Pothole claims up 90% in three years, says RAC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyzyww1jp2o

Posted by topotaul

16 Comments

  1. TheBrassDancer on

    Well no shit. It’s almost like years of defunding county councils and other authorities responsible for the maintenance of our roads leads to this mess.

    Add to it the increase of larger vehicles on the road creating more wear and tear and you have a surefire recipe for roads in this sorry state.

  2. jodrellbank_pants on

    It’s cheaper than repairing the road. Insurance pays for it, You already paying for it in tax

  3. Councils need to sort out their social care and SEND funding to stop their areas falling apart.

    A road near me has been in dire need of resurfacing for at least 20 years due to damage from the quarry trucks and tractors, it’s only just been given funding for a resurface next financial year due to a councillor not letting up.

    They done some patchwork repairs but failed after 2 weeks because the council cheaped out, and further down they did fully resurface it but didn’t fix the flooding issue which destroyed the road before so it still floods and didn’t make the manhole covers flush with the surface so you still have to dodge them.

    “In a statement, Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport management, said the emphasis “should be on maintenance work to prevent potholes forming in the first place, which is much more cost-effective than repairing them afterwards”.”

    Surprised they got him to say something decent for once instead of doing everything he can to prevent cars being used.

  4. There should be a tax on vehicles at point of sale, proportional to the vehicle’s weight. Proceeds go directly to road maintenance.

  5. I know the weather is better there, but was in Tenerife recently and the roads were just beautiful to be honest. Smooth as hell

    Roads around here are like a 3rd world warzone

  6. Slight-Strategy-5619 on

    There’s a revelation. The roads are shit. They can’t fix anything properly anymore

  7. Major_Bag_8720 on

    My kids don’t believe me when I tell them it was rare to see potholes 40 years ago.

  8. North_Reflection_938 on

    They actually filled in quite a few around my area in the last year, but they are already ruined again. A lot of the potholes now literally need the whole road redoing

  9. Disillusioned_Pleb01 on

    They have been there since the 2015 winter. What are motor vehicle drivers paying fuel duty for???

  10. Potholes? Pfft! I live in north Cambridgeshire. Soft underneath the roads.

    The locals here have given up with resurfacing. The roads here are literally tearing themselves apart, and sections are cordoned off until a plan can signed off. The local council is asking London for extra cash due to loose substrate moving underneath the tarmac. And I don’t know anything about this stuff, but I experience bouncing along the roads between Cambridge and Peterborough. Other areas here are similar – Ely to Mildenhall for instance.

    We’re past potholes.

  11. For those that don’t read the article potholes have fallen by 50% in the last year they were up 90% from 2021-2024

  12. InternetHomunculus on

    Nearly got launched off my bike by a pothole I didn’t see once. Was surprised to see it was filled in a few weeks later as there’s been some absolute canyons on a nearby main road for a long time

  13. Future_Islander on

    I had to dodge some potholes on the M25 today. Britains most busy motorway ring-road serving a global city..

  14. Catch 22, they’re going to blame the fact that they’re paying more on claims that there’s not enough left in the budget to fill the holes.

    How did it get into this mess in the first place…

  15. Asphalt doesn’t work in, & isn’t designed for, the UK climate. However, cheaper + less work = a council/government wet dream.