Why seal an Asphalt driveway?

Why seal an Asphalt driveway?

It is very important to use an asphalt sealer on your driveway to prevent damage caused by sunlight, rain, and snow. A new, unsealed driveway will be fine for a few years, but neglecting to apply asphalt sealer to the surfaces of your property allows water to sneak beneath the porous surface. When the water freezes, heats up, or saturates the soil underneath the pavement, you will start to see cracks. Your only choice at that point would be relaying the asphalt.

Another reason you might consider it important to use asphalt sealer is to maintain the original, dark color of your driveway. The sealer will keep your asphalt black, rather than letting sun and traffic dull it to a faded gray. Asphalt sealer can also resist spills from car oil and other maintenance fluids that you don't want to stain your driveway.

If you owned a parking lot, you would have another reason to use asphalt sealer. The constant friction of tires will wear away the uppermost layer of asphalt. This layer has a lot of gummy petroleum material and not as many aggregate rocks. Once it wears away, the erosion of the parking lot will speed up. A thinner asphalt is even more likely to crack, buckle, or develop potholes.

What causes Asphalt damage ?

Cracks in asphalt occur when the earth underneath the pavement shifts for some reason. This could be due to seasonal changes in weather and humidity. Asphalt is designed to resist this moisture penetration, since it has glue keeping the aggregate material together. Even still, asphalt is not impermeable to water damage, especially in a driveway.When cold water sinks into or below the asphalt, it will freeze when temperatures drop. Freezing water expands, interfering with the stickiness of the glue. At some point, the water defrosts and shrinks, putting structural strain on the pavement. Pavement may buckle and make small fissures or larger cracks.

How often should I seal my driveway? 

After the initial base application, your driveway should be sealed every 2-3 years depending on personal preference.

General rule of thumb is NOT to seal your driveway every year!!! Sealers are coatings, just like paint. You can easily apply too much and the coatings will begin to crack and peel. Only reseal the driveway after you can clearly see that the old sealer is wearing. When the color of the aggregate (rocks) begins to show, it is time to reseal.

6 reasons to avoid the left lane unless you're passing

One of my biggest pet peeves when I’m driving is another driver who refuses to stop travelling in the left lane and refuses to travel at least the posted speed limit.

This is such a big deal to me that my fiance, who was once a left-lane driver, knows now to only use the left lane when he intends to pass another vehicle, lest he have to endure my soapbox session about why the left lane is not meant for cruising.

So, when I stumbled upon Vox’s reasons for avoiding the left lane, I had to share.

Here are six reasons to stay out of the left lane, adapted from the Vox report:

1. 1. It’s Lane Courtesy Month. If you’re a left-lane enthusiast, this is a good month to start testing out the lane to your right. That’s because the National Motorists Association has dubbed June Lane Courtesy Month. According to NMA, “If everyone would practice lane courtesy, driving would be more enjoyable, our roads would be safer, congestion would be reduced, and we would even save money on gas!”
2. 2. You’re annoying other drivers. Vox sums it up in one sentence: “There are basically two types of drivers: those who get worked up about people driving slowly in the left lane, and those who do it all the time and have no idea they’re upsetting everyone else.”
3. 3. You may want to avoid fines and jail time. Vox notes that 29 states have some sort of law restricting vehicles that are travelling below the “normal speed of traffic” from driving in the left lane. According to USA Today, slow drivers in Georgia travelling in the left lane could be slapped with a misdemeanor — which could mean up to $1,000 in fines and up to a year in prison. And, as Vox reports, 10 states require drivers in the left lane to be turning or passing.
4. 4. Police are seriously enforcing left-lane laws. Last year, Better Roads reported that Texas is cracking down on left-lane drivers, and violators can end up paying as much as $500. Ohio has also begun enforcing its left-lane laws, according to the Columbus Dispatch. In 2013, Washington police stopped more than 2,200 drivers for travelling too slowly in the left lane, MyNorthwest.com reports.
5. 5. Avoiding the left lane reduces congestion. Have you ever tried to pass someone who was travelling slowly in the right lane, only to get stuck behind someone driving the same speed in the left lane? Vox reports that “many traffic jams result from a surprisingly small number of slow cars obstructing traffic.” When a driver blocks the left lane, it defeats a main purpose of the left lane: to allow for improved flow of traffic.
6. 6. Avoiding the left lane is safer. Vox points to evidence showing that moving to the left lane and slowing down is more dangerous than speeding. About 4 percent of accidents in the U.S. are caused by these lane changes, while up to 10 percent of highway accidents can be linked to lane changes. According to Vox, a car travelling 5 mph slower than the average speed of traffic is more likely to cause a wreck than one travelling 5 mph faster than other drivers.

Rhode Island lawmakers approve creation of $28 million state transportation fund

Rhode Island will have a dedicated transportation fund starting next month. The state’s House Finance Committee on Thursday night approved a plan to create a $28 million transportation infrastructure fund by diverting money from the state’s general fund starting July 1, the Providence Journal reports. The plan will shift those funds by raising motor-vehicle inspection fees by $16, increasing motorist court fee costs by $25 and moving revenue from existing rental car surcharge and motor vehicle title fees. The fees are expected to add tens of millions of dollars to the transportation fund. A 1-cent gas tax increase, set to begin July 1, 2015, would add another $1.4 million to the fund in 2016. The fuel tax hike, the report notes, will be indexed to inflation and will rise every two years. The plan is included in the state budget, which also ends tolls on the Sakonnet Bridge