Category: Other

1. After the heatwave, slippery roads warning

   Posted on 12:00pm Wednesday 18th Jul 2018

   Forecasted rain this week could make roads slippery after the heatwave warns the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA).
   
   There are two reasons why motorists should slow down and drive with care on roads that are wet after a heatwave. Firstly, during periods of prolonged hot weather the bitumen in asphalt roads becomes more mobile and can sometime ‘bleed’ through to the surface. This reduces the texture depth and wet skidding resistance. In extreme conditions, like those experienced this summer, councils will apply grit to the road surface to increase its skid resistance. Secondly, dry roads often have a build-up of rubber and oil particles. When it rains these substances can mix with water and create a greasy layer that can become very slippery.
   
   “Wet roads after a prolonged hot, dry period can become slippery. In addition to ensuring that their tyres are in good condition and properly inflated, motorists should slow down and drive with care”, warned Howard Robinson, RSTA chief executive.
   
   He continued: “Just like the freezing and ice of the winter, summer’s high temperatures underline how essential it is to ensure that roads are maintained to a correct standard. Unfortunately, continued cutbacks to highway budgets means that councils cannot afford the necessary programmes of long-term maintenance and surface dressing to ensure pothole-free, skid resistant roads.”

2. WHY ARE OUR ROADS MELTING?

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 3rd Jul 2018

   June’s heatwave has seen temperatures topping 30C in many parts of the country. This has caused some roads to melt. With the Met Office predicting that temperatures for July and August could be hotter than average more roads could find that more road surfaces are getting soft and sticky.
   
   Most roads will not begin to soften until they hit a temperature of around 50C. However, even a sunny day in the 20Cs can be enough to generate 50C on the ground as the dark asphalt road surface absorbs a lot of heat and this builds up during the day with the hottest period between noon and 5pm. With temperatures regularly reaching the high 20Cs, the bitumen in some road surfaces may soften and rise to the top. This makes the road surface sticky and more susceptible to pressure loads from heavy vehicles resulting in surface ridging and rutting.
   
   The response from local highway authorities is to send out the gritters to spread granite dust to absorb the soft bitumen and so stabilise the road surface and make it less sticky.
   
   “Drivers may be bemused to see the gritters out in the summer when they are usually spreading grit and salt during the winter”, said Howard Robinson, chief executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association. “However, this is effective standard practice for keeping a road surface safe during extreme prolonged hot temperatures.”
   
   He continued: "Asphalt is a bit like chocolate - it melts and softens when it's hot and goes hard and brittle when it's cold - it doesn't maintain the same strength all year round.”
   
   Following a heatwave in 1995, the road industry introduced a new asphalt specification introducing the use of polymer modified binders in hot rolled asphalt (HRA). These polymers raise the asphalt road surface softening point to around 80C which prevents it from softening under extreme hot weather. Other asphalt products such as thin surface course systems also normally contain polymer modified binders.
   
   However, such modified asphalts tend to be more expensive and are generally only used on heavily-trafficked roads. Robinson estimates that less than 5% of all the UK’s road surfaces contain polymer modified asphalt. On the other hand most surface dressings which are used to seal road surfaces and restore skid resistance nowadays predominantly contain polymer modified binders which will resist softening during periods of hot weather.
   
   “Localised melting of some roads is not surprising during this heatwave but they can be quickly treated and revert back to normal once temperatures decline,” said Robinson.

3. 'LIVE' In The Deep South: Silver Jubilee Tour

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 29th Jun 2018

   2019 is H-C Travel's Silver Jubilee year - we've been organising tours around the world since 1994!
   

   To celebrate, let us take you to the very soul of American music and along some of the twistiest roads in the world. We've a very special 15 day motorcycle adventure for you 'LIVE' In The Deep South from Nashville to New Orleans.  
   
   We’ll ride America’s most famous stretch of road – the Tail of the Dragon – so good we ride it twice... Along the way is some impressive scenery – the Great Smoky Mountains, Cumberland Falls State Park and the mighty Mississippi River and Delta.

   We'll be submersed in blues, country, jazz, bluegrass, R’n’B, rock and roll, rockabilly and all shades in between.

   Your guide, Marc Sloan, is looking forward to taking you on this ride down musical memory lane. Here's a quick video intro from Marc

   

4. 90% of motorcyclists “concerned for safety” when riding next to other vehicles

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 8th Jun 2018

   As summer hails the start of peak biking season, specialist motorcycle insurers Devitt Motorcycle Insurance Brokers has launched a new study to discover attitudes between car drivers and motorcyclists.

   Far from the speed-fuelled stereotypes often attributed to them, research shows that the top priority for more than two fifths (41%) of British motorcyclists is to stay safe on the road. Fewer than one percent (0.21%) said their goal was to ride fast.

   The results confirm that motorcyclists take safety on the roads extremely seriously. When riding closely to other vehicles, nine out of 10 motorcyclists (90%) say they are concerned about their safety. In addition, nearly three quarters (71%) of bikers claim car drivers are distracted. A further two thirds (62%) also consider drivers to be impatient on the road. 

   In comparison, the majority (61%) of drivers said their number-one priority was getting to their destination, with less than a fifth (19%) saying safety was their primary objective. While nearly half (48%) of drivers surveyed also felt that bikers were impatient, fewer than one in 20 (4%) considered motorcyclists to be distracted on the roads.

   Drivers also expressed concern about riding closely to bikers. A third of male drivers (67%), and even more female drivers (73%), said they were vigilant of their own safety when driving near motorcyclists. 

   Commenting on the findings, Tom Warsop, Head of Marketing at Devitt Motorcycle Insurance Brokers, said: “For many, motorcycling is a leisure activity which provides a great way to get out and about in the countryside, and to enjoy the good weather. In contrast, driving is more readily associated with day-to-day tasks, such as going to and from work, which may shed some light on why bikers are considered to be more focused than drivers.

   “However, there is common ground between drivers and bikers with regard to safety. The results also suggest that road users are stereotyping each other, despite the findings showing that both groups are concerned about keeping themselves – and their vehicles – safe.

   “In line with this, Devitt has prepared a list of core tips for drivers and riders alike to take each other’s perspectives. Taking just a couple of moments to appreciate the challenges and considerations of other road users can help us all in becoming more tolerant and to keep safety – not preconceptions –  as our number one focus.” 

5. Motorcycle legend Mike Hailwood inducted into Motor Sport Hall of Fame

   Posted on 12:00pm Thursday 7th Jun 2018

   Mike Hailwood was honoured at the 2018 Motor Sport Hall of Fame Awards, which took place on June 4 at the Royal Automobile Club’s Woodcote Park estate. Hailwood’s widow Pauline was at the star-studded event, which was hosted by broadcaster Suzi Perry, to receive the award from his former Honda team-mate Stuart Graham. 
    
   More than 40,000 enthusiasts from around the world voted for their favourites in a number of categories, with Hailwood topping a Motorcycle shortlist that also included TT hero Joey Dunlop and American world champion ‘King Kenny’ Roberts. Graham spoke warmly of his friend – nine times a Grand Prix world champion on 250cc, 350cc and 500cc machinery – entertaining the audience with memories of their time racing for the factory Honda team in 1966.
    
   “When we went to Monza in September 1966, I’d got used to the ’bike and I found that, being small and light, I could pull a higher top gear than Mike and overtake him going past the pits. During practice, I’d asked him whether Curva Grande was flat and he casually said, ‘Oh yeah, no problem’. I went back out, wound myself up and finally did it. I came in, told him that it was a bit hairy but that, yes, it could be taken flat-out, and he said, ‘You silly little so and so – I was only joking!’
    
   “Mike was so laid back and such a natural. He didn’t think too much about it because it all came so naturally. If you’d asked him how he did it, he wouldn’t have been able to explain it.
    
   “It’s so difficult to compare different generations, but he was the best of our era. He was so versatile and could win on anything. When he came back to the Isle of Man and, in 1979, rode that RG500 Suzuki – on modern tyres and completely different to everything else he’d ridden – that proved beyond all doubt that he had exceptional talent.
    
   “He was just such a lovely guy. We became friends because in those days there was a wonderful camaraderie between riders – we watched out for each other. No one had a bad word to say about Mike.”
    
   Among the other awards to be presented on the night was one for Industry Champion, MotorSport Vision boss Jonathan Palmer receiving it from last year’s winner David Richards. As well as running famous venues such as Brands Hatch, Donington Park and Oulton Park, MSV has run the British Superbike Championship since 2008.
    
   As has become tradition at the event, a range of machinery was demonstrated on the Captain’s Drive at Woodcote Park. Motorcycle collector Dick Shepherd provided the two-wheeled highlight by riding the ex-Hailwood Triumph 650 that won the inaugural Thruxton 500-mile race in 1958.
   
   As well as honouring the great names from two wheels and four, the awards supported charity partner Mission Motorsport, which provides opportunities for servicemen and women who have been affected by military operations to take part in motor racing as part of their recovery and rehabilitation.