It only works down to a certain temperature, and we're below that. Salt lowers the freezing point of water, so that it takes a colder temperature for the water to remain frozen. We're still below that temperature.
Because the environment and roads and cars are far more important than human lives! (Sarcasm). Not everyone can afford a car that can handle larger quantities of ice and snow even with dirt and in many states it doesn't make sense to get special tires or chains. I've driven through places that use just dirt and areas that use salt and areas that use a brine solution prior to snow falling. All in a variety of cars from diesel suvs with 4 wheel drive to small Honda coupes. I've found suvs and trucks like excursions and military hummers don't need any of that (usually), but smaller cars are far safer with salt and brine it's better to not have to deal with ice in the first place, and I'm actually a very safe and smart driver I've been taught how to drive in pretty much everything in a variety of vehicles because of my job from flooding to ice to dry roads in cars like Crown Vic's to military grade hummers. And even for people like me who can handle ice and snow there's people who don't
Know what they're doing and pose a threat to even those of us who do. It's way safer to have no ice than to have sand or dirt to only aid traction. I've seen many accidents with large trucks and suvs that were "good" in snow that spun out and hit smaller cars that were doing just fine in the ice and snow because of the driver its best to remove one of those variables to make roads safer in the winter. And unfortunately we can't remove the bad drivers so let's stick with salt and brine and actually remover the ice. I think a human is more important than a fish or car.
I believe northern Arizona uses crushed lava rock (pumice). In the very few times I've been up there in the snow, it seems to work pretty well. I don't know why anyone would want to use salt....
Definitely not. Bad for the roads, bad for the environment, bad for vehicles; not good in any way. A little sand on the steepest hills, maybe, otherwise just suggest the obvious (traction tires and/or chains, as appropriate), and let the principles suggested by Darwin deal with the weakest links.
No. The salt only causes the underside of vehicles to rust. At very cold temperatures it actually makes it more dangerous. Sand and cinders are better.
Gravel and sand are better. The problem is that Americans have this insane belief that they are entitled to drive in inclement weather no matter how shitty they are at it. If you don't know how to navigate a snowy road, stay the fuck home.
There are areas of this country where that entitled attitude is a necessity. A snow day or two, great. But I can't take 4 months off work and neither can anyone else in this town.
Yes, people are soooo entitled for wanting to be able to go to work so they can make a living to survive. Or go to the store to buy food to survive. Or god forbid, make it to the hospital in an emergency. Yes, so very entitled. How dare they be so demanding to request that rock salt be used to melt the ice. They may as well all be asking for a solid gold Cadillac in every driveway. The greedy bastárds!
Me, when there is a 20 foot tall pile of mud coated snow in every parking lot and snow banks are only a slight improvement, I do care how stuff looks. If. I wanted to live in a mud puddle I would do, but as it happens, I'd rather not.
Show of Hands
Comments: Add Comment