HOLY MOLY...POT HOLE KINGDOM

According to the RAC's Report on Motoring, motorists have reached boiling point over the state of Britain's roads. The RAC first started asking drivers for their feedback on the state of roads in 2015 and concern has reached it's highest point since then - i.e it's been of increasing concern since RAC records began nine years ago.  49%, so practically half of drivers who responded, were angry about it, in fact it is reported to be the single biggest issue of concern this year by a long chalk.

The bad state and poor maintenance of local roads seems to be of particular concern to older drivers with 55% of those aged between 45 and 64 saying that it's their top concern - rising to 59% of over 65s.

Two thirds of drivers surveyed said that the condition of the roads they use regularly, has deteriorated significantly in the last year. Only 4% of those who were asked this year think that the roads have improved.

A huge 97 % of drivers were exercised about road surfaces, mainly worrying about potholes and lack of road surface maintenance, but poor visibility of road signs, litter and faded road markings were also of concern. The problem with the state of the roads is that when road users, and this is particularly dangerous for motorcyclists, see a pothole ahead they are required to take evasive action to avoid an accident, or the possibility of coming off the bike. As many as 35% of drivers and riders have reported having to take, sometimes drastic, evasive action which has on occasion involved veering into another lane, or even the other side of the road. The danger in this reaction is clear but what choice do road users have? The other option, reported by seven in ten road users (69%) is to slow down suddenly when facing a large pothole. Around 37% of vehicles are leaving greater distances between themselves and the vehicle in front to allow a longer stopping time when coming up to a road surface problem. On balance, drivers were more positive about the state of motorways and dual carriageways, but many are still annoyed about the level of deterioration visible in the last year.

Another area of concern, reported by 81% of respondents, is that where roads are being resurfaced the quality is not good enough. The same percentage don't think they are repaired frequently enough to keep up with the volume of traffic they take. Many were also annoyed by the way roadworks are undertaken, sometimes in quick succession on the same road, causing a lot of disruption for a long time, and even then they are often not completed to schedule and the works over run. The backlog in road maintenance is likely due to shortfalls in the funding which is required to keep the roads up to scratch. The latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) Report from March 2023 says that the amount now needed to address the backlog in road maintenance is £14 billion!

Head of policy at the RAC, Simon Williams said:
“Many drivers will be wondering why so many potholes appeared on the country’s local roads in the absence of a particularly cold winter. Sadly, a long-term lack of funding for maintenance and repair work means our roads are in a such a fragile state that it only takes a little rainwater getting into existing flaws followed by some sub-zero temperatures for them to break down further.
“We have to bring the ongoing deterioration of our local roads to an end by giving councils the certainty of funding they need to be able to plan proper maintenance programmes which include resurfacing roads that have gone beyond point where they can be patched up.
“This is why we continue to call on the Government to ringfence 2p from every litre of existing fuel revenues over a five-year period which will give councils the funds they need to be able to plan proper maintenance programmes.
“We have raised this issue with the Secretary of State for Transport and urged the Chancellor in our Autumn Statement submission to shake up his road funding policy, because as it stands the £26bn collected from drivers is currently just another form of general taxation.
“We believe a change in funding strategy is long overdue, not least because England’s major roads receive seven times what local roads are given, despite the fact there are seven times more miles of minor roads.
“It is plain wrong that drivers who contribute billions in tax every year have to put up with roads that are so far from being fit for purpose.”

As we know potholes and bad road surfaces are particularly dangerous for motorcyclists, especially as winter approaches, visibilty declines and bad weather arrives. With the prospect of the roads getting even worse once a bit of water and then subzero temperatures get here, it is not a happy picture heading into the colder months. Let's hope the government heeds the RAC's warning and puts a proper budget in place to solve the problem.

Hands up who has noticed the state of the roads and who thinks real action will be taken by the government to sort them out soon??

Thoughts to...[email protected] or drop us a message on Facebook.