Members Info - MOUNTAIN ROADS & PASSES AND HOW TO DRIVE THEM Its been a while but for those of old in this group, they will know that from time to time we like to throw up, or even regurgitate, useful information!!!......For those that have never experienced this type of info, we give you an EiA Master Class in edjumacation; a little light reading with advice when negotiating a Mountain Pass (Puerto Montaña)!!!.......and no, I am not about to explain how to turn your steering wheel or how to negotiate around the odd stray sheep, goat, horse,.......body even......or whatever else happens to be obstructing your lane!!!.......What we have here is the latest campaign from the DGT, the Department General of Traffic!!!........This campaign has obviously come about because of all the cold temperatures and therefore slippery roads and if you didnt know it already, when a road is signed that it is a Mountain Road then enhanced rules for that road apply!!!......Now, for you low lying oxygen loving coastal types the mere thought of climbing more than 4 metres above sea level might be scary, but for some of us frontiersman that love the fresh clean mountain air, well we pass up such roads on a regular basis, even sometimes daily, and there are quite a few of these roads in the region!!!......So please pay attention as you may just learn something new......I did!!! Referring to our main Graphic below as issued by the DGT, part of the Spanish Government, we clearly see traffic negotiating a rather bendy road.....probably the Ronda Road out of San Pedro......in fact it must be because theres Jo Walsh, one of this groups illustrious Moderators mooning out of the rear window of the bus on her way home after clubbing it in Puerto Banus......little rascal is Jo!!!......The traffic on this road is passing in two directions and for the purpose of this master class we shall deal with the Up Traffic first..... But just before we do, there is a little graphic within the graphic below of a fuel gauge in the bottom left hand corner......the message is.....Consumption is much lower accelerating and shifting gears only where necessary......In other words, when driving a mountain road and particularly when you are on the climb, pick a steady speed and try not to change gear too much. If you speed up on the straight then slow down on the bends, changing gears every time, you fuel consumption will increase.....considerably!!!......Also, if you are heading off up yonder and not used to the great inland, do make sure you have enough fuel. In some areas petrol stations are few and far between!!! Next to the fuel gauge and its advice there is a warning regarding driving in adverse weather.......In ice, snow or even rain, reduce your speed and stay in a low gear......if there is snow, avoid sudden acceleration so not to lose grip!!! And one more point of note.....If you look at all the vehicles in the graphic, they all have their main lights on......When a sign tells you that you are now on a mountain road lights are compulsory day or night, sun or rain/sleet/snow!!!....TURN ON YOUR LIGHTS!!! UP TRAFFIC RULES/ADVICE - Orange vehicles - Al Subir The driver of ORANGE CAR 1 is admiring the signs. The first sign is indicating the extent of the incline ahead which states 10%. In laymans terms that means you rise 10 metres in height every 100 metres you travel!!!...... The second set of signs are stating that there are successive bends ahead (top triangle) and that the maximum allowed speed is 70kph!!! Next to the coach is a red box.......NO, its not what the driver of the coach is thinking, which is normally I am bigger than you, I own the road, have had a liquid breakfast and I will run you off the road of you get in my way......and if that woman at the back doesnt stop sticking her arse up to everyone Im going to break sharply bringing her to the very front like a rocket!!!......The red box is in fact a warning stating that at times parts of large vehicles can invade the lane of traffic coming in the other direction!!!.......Grey area there in that it is the law in Spain that traffic coming down a hill must always give priority to traffic coming up a hill regardless of whos right of way it would be on a normal road!!?......It therefore follows that if a large coach, articulated lorry or my Mother-in-Law in her Fiat Panda find they need to cross into the lane of the traffic coming down the hill when negotiating a sharp bend, then those vehicles that are heading down are obliged to give way to them!!!......Mmmm, wouldnt like to argue that point in a Spanish court of law so just be aware!!! Orange Car 2, according to the graphic, is observing the bend ahead, its radius and its camber (slope of the road), and is adjusting gears and speed accordingly to negotiate the bend correctly.....Mmmmm, must be a tourist then!!!......On my mountain road the locals would be adjusting gears and speed ready to overtake on the next blind bend!!! Orange Car 3 is excited......hes found an overtaking lane.....so he can slow down now as theres no need to hurry past the lorry!!!......Excessive accelerating coupled with strong breaking causes increased wear of your break pads as well as your tyres, as point 3 states!!!......And increases fuel consumption!!! So, what goes up must come down...... DOWN TRAFFIC RULES/ADVICE - Yellow Vehicles - Al Bajar So, item 1 on our yellow list advises that before you enter a bend, apply your breaks smoothly and change down your gears......However, the driver of Yellow Car 1 hasnt read this script and in true mountain road rage, thinks he has the same rights as the up drivers and everyone should be giving way to him!!!......I jest......If you go into a right hand bend too fast you run the risk of over-shooting into on coming traffic.......Could be worse; on some mountain roads you have a shear drop and should you over-shoot on a left hander you could be taking the short cut to sea level!!!.......Take your time, enjoy the drive and the view, and, stay alive!!!...... Yellow Car 2 has left the bend it was on and has changed up its gears and increasing speed..... Yellow Car 3 is thinking of cutting the corner......but as note three states, cutting corners leads to accidents, especially if that coach coming the other way needs part of your lane to negotiate the bend!!! And finally, this is where we learn something new.....DIRECTIONAL PANELS.....Those signs with chevrons on that denote a bend!!!......If there is one then it actually denotes you need to reduce your speed by between 15 & 30kph......If there are two chevron signs, one on top of the other, then its telling you to reduce your speed by 30 to 45kph........Three levels of chevrons reduce your speed by more than 45kph.......and if theres no chevrons then somebody didnt count them in time and took them out with his car!!! I know, its a rather satirical look at driving on a mountain road. It wasnt meant to poke fun but as I started to dissect the message from the DGT I couldnt help myself!!!......Driving any road in Spain should not be taken lightly and driving mountain roads should be taken very seriously keeping your wits about you whilst, at the same time, enjoying the experience!!!.......If you have passengers with you, all the more reason to drive carefully giving thought and consideration to them, particularly round the bends as your passengers could get nauseous if you are going too fast!!!.......Please dont let this put you off driving up inland. Take your time and dont let anybody push you to go faster. Put your lights on and further enjoy the clean mountain air. But above all stay safe and enjoy the day!!!.......this information is brought to you by the EiALERT NETWORK!!! :o
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 11:42:33 +0000
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