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Falling off on new road surface

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  • November 11, 2014 at 9:31 pm #22721
    dazzer1970

    Hi all, wanted to canvas opinion, fell off my bike in September on a flat, straight and new section of road (had been down a couple of months) leading up to a junction, I broke my ribs and have not been out since! I perceive this to be a worse hazard than pot holes and no longer have the confidence to go out in any sort of wet weather if the roads are so slippery in certain places, I am not a new cyclist and have frequently exercised caution especially going round corners, I unclip the relevant foot incase of slippage, hence on this occasion I was not unclipped because the road was straight and I was not expecting it, does anyone else have any experience of a similar occurence?

    I contacted a personal injury company because I feel the road repairers should be putting down anti slip and they are at fault, I also believe that perhaps they are using better materials in the tarmac to perhaps make it more hard wearing and hence, I believe, more slippery in the wet compared to previous road surfaces. A friend of mine rides horses along the same stretch of road and the horse a couple of weeks ago lost its footing and she fell off, luckily no injury, which she has also commented that such an event has not happened to her before in many years of horse riding. The personal injury company said that they did not have enough to make a case. Do anyone have any views on this please?

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Viewing 6 replies - 31 through 36 (of 36 total)
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  • November 12, 2014 at 2:19 pm #820619
    0
    racyrich

    The way asphalt is laid was
    The way asphalt is laid was changed a few years back. Previous the gungy tar mix was poured and levelled, then finally stone rolled into the top surface. This meant that most of the contact with the road was with a clean stone surface.
    Then it was changed so the stones are pre-mixed with the gungy tar and the whole lot laid and levelled. Thus all the stones have a coating of oily tar. Contact with a newly laid road is therefore entirely onto an oily surface. It takes weeks or even months for the surface oil to wash and wear away.

    So yes, for some years now new blacktop has been lethal on 2 wheels. Even 4 wheels won’t stop very quickly on it. There were loads of complaints from cyclist and motorcyclist groups when this change occurred. No reversal or redress is gonna happen though.

    November 12, 2014 at 11:39 am #820617
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    DeeJayJay

    Man up, Get back on the
    Man up, Get back on the horse…

    November 12, 2014 at 10:44 am #820615
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    redmeat

    I can’t believe what I’m
    I can’t believe what I’m reading.

    November 12, 2014 at 10:30 am #820613
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    MuddyGoose

    There’s always a case to
    There’s always a case to bring. You should sue the clouds for dispensing rain into your path when you come off in the wet and then sue the low pressure system that brought low temperatures causing the frost/ice/snow.

    Get over it, you came off your bike. If that section of road is too slippery for you then walk it and get back on later.

    November 12, 2014 at 8:56 am #820611
    0
    OldRidgeback

    It’s common for new road
    It’s common for new road surfaces to have a lower anti-skid rating, particularly when cheaper/lower quality materials have been used in its construction. Once the surface has carried some traffic, it will typically become more skid-resistant. Better quality stone used in the asphalt will be harder and have more pointed edges, boosting grip. Lower quality materials will be softer and wear out more rapidly and the surface will then polish up, resulting in a much lower skid resistance and leading inevitably to more crashes.

    Note that construction crews sometimes spill diesel on the surface when refuelling the machines they have for carrying out work, though in theory they’re supposed to wash this off as it damages the bitumen (by breaking up the long chain hydrocarbons) that holds the asphalt together. It’s an additional hazard to be aware of and to watch out for.

    November 12, 2014 at 7:53 am #820609
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    CXR94Di2

    Unfortunately you sound a
    Unfortunately you sound a nervous rider, had a unlucky accident. I suggest riding on a larger tyre to increase grip when cornering. Don’t look to blame someone else. Build confidence

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