Potholes - January 2010

This regularly updated section of the HomeApproved web site will cover the latest trends, research, opinion and developments in the UK car insurance sector. 

The Continuing Rise of Disgraceful Levels of Potholes on UK Roads
Yes we know that the recent cold weather with heavy snow falling on most parts of the UK can make the conditions of our roads worse but....

The conditions of roads in the UK and West Sussex in particular is shameful. Experts in road surfacing suggest that the type of road seen most often in the UK needs to be re-surfaced every 25 years. The average length of time a road is re-surfaced in the UK is - wait for it.... Every 80 years!? This fact goes along way to explain the appalling state of the roads that we now see in particular in and around towns and villages.

Motorists are now being warned, particularly by motor insurance companies of the dangers posed by potholes in the road. The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has also said that drivers should expect improving (weather) conditions to reveal further damage to roads, caused by the expansion of water as it freezes inside cracks in the tarmac.

The Institute of Civil Engineers highlighted the damage caused by so-called "freeze-thaw" cycles of cold and warmer weather, calling on the Government to help maintain roads as a "vital asset". The Local Government Association (LGA) said that councils were "working flat out" to repair damage caused by the weather. I would imagine that most people know what a pothole is but here is a Wikipedia definition just in case

Pothole
Pothole is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole. Most potholes are formed due to fatigue of the pavement surface.

As fatigue fractures develop they typically interlock in a pattern known as "alligator cracking". The chunks of pavement between fatigue cracks are worked loose and may eventually be picked out of the surface by continued wheel loads, thus forming a pothole:

• Potholes are now estimated to cause as many as 1 in 5 mechanical failures on UK roads and costing motorists an estimated £320 million every year.
• Potholes are a major factor in causing axle & suspension failure, which costs British motorists an estimated £2.8 billion every year.
• Authorities currently pay out more than £50 million in compensation claims due to poor roads.
• Road maintenance in England and Wales is under funded by around 50%, or £1 billion every year (see the statistic in the second paragraph).

ENDS

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