I love NY

[Don Frelier]

I've always thought about this: Do you think Lobbyists, from the Auto Makers, make a Run at pushing the use of salt, and now the New Liquid Brine solution, on the roads here in the NE, just to Destroy Their Products over a shorter period ? We all know cars will run forever, with Basic Maintenance. Can't sell 'em, if they just keep running ???

No I think you need to put yourself in the highway department supervisor's position.

You need to balance public safety, a budget and manpower. Rusted cars are not really high on the priority list.

That said I do wish they would just drop the plow Sometime and leave the spreader off.
I consider myself good at driving on slippery roads, unfortunately many people aren't.

 

[VANDAN]

No I think you need to put yourself in the highway department supervisor's position.

You need to balance public safety, a budget and manpower. Rusted cars are not really high on the priority list.

That said I do wish they would just drop the plow Sometime and leave the spreader off.
I consider myself good at driving on slippery roads, unfortunately many people aren't.

I know PA got away with sand and grit for years ? I can see using it when necessary, but it's been WAY OVERBOARD for Too Long. The Employees really like the OT also...

 

[PlymCrazy]

Oh I've had far too many experiences fixing rusted out junk.
I used to start in September doing a fairly thorough inspection of the brakes, adjusting and repairing any crusty lines. When I used to have rear drums I would adjust them because I wanted even braking in the snow.
One winter I had two minivans they were close in age both 2000's if I recall. Apparently I didn't do a good job that fall.

The one I was driving home from work blew a rear line when I had to brake suddenly to avoid a big buck. Pedal went almost to the floor. Limped it home.
Of course the bleeder screw snapped off then everything inside the drum bent or broke when I pulled the drum. I barely got the wheel cylinder off.
It took 3 hours to rebuild that one rear wheel. I briefly thought about junking the van but I'm very stubborn and those vans were great runners.

One week later the exact same thing happened to the other van. I called the parts store and listed all the parts I needed. The woman at the store commented that I must have done this before.
That one was done in an hour and thirty minutes.

Thanks Don. Always appreciate hearing you chime in. Very familiar stories over the years here myself. I appreciate having another vehicle around that is similar for reference when possible, in case I need a point of reference when needed. i.e my wife’s G6 has a similar drivetrain in it as (2) of my kid’s Cobalts. And the Tahoe is basically the Suburban less a few feet.

When I retire this Suburban, I’ll keep it around as a parts vehicle for the Tahoe. I look at a vehicle such as my Suburban as sort of an anode rod in a hot water tank. Stick it in the elements to corrode so I don’t have to with the others.

I always keep 50’+ of brake line on hand plus the common fittings for when(not if) the occasion arises. And can double and bubble flare a brake line like it was my job. Yup, gotta love NY!

 

[PlymCrazy]

I've always thought about this: Do you think Lobbyists, from the Auto Makers, make a Run at pushing the use of salt, and now the New Liquid Brine solution, on the roads here in the NE, just to Destroy Their Products over a shorter period ? We all know cars will run forever, with Basic Maintenance. Can't sell 'em, if they just keep running ???

While that thought has crossed my mind in the past, I try not to get too hung up on it. I would drive myself more nuts than I already am trying to get into the minds of people we pay our money to in taxes lol.

 

[64BEL]

View attachment 1379246 got to be from NY

Or Wisconsin.

 

[Dave6T4]

They use a lot of road salt up here in Ontario in the winter. They mine it from under Lake Huron at Goderich. There is plenty of it, so they don't spare it. I use Crown Rust Control on my daily driven vehicles. At about $150.00 per year, I figure it is cheap insurance against the "rust worm". I used to use Rust Check, but don't anymore because their warranty is $hit.

 

[Don Frelier]

They use a lot of road salt up here in Ontario in the winter. They mine it from under Lake Huron at Goderich. There is plenty of it, so they don't spare it. I use Crown Rust Control on my daily driven vehicles. At about $150.00 per year, I figure it is cheap insurance against the "rust worm". I used to use Rust Check, but don't anymore because their warranty is $hit.

Perhaps the best reason to minimize road salt is the negative effects it has on local streams from the runoff.

 

[Dave6T4]

I've always thought about this: Do you think Lobbyists, from the Auto Makers, make a Run at pushing the use of salt, and now the New Liquid Brine solution, on the roads here in the NE, just to Destroy Their Products over a shorter period ? We all know cars will run forever, with Basic Maintenance. Can't sell 'em, if they just keep running ???

That's got nothing to do with it. It is all about liability $$$. If some sap that can barely drive in good weather goes spinning off the road in winter and gets hurt, he is going to sue someone. The municipality that owns the road usually has the deepest pockets, so the lawsuit will end up in their lap. If they can not prove in court that they have done everything legally required to maintain the safe use of their road, they are going to pay.

 

[PlymCrazy]

Perhaps the best reason to minimize road salt is the negative effects it has on local streams from the runoff.

First I heard of this. Do tell please...

 

[azblackhemi]

First I heard of this. Do tell please...

I remember seeing signs along I84 near the Hudson River saying the roads may be slippery because they don't salt them close to the river due to run off. Also my sister and brother in law have a farm with an underground spring and we're told to keep their livestock out of it so the **** doesn't run into Wappingers Creek.

 

[PlymCrazy]

I remember seeing signs along I84 near the Hudson River saying the roads may be slippery because they don't salt them close to the river due to run off. Also my sister and brother in law have a farm with an underground spring and we're told to keep their livestock out of it so the **** doesn't run into Wappingers Creek.

The latter I have heard before. But the salt? A first for me regarding runoff.

 

[streetmachine]

That's got nothing to do with it. It is all about liability $$$. If some sap that can barely drive in good weather goes spinning off the road in winter and gets hurt, he is going to sue someone. The municipality that owns the road usually has the deepest pockets, so the lawsuit will end up in their lap. If they can not prove in court that they have done everything legally required to maintain the safe use of their road, they are going to pay.

It's been a while but, in some places like the Dakotas where I lived nearly 20 years ago that wasn't the case. Especially in central North Dakota they used salt or sand mainly on the main roads back then. Otherwise, you learned to plan and be cautious driving along as there was side roads that didn't get plowed typically or got plowed last. Brine I think is what they use more on the East Coast and Midwest and worse from my understanding than salt, sand, and gravel mixtures more recently. Too bad, some cities don't adopt what Tokyo, Japan uses in which they heat the streets without the nasty chemicals.