VW concerned by new gritting formula

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Kev
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VW concerned by new gritting formula

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From the Telegraph

The Agency has decided to mix brine with salt, much to the alarm of the motor industry, which fears that it will damage paintwork, alloy wheels and corrode the underside of the vehicle.

With the gritting season weeks away, fears were raised by Volkswagen, which found that the technique caused serious damage when it was introduced in Austria, triggering a wave of warranty claims.

The Highways Agency has spent £45 million on a fleet of 430 new gritters.

These gritters will have two tanks – one with salt and the other with a mixture of salt and brine.

The theory behind them is that "pre-wet" – as the brine mixture is known – enables the Agency to use less salt which, it claims, is environmentally friendlier.

It also will save the Agency money on its gritting budget but it is likely to cost motorists dear.
But the decision has alarmed engineering experts, especially following the comprehensive VW study.

"This is a big worry. I'm convinced, at a time when the economy is at its worse, people will be deeply concerned by the cost implications of this," said Adrian Tatum, editor of the engineering magazine Surveyor.

"It is vital we makes UK roads safer during tough conditions but if this particular technique used to grit the roads is potentially leading to corrosion of vehicles and street furniture then something is quite clearly wrong and this issue has to be addressed."

Professor Tony Hindle of Lancaster University Management School, said that the Highways Agency had "sidelined" evidence of the corrosive impact.

"It is not just rusting which reduces the value of a car, it is also blemishes on the paintwork and damage to alloy wheels. The VW research shows that pre-wet causes cars real problems."

"We know this is about the Highways Agency trying to save money. The evidence suggests that it is more corrosive to vehicles distributing it and cars running on it," said an AA spokesman.

"While it is more effective when it comes to de-icing, we must be absolutely certain that it is not damaging millions of vehicles."

However the Highways Agency defended its decision to use the new technique.

"We have a wealth of evidence behind us which resulted in our decision to adopt pre-wetted salt - and a lot of that comes from the extensive usage of pre-wet salt across Europe and other parts of the UK, including the East of England.

"Pre-wet doesn't work differently to dry salt, it's the application that is different - pre-wetting the salt accelerates the traditional process that occurs with dry salt, and with pre-wet and our new fleet of winter vehicles, we will use less salt, which is better for the environment, roadusers' vehicles - as well as our roads and structures.

"Salt is naturally a corrosive material, but when using pre-wet we will be using less salt."
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Re: VW concerned by new gritting formula

Post by wigit »

of course this week our cars have been saved that despite the prediction of a cold snap roads around by me that are normally gritted were not no doubt adding to the incidents and travel chaos of yesterday
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