreate may well be the way to go,there is no reason normal bitumen can be laid upon it.

The bitumen just cracks-up and peels off the top. Too thin if its just laid on its own and not able to bond properly to the substrate - although you are right - you would think someone might have sorted out a system like that which works by now.

I will say though, that IMHO the M1 between Beenleigh and Nerang is the best bit of road I've driven on.

In the dry...for sure, its a great stretch. In the rain...can produce some brown undy moments . You could also tell the European cars and maybe some other cars as they had bright red rear lights, so at least you could see the lights, if not the car itself. I always keep a decent space between me and the car in front for exactly the fact that the D3 is 2.7 tonne, and try to even more in that inclement weather. Also thanks for the "technical side" as this has bugged me for ages,

Regards

Stevo

Originally Posted by inside

I think at the end of the day a D3 is 2.7 tonnes, no matter what they do to it safety wise it will always be 2.7 tonnes. Braking will always take longer and evasive maneuvers will not be as agile.

Plus it is my opinion the majority of QLD drivers have trouble in the dry let alone the wet. Driving is something the general QLDer does not put much pride in.

I always thought that "driving to the conditions" was a recommended procedure..... IAW, if this takes a reduction of 20km/hr or 60km/hr to achieve sufficient visabilty/stopping distance then just do it.

G'day Stevo68

Aah! the "Rear Fog Collision Lights" so loved by the trendy little bimbos in their Hyundai Exels looks so cute shinning brightly on a clear night so everybody can see ME and when it rains I just switch it off

I have fitted a Defender one to the back of the 2a as it helps in the wet on the Bruce Highway particulary,as the 2a doesn't travell at 110kph.

Also fitted the matching Reversing light,with beeper for safety, and to guard against elderly folk with suicidal tendencies that shuffle behind the truck in an effort to have their partners kept for life by your 3rd party payout

cheers