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Dozens of cyclists a year injured by minor potholes Dozens of cyclists a year injured by minor potholes Dozens of cyclists a year injured by minor potholes Dozens of cyclists a year injured by minor potholes
Potholes

Dozens of cyclists a year injured by minor potholes

What can be done about holes the council say are 'too small' to fix?...
by Sarah Barth
Sat, Nov 11, 2017 11:57
9

Nearly 100 cyclists a year are injured by potholes that the council deems too small to fix, leading to calls to invest in Britain’s roads.

Figures from the Department for Transport, analysed by the Times, show that “poor or defective” have led to 467 cyclist injuries over the last five years.

The paper highlighted the case of Iain Turnbull, 59, who was left with concussion and cuts after going over his handlebars on a pothole.

He was refused compensation by North Yorkshire county council, as the road had been inspected a week earlier and ‘no defects’ found.

The pothole that caused the injury was only 3cm deep.

Mr Turnbull said: “The councils are just not held accountable. Surface conditions are pretty dire. You have to be very aware of what you’re riding on. Road conditions are certainly getting worse.”

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “We are giving councils record levels of capital funding — more than £7.1 billion up to 2021 — to improve local roads and repair potholes. It is vital councils spend this to keep roads in good condition to keep all users safe, especially cyclists.”

Martin Tett, a transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils are doing all they can to make sure that our local roads are as safe as possible. They’re filling a pothole every 19 seconds, and take road safety extremely seriously.

“However, it would take councils £12 billion and more than a decade to tackle our current road repair backlog. Only funding from central government can help bridge the gap.”

Earlier this year we reported how new analysis indicated the repair bill for potholes could reach £14bn within two years. To reverse the trend, the Local Government Association (LGA) is calling for the Government to inject a further £1bn a year into roads maintenance.

The LGA cites the Asphalt Industry Alliance’s (AIA), annual ALARM survey, which says the overall repair figure has grown from £9.8bn in 2012 to £11.8bn last year. It is projected to rise to £14bn by 2019.

The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, says such a figure would be more than three times councils' annual spending on highways and transport, which is currently £4.4bn.

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9 comments

Avatar
Samtheeagle | 7 years ago
2 likes

The Government have cut taxes and diminished council budgets by 30%+ since 2010.  What do we expect the roads to be like. 

Avatar
Deeferdonk | 7 years ago
3 likes

Best try the "Wanksy" solution. Take a can of spray paint and draw a crude penis around the offending pothole. Gets fixed quicker.
https://www.boredpanda.com/wanksy-penis-pothole-graffiti-manchester-engl...

Avatar
burtthebike | 7 years ago
1 like

CUK has the answer: Fillthathole website, where you can report a pothole, or use an app on your mobile phone.  Once it's been reported there, the council cannot deny knowledge which makes getting recompense rather easier.

I've used it several times and found that the council has fairly quickly responded.

https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

Avatar
ChrisB200SX replied to burtthebike | 7 years ago
1 like

burtthebike wrote:

CUK has the answer: Fillthathole website, where you can report a pothole, or use an app on your mobile phone.  Once it's been reported there, the council cannot deny knowledge which makes getting recompense rather easier.

I've used it several times and found that the council has fairly quickly responded.

https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

Doesn't really help if the council turn up, look at it and then say it's not a hole worth filling in. It begs the questions though:
"Why do they not value the lives of cyclists?"

Avatar
burtthebike replied to ChrisB200SX | 7 years ago
2 likes

ChrisB200SX wrote:

burtthebike wrote:

CUK has the answer: Fillthathole website, where you can report a pothole, or use an app on your mobile phone.  Once it's been reported there, the council cannot deny knowledge which makes getting recompense rather easier.

I've used it several times and found that the council has fairly quickly responded.

https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

Doesn't really help if the council turn up, look at it and then say it's not a hole worth filling in. It begs the questions though:
"Why do they not value the lives of cyclists?"

Actually it helps a lot.  If the council think that a cyclist is going to sue them, and the cyclist has evidence that the fault has been reported, they're going to fill in the pothole.  If they don't fill it in and a cyclist is injured or killed, heads would roll as well as costing them potentially millions.  They've repaired every pothole I've reported to them using fillthathole.

Avatar
Grahamd | 7 years ago
1 like

Let the roads turn to shit and spend the money on proper cycling infrastructure instead. 

Avatar
Beecho replied to Grahamd | 7 years ago
3 likes

Grahamd wrote:

Let the roads turn to shit and spend the money on proper cycling infrastructure instead. 

This is road.cc

 

Avatar
clayfit | 7 years ago
1 like

Uk road surfaces are by far the worst in western Europe and on a par with central European countries.  Shameful.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to clayfit | 7 years ago
1 like

clayfit wrote:

Uk road surfaces are by far the worst in western Europe and on a par with central European countries.  Shameful.

Having ridden in Lens and around that area through villages for a few days back in May I can tell you with all honesty that the roads in Lens itself were absolutely shocking and the worst I'd ever experienced this side of the iron curtain. Even on the country roads they were no better than here in the UK. Some countries are worse, some better but coming off after hitting a 3cm 'deep' pothole is pretty rare and I'd think unless in total darkness not generally an issue even on narrow tyres.

If you want to force the issue with LA then always use the stated law when referencing to the complaint about the state of the road.

That being if a way is easily seen to be out of repair to the ordinary person then the responsible person/s have a lawful duty to repair/maintain it so that it is safe for ALL road users including people on bikes/foot/wheelchair/equestrians etc.

You can serve notice to the LA/person responsible regarding a way 9or bridge) out of repair and they have a month to respond to admit they are responsible and take action. if they don't you can take proceedings to a magistrates court and get a court order to force them to act.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/56.

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