Holes in the road that our money runs down
IN A country where more than 80 per cent of passenger miles are on road, it's no surprise that the state of them crops up in conversation a lot.
While there are a lot of urban myths about how bad our roads are – in truth, they are of a much higher standard than they used to be – it looks like drivers may have a point about potholes.
In the space of four years, the numbers of potholes reported to Notts County Council by the public have shot up from just over 2,000 to more than 9,000.
Is that due to a run of bad winters, with freezing temperatures a common cause of ruptured road surfaces? Or are we not investing enough in repairs?
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Whatever the cause, motorists are now paying a bill which goes beyond taxes. If garages are to be believed, more of them are turning up with tyre, wheel and suspension damage caused by hitting potholes.
Local authority budgets are under pressure, and councils will argue that schools and social services must take priority. Few would quibble with that.
But road spending should not be sidelined. We are proud of our transport systems in Notts, and it would be a bitter irony if the part of the system that the vast majority of us still rely on was allowed to fall apart.
Comments
by digbypatch
Monday, February 18 2013, 8:04AM
“The problem is that the amount of money the motorist pays in tax on fuel and VED is not put back into the funds to repair the roads and is spent elsewhere, ie Schools and Hospitals.
Everyone who drives down a pothole should get there camera out and take photographs of the hole, get there car checked out for damage and sue either there local council or county council and when they realise that the motorist is fighting back they might start to do something about the standard of the roads.”