I have written several blogs about potholes – funny ones reported in Trinidad to bikini-clad ladies taking a bath in one. This blog is a followup to those previous blogs, and shows that potholes are a universal problem that keep vehicle-suspension companies in business.
If you are into conspiracy theories, perhaps there is collusion between local governments and manufacturers of shock absorbers?
The state of Britain’s roads was the main concern for almost six in 10 people in research recently conducted by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC). It topped the list of motoring complaints for the first time – ahead of insurance costs and fuel prices.
Pothole damage cost drivers on average £460 ($600) in the last 6 months – with punctures, wheel damage and broken suspension springs the most reported, RAC research suggested.
Some drivers get so frustrated with the motoring menace, they come up with creative ways to capture the size of the problem. Alan from Macclesfield, in Northern England, climbed inside the crater (picture above) and sent the pictures to his local council. “They did finally fill it in”, he said.
The U.K. Department for Transport said it was helping local councils to fix “up to one million more potholes a year”. That gives you an idea of the size of the problem…if you will excuse the pun. Let me say that again, 1 million MORE potholes!
Potholes can prove dangerous, as well as costly, the RAC’s research warned.
BBC reader Elizabeth Atter said her 89-year-old mother had been knocked out after falling in a pothole in Caversham, near Reading – presumably as a pedestrian. Ms. Atter said her mother also “broke her nose, and glasses, and was badly shaken up” when she fell in.
Another reader, Richard Underhill from Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire, said his Porsche needed two tyres replaced after he hit a pothole. “A car in front of me at the tyre depot had hit the same pothole,” he said.
Angela and Chris, both 64, were driving on the M60 near Middleton in April when their car hit a pothole. “We were driving along at 70mph, we were coming up behind vehicles on the inside lane, we started to pull out, and bang – we hit a pothole,” said Mr Hudson. Repairs to one wheel including a new tyre, a new wheel and wheel alignment, cost £3,000 ($3,800).
The Hudsons said their claim for compensation against National Highways, the organisation in charge of maintaining the road, was denied. This was due to a rule in the U.K.’s Highways Act which says that if it has taken reasonable steps to ensure the road is safe, the agency does not have to pay damages to road users. Who wrote that law – some lawyer for the government, obviously?
A spokesperson for National Highways said the organisation was “concerned to learn about the incident involving the Hudsons, and had been in correspondence with them. We carry out regular carriageway inspections, and any dangerous or safety critical defects are made safe either immediately or within 24 hours. Our inspections at the time found no such defects,” they added. And if you believe that, you are as irresponsible as the agency!!
Richard Broadbent from Cirencester put in a claim to Gloucestershire County Council after the wheel of his Volkswagen Golf was damaged in May last year when his wife was driving his daughter to school. A bent wheel and split tyre cost the family £189.60 ($250) to repair. The legal battle lasted more than a year before the out-of-court settlement was agreed, in which the council paid for the damage to the car, and Mr. Broadbent’s legal costs, with no admission of fault.
However, Mr. Broadbent is one of the few drivers who bother to stay-the-course when trying to claim compensation over pothole damage to vehicles.
Louise Thomas, an insurance expert at price comparison website Confused.com (you have to love a website with a name like that), told the BBC that the majority of drivers end up paying for repairs out of their own pocket because it’s quicker and more convenient, adding that claiming on insurance could also see future premiums rise. “What they should do is go to the council. Councils are responsible for maintaining roads, therefore they’re also responsible for paying out any claims for damage to your vehicle,” she said.
According to the RAC, almost three-quarters of drivers said the condition of local roads they use regularly is poorer than a year ago. The motoring group said its research suggested the problem of potholes was worse in rural areas. It said its own data showed there were more than 25,000 pothole-related breakdowns in the 12 months to the end of June 2024.
The previous Conservative administration had pledged to put an extra £8.3bn towards road maintenance in England over the coming decade. Local councils, who are responsible for local road maintenance, have reported a backlog of repairs costing some £16.3bn.
It seems that potholes, and stories and pictures about them, are going to be with us forever!
