Road spray from trucks

[wdfifteen]

I drove from Orlando to Savannah today. Something about the light rain and the density of trucks on the road combined to make it visually like driving in fog for 8 hours. It was dangerous and very tiring. If it had been night I would have had to pack it up and get off the road. I see UPS trucks with skirts over the tires that capture the spray. Why don't more trucks use them - because they aren't forced to and they don't care enough about about safety to do it voluntarily?

[herr_oberst]

Why can't some smart engineer figure out a way to channel that water to a place that is less dangerous for the rest of the traffic? To the contrary, I see skirts in use lately that look like they just channel the water out to the side, thus making the left hand "death lane" even more dangerous. Living in the Great Northwest, I've done plenty of driving in that wall of water where you just see nothing at all the whole time you're making the pass. Yikes!

[URY914]

From what I've been told, the cab of a semi is high enough that they can see better than cars when spray is a problem for cars.

[Hugh R]

I vaguely remember something about trucks above a certain height or something have to have mud flaps, at least in CA. Found it.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6382202_california-mud-flap-laws.html

[willtel]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Why can't some smart engineer figure out a way to channel that water to a place that is less dangerous for the rest of the traffic? To the contrary, I see skirts in use lately that look like they just channel the water out to the side, thus making the left hand "death lane" even more dangerous. Living in the Great Northwest, I've done plenty of driving in that wall of water where you just see nothing at all the whole time you're making the pass. Yikes!

They have. A good number of the Interstates in Georgia are paved with popcorn asphalt. The road bed is a normal surface with deep groves cut into it perpendicular to the road. On top of that they lay down a thick layer of this porous asphalt.

When it rains the water drains down through the top layer of the road and drains off to the sides. Since there is no standing water on the road surface there is very little spray when it rains.


EPA - Stormwater Menu of BMPs

[szyzygy]

I drove across country a year ago, NC to CA.

Caught in a downpour from TN through AR. I had to speed past trucks, when 2 of them weren't taking up both lanes side by side, to get around the spray.

I used to work for UPS for 8 years. It sucked, but they have their **** together.

[A930Rocket]

I want to say we have some of that here in SC, but it only lasts about 10 years then starts breaking up. Lots of broken windshields.

Originally Posted by willtel

They have. A good number of the Interstates in Georgia are paved with popcorn asphalt. The road bed is a normal surface with deep groves cut into it perpendicular to the road. On top of that they lay down a thick layer of this porous asphalt.

When it rains the water drains down through the top layer of the road and drains off to the sides. Since there is no standing water on the road surface there is very little spray when it rains.


EPA - Stormwater Menu of BMPs