The rot is about to set in

[HuckleberryFun]

Even on this forum, some of the Gen-Xers and millennials that see everything in life as disposable were so critical of the government not taking the snow and ice off the roads for them, it finally gave the state their excuse to start salting the roads. We kept it out of Oregon for decades. Their foot is in the door now, and I fear the use of salt will become rampant.

I remember a time that any car ten years old, that's been out of this area, had holes in the floor, holes in the trunk, rotted break lines, rotten suspension, and it squeaked like old bed springs.

The folks clamoring for salted roads defended the salt, saying wash your car, and it wont be an issue. Horse feathers! The salt will remain on the roads, and with each rain, salt water will be injected to absolutely every nook and cranny on your car. You might not see it overnight, or in a year, but the cancer will start.

I am disgusted that Oregon is now taking this salt shortcut, instead of folks taking care of themselves, with the right vehicles, the right chains, the right tires, and the right mindset for learning to drive in the snow.

WAYNO.

I just want Portland to discover this amazing invention called the snow plow and use it. Salt or no salt I don't care.
I'm Gen X. Don't you dare call me a Millennial, dag nabbit!

 

[PiratePast40]

News flash folks, road salt is not weapons grade plutonium. What's next, people pumping their own gas? Oh the humanity!!

 

[PaulB47]

A "good undercarriage wash" ain't gonna do it. Just look at the old cars from the midwest, where the rust is bubbling up the paint. Do you really think you can wash away all the salt in those spots? Every nook and cranny? Will you take off your plastic fender liners?

I thought that news report mentioned not only Portland, but also other roads like some in southern Oregon.

If you are that concerned then don't drive your car - you probably won't be able to if the roads aren't salted.

You are missing the point. Without salt, I can drive, have for decades. I don't even have studded tires, just chains I can throw on if I need to. I'm complaining about the tradeoffs: short term gain for ignorant and lazy drivers, long term costs for everybody including those who are not ignorant. You will get it when you see the first bubble of rust under the paint of that classic car you own.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

News flash folks, road salt is not weapons grade plutonium. What's next, people pumping their own gas? Oh the humanity!!

shoot id prefer to pump my own gas

 

[IronMonster]

Every time I drive through Oregon I curse the pump nazi's.

"YOU! Get away from that nozzle!"

 

[Mister Bisley]

Pumping your own gas vs waiting at the filling station for someone else to do it, would probably save you about 3+ hours a year.

 

[Mister Bisley]

Every time I drive through Oregon I curse the pump nazi's.

"YOU! Get away from that nozzle!"

LOL, I got yelled at for this a few times when I first moved to OR. After pumping my own gas for 25 years, it was just habitual

 

[WAYNO]

Honest question here, so no assaulting (aSALTing??) the etrain

I am curious, wouldn't the type of rust issues have to build up over an extended period of exposure? The number of times they would likely use salt in the PDX area in any particular year is probably a week or less. Back east I get that you may be driving on salt covered roads for weeks, even months. But for us, If it's just a few days, and you get a good undercarriage wash after the event is over, shouldn't you be fine? My first car, a '71 VW van, came from the coast, I got to see first hand what a salt air environment will do to a car over time. But I've spent time at the coast, even got splashes of salt water under the car at times, and never had a rust issue - I just get a good wash any time I've been in a salty environment and it's just not been a problem.

So am I missing something, or is there something about this salt that will start rusting cars with such limited exposure and contact time per year?

That's a good question. The more dissolved the salt is, seawater for example, the easier it is to wash off of surfaces. Large chunks of rock salt get packed into the nooks and crannies of cars, into places an under carriage wash isn't effective, and will continue to eat into steel.

I have worked extensively with metal my whole life. In an industrial setting, where the vehicles in my plant had to keep moving, the roadways and work areas were salted during snow or ice storms.. And the bottom of many of our company vehicles were rotted. The effects of salt on our electric-powered vehicles was irreversible. Once they saw salt, they had severe and continuing issues preventing them from even running without rewiring and/or replacing the electrical and electronic components. And that's in spite of many years of no snow, and no salt. Fences, guard rails, pipes, machinery, everything that was near the ground has suffered the effects of salt. And, I'll also admit, the coatings used on newer vehicles is superior to coatings used in the past. Even here, every little rock chip is a place for the salt to get started. So it may not invade as fast as in the past, but it still will invade.

I'm Gen X. Don't you dare call me a Millennial, dag nabbit!

I am guilty of generalizing generations as being tolerant or intolerant to the use of salt, and that may be unfair. Maybe it's more of where a person has spent portions of their life, or even their affluence that affects their tolerance to salted roads. If you grew up in the salt belt, rusted cars were a way of life, and you might not even pay any attention. And I'd venture if you're younger, there's far less chance that you've ever been an auto mechanic, either professionally, or even as a hobby. So you likely have never seen or dealt with a salted car. And the effect of affluence? I know I grew up with the dinosaurs, and had to walk to school, but when I was young, we didn't have new Toyotas. We had junker cars that we did what we could just to keep them running. And back then, any ten year old car had rust issues. We used to pop-rivet old license plates to the floor so we wouldn't have to see the pavement below us. For the lucky ones that had newer cars, they also would not understand the issues of rust damage.

Salt is again part of the equation. And my bellyaching wont change that. And it's not just Portland that is revisiting the use of salt. Oregon is also experimenting in selected areas. When they realize salt is a cheaper and quicker fix to ice and snow issues, regardless of the environmental and rust issues, the use will increase.

WAYNO.

 

[edslhead]

If your car has been properly immunized, the salt should have no affect on it.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I hate the salt too. Lived in NY for a few years for schooling, I saw firsthand the effects of salt on many vehicles..... even the cop cars were not immune to it. What amazes me was that in the yards there were several relatively rust free cars with blown engines, while the cars on the roads looked like swiss cheese..... first pic, a 2nd gen Camaro with rust, they were asking.... $2 grand This was 2006 or 2007. Second pic, a clean late 80s or early 90s Buick in an U-Pull yard, the engine was blown, but the body was in dang good shape.... and last pic, my DD that I drove over from Oregon.... I had shiney trim on the rally wheels, you can clearly see they're pretty much going.... I brought the car back to Oregon and got replacement trim rings and stainless, and worked on them to look better, before I blew the transmission. I sometimes miss that wagon. 31mpg loaded down on the interstates, reliable v6, upgraded the 60/40 seat to a set of buckets from another Oldsmobile..... great for camping... those tires were the best thing I bought.... stock size called for either 185s or 195s, I ordered 205s for the 6" wide wheels and they gave me a lot more traction and felt a lot better in snow. Granted in New York the snow is mostly soft powder, and they plow and salt the roads first thing in late October, early November.... sometimes we get snow as late as May (happened May 2003, due to freak lake effect storm near the Finger Lakes)

 

[308]

Don't like salt?
Then buy winter tires and try to comprehend the fact chains don't go on the rear of your front wheel drive car.

Or just stay home when it gets "too scary" for your bald tired Mercury Sable...

 

[Joe13]

SALT THE ROADS!!!!


Wait


DON'T SALT THE ROADS!!!



I don't care either way, I live in WA

 

[WAYNO]

SALT THE ROADS!!!!


Wait


DON'T SALT THE ROADS!!!



I don't care either way, I live in WA

But Vancouver, being Portlands largest bedroom community...It will rust your cars too when you drive into Portland for work.

 

[oknow]

shoot id prefer to pump my own gas

Get a motorcycle then you can and they won't say a word about it, as a mater of fact they normally will give you a rag to catch the (gas)drops when your done.

 

[Libertas7]

Besides the rust problem I'm against salting the roads because it encourages people to wait for others to fix their problems for them. "I don't know how to drive on packed snow so you need to do something about it!" It's basically catering to nitwits.

 

[Mister Bisley]

Besides the rust problem I'm against salting the roads because it encourages people to wait for others to fix their problems for them. "I don't know how to drive on packed snow so you need to do something about it!" It's basically catering to nitwits.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what we have been doing in this country...catering to nitwits

 

[jbett98]

And in the past, electing them.

 

[Libertas7]

And in the past, electing them.

I'm not yet convinced that we're not still doing that in the present.

 

[Camelfilter]

Boston transplant here.

"Y'all" can't drive when it rains, so absolutely salt the roads!

-Or have the "Snowflakes" be responsible for there own traction devices, which they are allready legally supposed to be, but as we see they aren't.

The amount of snow we normally get out here, and the number of times that city's / towns would have to salt, vs damage done to vehicles/injuries caused & time missed from work from not salting (primarily caused by snowflakes). Worth it IMO.

 

[PiratePast40]

Oregon receives federal funds for interstate highway construction and upkeep. Keep the f'n highways open for commerce or loose your federal funding. Quit being such special snowflakes. Buy snowplows and use a deicing solution. Even beet juice works at the moderate temperatures seen in the valley.

It's mostly transitional stuff that is seen here. Not deep snow, but ice and freezing rain. Get the deicer and salt ground into the pavement and it keeps working. Stop acting like school kids hoping for a snow day when there is ice on the roads, get it cleared and let people get to work and be productive.