Motorway conditions during cold spell

naughtysmurf

It's going to be a cold one tonight, -1 to -5, missus on the road very early tomorrow, Limerick to Dublin, do the motorways tend to be ok, gritted etc?

_Kaiser_

naughtysmurf wrote: »

It's going to be a cold one tonight, -1 to -5, missus on the road very early tomorrow, Limerick to Dublin, do the motorways tend to be ok, gritted etc?

Motorways and main roads should be alright yes but as always use caution and give extra time to get there.. also be careful on the sliproads/ramps around them and particularly secondary roads/shaded areas.

punisher5112

Motorways and major roads will be ok but driving style should be changed to suit conditions.

She needs to use gears to slow car down along with brakes and gentle steering.

Just tell her to take it easy leave plenty early so no rush and top up anti freeze for washer bottle(windscreen wash), check tyre pressure correct, good clean windscreen and lights all working.

dr.fuzzenstein

If it's very early in the morning, be very careful! Them council lads don't like to get up too early.
When it was slippery last week there was no snow cleared and no salt put down between Crusheen and the main Ennis interchange before 8 o’clock. I know that because on the first day there was a pile-up and on the second day there nearly was a pile-up. I think those guys have their hours and they'll stick by them, no matter what.
So motorway conditions will vary by council and whatever hours the unions have stipulated.

HeidiHeidi

Leave plenty of distance between you (her) and the vehicle in front to allow for increased braking distance.

Sounds bleeding obvious, but the amount of lunatics that I see tailgating in icy or foggy conditions beggars belief, and scares the ****e out of me.

CiniO

But does the fact there will be -1 to -5 automatically mean that road will be slippery?
I thought it depends on if road was dry or wet before freezing temperatures kick in, as well as humidity.

I'm not too experienced with winter conditions in Ireland, as I usually spend winter somewhere else, but is it not perfectly possible to be -5 and road completely dry without any ice on it?

Alun

I don't know about other counties but Wicklow CC have a map on their website detailing priority 1 and priority 2 roads that they are responsible for, plus ones that fall under the responsibility of either the NRA or other contractors, BAM in this case for part of the M11.

http://www.wicklow.ie/sites/default/files/Road%20Gritting%20Programme%202014%2C2015.pdf

Alun

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

So motorway conditions will vary by council and whatever hours the unions have stipulated.

Depends on who's maintaining them. Only a small proportion are maintained by the county councils.

From the NRA website ...

Contained within the national road network are the Motorway/Dual Carriageway sections totalling 1,224km of road. Of which, 328km that are maintained under existing Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and 744km are maintained directly by the National Roads Authority through Motorway Maintenance and Renewals Contracts (MMaRC), with the remaining 152km maintained through local authorities.

punisher5112

CiniO wrote: »

But does the fact there will be -1 to -5 automatically mean that road will be slippery?
I thought it depends on if road was dry or wet before freezing temperatures kick in, as well as humidity.

I'm not too experienced with winter conditions in Ireland, as I usually spend winter somewhere else, but is it not perfectly possible to be -5 and road completely dry without any ice on it?

Black ice.

Irish roads are lethal.

I nearly didn't make it before car didn't me not a scratch and that was takingt it easy.

mrsoundie

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Leave plenty of distance between you (her) and the vehicle in front to allow for increased braking distance.

Sounds bleeding obvious, but the amount of lunatics that I see tailgating in icy or foggy conditions beggars belief, and scares the ****e out of me.

And half the time its like a disco with all the red lights going on and off, treat braking as a last resort.

MuppetCheck

I wouldn't automatically assume all main roads will be gritted. Certainly wasn't the case the last week.

Mech1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAiLORbx_7A

Its not that long ago that the M50 was almost impassable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAiLORbx_7A

mrsoundie

This may help link, and there is an app as well.

HeidiHeidi

Midlands already very icy according to the twitter machine.

moleyv

Saturday morn 7am on Limk-Dub motorway was good until portlaoise. Fast lane looked frosty and both lanes in patches. Maybe some LA are more active than others

Cuddlesworth

Mech1 wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAiLORbx_7A

Its not that long ago that the M50 was almost impassable.

I was watching that video for the first minute thinking it was typical of a Irish driver to be sitting in the right hand lane, driving at practically the exact same speed as the rest of the traffic, with his phone in his hand and constantly pointing it at the speedo to show how slow he was going. Then I saw the jeep undertook him. I can feel his frustration.

bladespin

Avoid the overtaking lane on motorways, always the poor relation when the gritters are out.

visual

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I was watching that video for the first minute thinking it was typical of a Irish driver to be sitting in the right hand lane, driving at practically the exact same speed as the rest of the traffic, with his phone in his hand and constantly pointing it at the speedo to show how slow he was going. Then I saw the jeep undertook him. I can feel his frustration.

During the snow of 2011 had to beep lane hoggers to prompt them to move over.

Biggest problem on M 50 was lorries unable to get up the slips resulting in long traffic jams and when the lane hoggers meet their exit they block another lane as they try to skip across 3 lanes blocking everyone behind them.

Desolation Of Smug

I was on the motorway to Cork early last wednesday and from kildare to Thurles, it was fairly dire - thick slush and a single lane clear despite the road being gritted. T'was deffo fairly hairy in spots and not the day for hammering along. The plows were out clearing the slush and once done, the road was much better, but the un-plowed gritted bits were lethal.

HeidiHeidi

It's due to be dry overnight, so snow/slush is not going to be the problem tomorrow morning - it'll be ice if anything - black or white, or both.

mfceiling

Last tuesday evening it started to snow quite heavily coming into dublin on the N11. Traffic was getting slower and slower. I was driving on the inside lane of the m50 just passing the carrickmines junction. Tipping along about 20 mph...as I was in a line of traffic we overtook a guy in a focus in the outside lane doing no more than 8-10 mph. About leopardstown I looked back and he was holding a line of traffic up as far as I could see. 99% of the traffic then increased their speed as they passed him but he was happy out in the outside lane and making no attempt to indicate and move to the inside. You have to wonder sometimes how people can't move out of the way and travel more safely on the inside lane.

Stheno

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Midlands already very icy according to the twitter machine.

moleyv wrote: »

Saturday morn 7am on Limk-Dub motorway was good until portlaoise. Fast lane looked frosty and both lanes in patches. Maybe some LA are more active than others

Portlaoise to Kildare tends to be lethal with any sort of frost, take particular care driving that section.

I used commute from Portlaoise, and can relate many nasty tales of driving along that stretch

saltandpepper10

punisher5112 wrote: »

Black ice.

Irish roads are lethal.

I nearly didn't make it before car didn't me not a scratch and that was takingt it easy.

Makes a heap of sense are you sure you made it:)

visual

mfceiling wrote: »

Last tuesday evening it started to snow quite heavily coming into dublin on the N11. Traffic was getting slower and slower. I was driving on the inside lane of the m50 just passing the carrickmines junction. Tipping along about 20 mph...as I was in a line of traffic we overtook a guy in a focus in the outside lane doing no more than 8-10 mph. About leopardstown I looked back and he was holding a line of traffic up as far as I could see. 99% of the traffic then increased their speed as they passed him but he was happy out in the outside lane and making no attempt to indicate and move to the inside. You have to wonder sometimes how people can't move out of the way and travel more safely on the inside lane.

pure selfishness doesn't give two tosses about anyone else or the delays it causes. It wouldn't be as bad if they drove in the left most lane as it be easier to accept the excuse they didn't feel confident in their car or own ability.

I really blame the RSA and Garda for ignoring this poor driving in their single pursuit of speeding.

mrsoundie

visual wrote: »

pure selfishness doesn't give two tosses about anyone else or the delays it causes. It wouldn't be as bad if they drove in the left most lane as it be easier to accept the excuse they didn't feel confident in their car or own ability.

I really blame the RSA and Garda for ignoring this poor driving in their single pursuit of speeding.

They do harp on about speed, yet the distinction should be made towards inappropriate speed (slow or fast).

Del2005

mrsoundie wrote: »

They do harp on about speed, yet the distinction should be made towards inappropriate speed (slow or fast).

Heard an RSA person on the radio last week and he actually made sense. Wasn't harping on about speeding and made the right sounds about vulnerable road users and bad driving, hopefully it'll make its way to the Gardai so that they actively enforce more than 2 of our traffic laws.

Back on topic. Leave early, leave plenty of space between the car ahead, take it easy and make sure all the windows are clear before moving off.

Hal1

Some road temps are almost -5c now. https://www.nratraffic.ie/weather/

djflawless

Travelling portlaoise to naas every Thursday to Sunday.. only bad night was the recent high winds and rain...to be perfectly fair, motorways are well maintained unless your driving like an ass

worded

Any snow due Dublin way this week

CiniO

Hal1 wrote: »

Some road temps are almost -5c now. https://www.nratraffic.ie/weather/

But does it indicate that they are slippery?

Anjobe

CiniO wrote: »

But does it indicate that they are slippery?

Did my commute from Kildare to Dublin in temps between -5 and -3 today. All roads, from motorways to untreated country back roads and housing estate roads, were absolutely fine. Not a trace of frost or ice on them, and no discernible slipperiness. On Saturday morning, which wasn't nearly as cold, the same roads were really quite dicy, so you never can tell.

*Kol*

Same in Limerick this morning. Roads were fine even though some signs of frost/ice on top of the car. The M18 from Ennis to Limerick was getting a serious gritting yesterday at about 17:00. Passed three gritting lorries on the way to LK.

dr.fuzzenstein

*Kol* wrote: »

Same in Limerick this morning. Roads were fine even though some signs of frost/ice on top of the car. The M18 from Ennis to Limerick was getting a serious gritting yesterday at about 17:00. Passed three gritting lorries on the way to LK.

That bit is always gritted. Once you go past the main Ennis interchange towards Gort, you're on your own.