What do you do if you see/ smell a diesel patch on the road?

Ninja · Caption Abuser Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Karma :

As bikers (or car driving wannabe's like myself . . . ) What's your most likely reaction to spotting a dodgy patch of spilt diesel on the road?
____________________
James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

Ninja · Caption Abuser Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Karma :

Me - try and report it - pop in to the local nick who can then highlight the local highways agency - now going to follow that banner/ link at the top . . . Thumbs Up

____________________
James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

EuropeanNC30R... · Gay Hairdresser Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Karma :

I just tend to ride around it or be careful if it's unavoidable. On some journeys I've had if I reported every patch of diesel on the road I'd spent more time on the phone than riding.

LustyLew · World Chat Champion Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Karma :

I'm sorry to say that I don't report it. I am not aware of any way of doing so. Perhaps local councils should provide a free-phone number (so you can phone from a phonebox if needs be) to alert them of such issues?

As bikers we tend to be more ware of our surroundings and poor road conditions.
____________________
Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls Wink

Major_Grooves · The Doctor Joined: 10 May 2002 Karma :

Maybe I've never seen a /proper/ diesel spill but around here if you go where the buses go there is lots of diesel on the roads. Maybe not enough to count as a spill though.
____________________
About me|@Major_Grooves|My company|Digg|Flickr

Bendy · Mrs Sensible Joined: 10 Jun 2002 Karma :

There was a 2 mile one on the a40 on wednesday. Impressive.

Plod had a gritting lorry there lobbing sand on it.

kev · I Hump Things Joined: 07 Oct 2002 Karma :

There was a chip fat spill somewhere in London this week. Confused

____________________
20:02:36 Jammy-R6: any holes a goal
20:02:48 kev: even if its a hairy mans arse
20:02:56 Jammy-R6: hell yes

G · The Voice of Reason Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :

I've seen plenty when riding in the wet. Just ridden sensibly over it... on my one mile route to work there's usually several large patches as lots of lorries and busses go that way.
Don't bother to report as I'd be on the phone every time it rains... not sure if reporting it does anything anyway.
I've always had a sneaky suspicion that it's just people using it as an excuse for crashing because they weren't paying attention to the general road conditions Smile

.

If I hadn't have been late for work I /would/ have chased and reported one lorry I saw; it was 'Environmental protection agency' lorry. Had just filled up and had left the cap off. A large stream of diesel was literally pouring out when he went around corners.

Ninja · Caption Abuser Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Karma :

I've actually pulled over a Range Rover that was doing the same - the bloke was absolutely gobsmacked when he was made aware that he was spilling all over the place.

The benefit about reporting spills is actually 2-fold:-

1)It may get cleared up more quickly - preventing more accidents
2)If you DO go over on a spill that has been previously reported, you may have a better claim against the local council on the grounds that they were made aware of the danger yet had apparently done nothing about it yet.

The more they're held to account, the more they'll do about it?

Even in my car, these spills can provide ring-tightening experiences - my most memorable was approaching a roundabout, getting a whiff of the fumes too late and finding thatthe steering wheel no longer seemed to be connected to the wheels - I simply understeered off the road, bouncing up and over the kerb - obviously not the only one as there were tracks from the verge back onto the road. I hung about, calling the local nick, helplessly watching as a guy on a CBR6 approached, correctly assesing the situation so slowed gingerly down, feet down to stay upright, but still binning it as he tried to round the roundabout.
____________________
James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

Milo · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Feb 2002 Karma :

I see too much diesel every day to do anything about it. One time I saw a patch too late while I was cornering hard so i couldn't avoid it - it was like hitting a patch of ice! Evil or Very Mad

____________________
Shaft drives rule. Razz

Ninja · Caption Abuser Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Karma :

cheers for the honest replies by the way! Thumbs Up

____________________
James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

sv_cath · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Karma :

Apparently you can call 999 to report a diesel spillage and the police have to race there with lights + sirens on to deal with it! I've yet to see it happen in practice though...

Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

Hi

I have reported it in the past, but only when there is loads of it.

Last time it went:-

"Directory enquiries, can I have the number for Stafford Police"

First number I got was the RAF police at RAF Stafford. They gave me the number for the police.

Which turned out to be the local neighbourhood watch.

They gave me the number which eventually was answered by the police.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing