Verges

Thu 1 Mar 2018, 09:49

I suspect so James but did not want to make an allegation based on speculation!

Wed 28 Feb 2018, 12:19

Hannen, the guy who had been 'flipped by the nearside grip' had obviously lost control of his car well before he hit the ditch. One may as well warn drivers of the dangers of the metal barriers used to separate carriageways! ;-)

Wed 28 Feb 2018, 09:01

Part of the trade of a hedger and ditcher. In the day.

Tue 27 Feb 2018, 20:57

On Sunday, while driving to Parkway, I saw a cyclist pushing his bike along near the Combe turn-off on the Charlbury Road. When I came back, he was about 1.5 miles outside Charlbury. Two tyres gone after being pushed to the side of the road by a car. He was wearing cleats which made pushing the bike even harder. I asked him how far he had to go. "Enstone". I put the bike in the back of the car and took him home. He said I was "buying forward" - someone will do the same for me one day!

Tue 27 Feb 2018, 09:29

A couple of weeks ago I passed an upturned car by the side of the B4437. About 3.5 to 4 miles from Charlbury (the sharp bendy bit). Single male driver unhurt. I stopped to see if I could assist but he said he was fine and was waiting for a rescue vehicle. He'd been flipped by the nearside grip. Be careful!

Tue 27 Feb 2018, 09:26

Very interesting---thank you John, Simon and Harriet for the information. I don't remember noticing them like now but perhaps it is because they look so much more visible when newly dug.

Tue 27 Feb 2018, 07:13

I think they've been a bit more proactive about maintaining them since 2007, because I think there weren't any drainage ditches to get the water off the roads on that day. But they always used to be there, there was at least one on the verge down Banbury Hill which isn't there now. I remember having to jump over them when I was small.

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 23:10

Thanks John, this has been exercising us for days! Is there any science as to the location of the grips?

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 20:05

They're called 'grips' and allow the road surface to drain. In time they will fill up with silt, grass and weeds I expect, and will need replaced or, like any drainage, maintained. I recall seeing similar grips around some years ago that have become 'naturalised' into the verge as shallow depressions.

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 15:20

Simon, John---thank you. I agree with you Simon, if one had to take evasive action it could be nasty. Will they just stay there indefinitely or will they gradually fill up naturally ? In which case, what is the point ?

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 13:53

They're for rainwater drainage off the road surface. However, they are deep enough that I, for one, wouldn't like to have to swerve into the verge to avoid something in the road - getting a car into one of those could be pretty expensive in terms of front-end damage.

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 13:51

I think its drainage Glena

Mon 26 Feb 2018, 13:35

Curious---can anyone please enlighten me as to why shallowish pits have been dug at regular intervals on the grass verges. They are on all the roads round Charlbury---to Judd's Garage, Burford, Enstone etc. Last week I saw several diggers (who had stopped for the day) at the Shipton/Swinbrook crossroads and just by there was what appeared to be a mound of the excavated earth. What is going on ??