Reporting diesel spill

[geko]

So I was out on my mountain bike this morning when I got onto the B672 Morcott-Caldecot Road and for about a mile it stank of diesel and in places I could see it all over the road.

When I go to the far end of the spill I decided maybe I should report it so I phoned 999 and gave details to the police. About an hour and half later I was on my way back and there was a council spreader truck laying sand or something down and signs up at either end of the road.

For once they've spent my council tax on something useful. Also pleased to see they actually dealt with it once it was reported.

[Acemastr]

you called 999 for a diesel spill???

Yea it's important... but 999 important?
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[MarJay]

[Acemastr]

It's not really clear cut when you should call 999 really, I was always under the impression is it was if yours/someone's life is in danger.

At least they did something about it, might start calling them more often, see if things get done.
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[ollieholt]

id see it as putting someones life in danger. ringing the council usually ends with a receptionist with the iq of a common or garden sparrow dolefully taking a message and nothing getting done. however i wouldnt hessistate to ring 999 if it was a particularily bad spill or if it was after a blind bend on a fast stretch of road etc. i think you did the right thing, personal judgement on the situation. like has been said, 999 is emergency only. emergency is always a matter of opinion on these sorts of things.

for reporting the spill and potentially saving bruises or a hell of alot worse for a fellow biker.
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[chris-red]

A road having oil all over it is very much a 999 call in my eyes, could easily end in a fatality.
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[geko]

Well I have to say I was out on my mountain bike so I wasn't about to start phoning round on my mobile phone trying to find the right number although I think I probably could have called the local council if I'd had the number.

However I remember reading this article a while back and that was kind of what made me do something instead of thinking someone else can do it and riding on.

https://blogs.mirror.co.uk/cars-motorbikes/2009/02/diesel-spills-curiously-beauti.html

Also the guy on the end of the phone didn't have any issue with me reporting it via 999

[ThoughtContro...]

[Clanger]

Last time I phoned the police (not 999) I was told to ring the council, and then when I rang them, they told me I needed to ring a specific section....grrrr...so much faff.

Had I not been the victim of diesel spillage, I probably wouldn't have bothered to continue with the call. Maybe this is why so many people don't report them!
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[Crazy Assed Goose]

Nice to know that you can call 999 for that, I wouldn't have known what to do so would have left it and felt guilty about it.

On a lot of country lanes it could easily kill someone if there are trees lurking amongst the bushes waiting to jump out in front of cars and bikes.

[ollieholt]

country road would be a bad place to slip on diesel but think about motorway roundabouts, busy ones. come off on one of those end up under a lorry coming onto the roundabout. that would be a horrific accident that would be completely avoidable. this is dangerous stuff the general public i.e. cagers couldnt give a crap with their abs and traction control. it appears the councils dont care as there buses keep swpeing the oily sheeite every where. theres always drip after drip of the stuff on my daily route from the busses that plod down that way. not so bad, can always avoid small circles of it. its when there is a big slick you know your in the shit.

i work on an industrial estate which has a busy full circle within it of road, came to work one morning most of the bit infront of our yard was covered in the stuff. luckily i have a valet bay at work with detergent in spray bottles for oil spills. just rinse it all away afterwards. back to normal in minutes.
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[pits]

Earlier this year working (weirdly in a place called Caldicot aswell) there was a diesel spill that ran I would say a good 20 miles along the stretch of road I was on, I was half tempted to call 999 but then saw a gritter coming the other way gritting it all.

I agree with the sentiments posted on here about calling 999, I have driven across 2 large diesel spills in two different cars, each of them in the wet and each time covered one lane completely a bike could easily go down on it and be under a bus/lorry/van/car/pedestrian etc.

First instance I pulled out of a garage after having work done on my car, gave it a bootfull only to my active rear diff lights go nuts on the dash, the traction control go nuts and me not move forwards but crab sideways, I instantly thought what the fuck have they done to my car, then noticed the shimmer across the road, felt a bit slippery, got to a roundabout I went left the diesel trail went straight on, I looked in my rear view to see some kind in an E36 bimma going backwards across the roundabout, could of been a bike sliding down the road into a lampost.



The problem with a diesel spill is that not only will a bike go down on it, but lets face it all the "drivers" out there in their cars who are "driving" will not notice the spill, or if they do it wont change the way they are "driving" could understeer off the road into someone or into an object.

[Paivi]

The BikeSafe course tell peeps to call 999 for diesel spills or dangerous potholes. They can get the council to come and fix the problem pretty well immediately, whereas if Joe Bloggs calls, it'll be days.

Also, they'd much rather stand guard near a diesel spill/pothole for a couple of hours than spend that time scraping the remains of a biker/cyclist off the road.
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[JP7]

It's worth ringing the police for things such as large diesel spills and mud patches on the road... some forces will even send an officer to assess it before calling the council. If it's not dealt with it poses a real risk.

[Ed Case]

I was riding to work one morning and came across a four-foot wide diesel spill two miles long going into Stafford town centre, 'phoned the council, took 'em two hours to do something about it. If I'd read of any consequences of their tardiness in the local 'rag' I'd have got on to the injured parties and been pleased to support any claim they might have had. Diesel spills mean bugger-all to four-wheeled users but are killers to two-wheelers.

[0l0dom0l0]

when they ask, which service do you require? who do you ask for?

[c-m]

People keep going on about diesel spills etc.. where does this mystery diesel come from?

Do diesel cars all have massive holes in their fuel tanks but petrol cars do not? What am i missing?

[Tango675]

its usually from either someone who has not done up there filler cap or overfilled so it spills out the top of the tank though the breather hole as it sloshes about
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[ollieholt]

generally busses and large vehicles, especially those with external fuel tanks. not done up rigt or just old shoddy bits on it. thats why they can be often found near petrol stations. there filled to the brim and then procede to slosh out. it takes a surprisingly small amount to spread out. it just sits on water and spreads itself out. vile stuff.
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[2wheelsteve]

A girl died in front of me due to diesel on the road so well done mate reporting it, Ive reported it in the past to be told to phone the roads department, 999 in future me thinks
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[Ingah]

+1 to 999 working. About an hour or so it took when i did.
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