Even though our chipseal is being bedded in using rollers and other machinery, when Transmission Gully opens there will be loose chip around.
And while we’ll be minimising the risks of loose chip with regular sweeping, there are some key things to remember when driving over fresh chip seal:
Too fast and you risk ripping up the chips and sending them flying, which may damage other vehicles. Too slow and you risk the road surface (the bitumen holding the chips down) sticking to your wheels.
What’s safe depends on the road surface, the weather, your speed and the type of vehicle you’re driving.
In good conditions, you should always drive at least two seconds behind the vehicle in front of you.
In other conditions (such as on new chip that hasn’t had a lot of traffic over it yet) you’re safer to allow four seconds behind the vehicle in front of you.
To determine your following distance - watch the vehicle in front as it passes a landmark, such as a bridge, streetlight or sign. As it passes the landmark, count two (or four) seconds. If you pass the landmark before you finish counting, you’re following too closely.
