Rant: State of our (UK) roads

[dazzie]

Is it me or are our roads getting a bit beyond a joke now? I honestly feel like I spend the majority of my ride to Uni staring at the road attempting to avoid the worst bits (instead of looking out for red lights / cars pulling out on me / pedestrians / aliens).

When I was a kid and at Uni (13 years ago now) I rode all the time and I honestly can't remember the roads being so bad. I wonder how much of our road tax actually goes to repairing the roads and paths along side the roads?

There's been a few close calls already in two weeks where a car has overtaken me just as I swerve to avoid a pothole and it's a bit scary to say the least! What do I do, just ride into the holes and pray that I stay on and the wheels don't buckle or swerve and hope a car / van / lorry doesn't knock me under their wheels?

Daz

 

[flecc]

Yes, the standards are really terrible all over the country, getting ever worse as local authorities are financially squeezed and the DfT have their budget limited for major road maintenance.

The Road Fund tax is a lost cause, diverted for other purposes well over half a century ago, and in any case it's only a tiny part of the taxation on road users.

All taxes no matter how labelled go into one big pot, and thats divided according to the political agenda of the day to gain maximum electoral advantage. The emotional issues like health, social services and education will always be the winners in such a contest. Another great drain on the pot is caused by our slavish obedience to US requirements to take part in their wars and buy ridiculous functionless hardware like Trident.
.

 

[Barnowl]

Yes I've noticed it to. Some of them are enormous. Maybe it's the cold weather and freezing temperatures we've had lately. Probably takes a while to catch up with repairs.

 

[frank9755]

I think the road fund (from tax discs) wouldn't cover even 10% of the roads budget nowadays.

We're really lucky as our local council has had a year of catch-up on road maintenance and is re-surfacing a lot of them. There's one in particular that I had almost started avoiding because the surface was so bad, and it is bliss now it's been re-done - but there are others still terrible in the other boroughs. Central London is very bad, with bits of Oxford Street having furrows in like a ploughed field.

My pet hate is utilities who dig up the road then make a shoddy repair, which sinks and cracks within a few days. I don't know if councils fine them for this but it would be reasonable to do so, and pay a competent contractor to fix the mess.

 

[fishingpaul]

I think the road fund (from tax discs) wouldn't cover even 10% of the roads budget nowadays.

We're really lucky as our local council has had a year of catch-up on road maintenance and is re-surfacing a lot of them. There's one in particular that I had almost started avoiding because the surface was so bad, and it is bliss now it's been re-done - but there are others still terrible in the other boroughs. Central London is very bad, with bits of Oxford Street having furrows in like a ploughed field.

My pet hate is utilities who dig up the road then make a shoddy repair, which sinks and cracks within a few days. I don't know if councils fine them for this but it would be reasonable to do so, and pay a competent contractor to fix the mess.

I think the cashflow from speed cameras would more than cover repairs,revenue from motorists is seldom put back into roads etc.

 

[The Maestro]

I've been cycling to the same workplace for 8 years (although only for the last 9 months on a daily basis) and I seem to be able to find a new pothole every day.

Lots of information has been coming out recently about how local authorities and councils waste money, much of it on middle management salaries.

 

[Phil the drill]

Sooo... maybe a good time to revisit the issue of decent suspension on bikes (I do stress the word decent tho..)

Phil

 

[flecc]

Sooo... maybe a good time to revisit the issue of decent suspension on bikes (I do stress the word decent tho..)

Phil

It's not a solution though, good suspension although ok for uneven surfaces doesn't handle the sharp edges of potholes well, even cars suffering damage from them.
.

 

[Footie]

Different point of view

There’s usually a logical reason for a pothole to appear, badly maintained vehicals is one.
Do people ever realise that in many cases it’s in fact their own fault?
We regularly get holes appear in our schools driveway and it’s always either sides of the speed bumps on the road. Why? Well it’s because silly drivers drive too fast over the ramps. You should hear the bottom of the engines smash the humps (if my wife drove my car like that I'd take the keys away from her). The violent up and down motion acts like a dog shaking it’s wet fur and off comes all the leaked oil from their badly maintained 4x4’s in one spot – and it’s the same car, after car, after car. Anyone in the know knows oil breaks down tarmac - and then they have the audacity to blame everyone else.

That's my little rant over
.

 

[torrent99]

There’s usually a logical reason for a pothole to appear, badly maintained vehicals is one.
Do people ever realise that in many cases it’s in fact their own fault?
We regularly get holes appear in our schools driveway and it’s always either sides of the speed bumps on the road. Why? Well it’s because silly drivers drive too fast over the ramps. You should hear the bottom of the engines smash the humps (if my wife drove my car like that I'd take the keys away from her). The violent up and down motion acts like a dog shaking it’s wet fur and off comes all the leaked oil from their badly maintained 4x4’s in one spot – and it’s the same car, after car, after car. Anyone in the know knows oil breaks down tarmac - and then they have the audacity to blame everyone else.

That's my little rant over
.

Well if the council didn't spend all their road budget putting in unnecessary speed humps...

 

[bogmonster]

The violent up and down motion acts like a dog shaking it’s wet fur and off comes all the leaked oil from their badly maintained 4x4’s in one spot.

I think Land Rovers are designed to let a little oil seep out of the transmission. It splashes around the chassis and stops too much rust taking hold And anyway, speed bumps are evil. Many are too high and scrape cars whatever speed they go over them. The square ones are especially bad as the tend to splay the wheels and push the tracking out. Speed ramps should not be placed on roads with 20 mph+ speed limits. If 20mph is too fast for the road then reduce the speed limt.

I don't have an issue where sensible sized speed ramps are placed on 10mph access roads but that's it.

As for the state of the roads, most of the issues around here are a plain and simple lack of maintainence. On my old car I used to have to change the front wishbones every 12 to 18 months due to state of the roads. And even when the roads are resurfaced the strom drains are often not raised which is very dangerous and destructive for bikes.

Next time my car or bike is damaged, or heaven forbid me, due to the state of the roads I will seek compensation from the council.

Incidently, the roads by my house (which is way out in the sticks where farm machinery and 4x4s make up about half the traffic) are in much better condition than the main roads near Bath where I work. 4x4 are not the problem. Agreed, they are not good machines for a city school run but they have their place and have become too easy a target. I need a 4x4 to get to my house some times in the winter. As it hapens it is a 1.5l hatchback. Many of my neighbours need 4x4s to get to their farms, move livestock etc. And I don't care how practical ebikes are, try towing a trailer full of calves with it.

BM

 

[frank9755]

There’s usually a logical reason for a pothole to appear, badly maintained vehicals is one.
Do people ever realise that in many cases it’s in fact their own fault?
We regularly get holes appear in our schools driveway and it’s always either sides of the speed bumps on the road. Why? Well it’s because silly drivers drive too fast over the ramps. You should hear the bottom of the engines smash the humps (if my wife drove my car like that I'd take the keys away from her). The violent up and down motion acts like a dog shaking it’s wet fur and off comes all the leaked oil from their badly maintained 4x4’s in one spot – and it’s the same car, after car, after car. Anyone in the know knows oil breaks down tarmac - and then they have the audacity to blame everyone else.

That's my little rant over
.

Speed bump design is important here. This is particularly important for cyclists but would also minimise this jerking of the car and consequent oil damage.
Best practice is for humps to be sinusoidal, so curve is smooth, avoiding this jerk when the car hits it. Unfortunately many councils are still putting in the rough old arched ones.

 

[WALKERMAN]

I think the road fund (from tax discs) wouldn't cover even 10% of the roads budget nowadays.

We're really lucky as our local council has had a year of catch-up on road maintenance and is re-surfacing a lot of them. There's one in particular that I had almost started avoiding because the surface was so bad, and it is bliss now it's been re-done - but there are others still terrible in the other boroughs. Central London is very bad, with bits of Oxford Street having furrows in like a ploughed field.

My pet hate is utilities who dig up the road then make a shoddy repair, which sinks and cracks within a few days. I don't know if councils fine them for this but it would be reasonable to do so, and pay a competent contractor to fix the mess.

Last year all along my route they started digging up the roads to renew pipework and they also dug up various places to put in new street lighting. The resulting repairs (by a major cotractor) were appalling.

One long stretch had a metre wide repair which resembled a corrugated sheet surface and joggled me to bits as I rode along it.

I complained to the local council and a few weeks later the surface was dug up and relaid. It is an improvement but not as flat as when they used to use proper heavy 'steam rollers'.

 

[flecc]

I complained to the local council and a few weeks later the surface was dug up and relaid. It is an improvement but not as flat as when they used to use proper heavy 'steam rollers'.

How true that is. Modern small vibrating rollers rarely seem to achieve the same smoothness of surface that the old 7 ton large road rollers did. I suspect the skill of the operator comes in to it as well though, the roller drivers of old probably doing the job continuously over years.
.

 

[loubyloo]

Pot hole Despair

My second E bike was away for 10 months after I buckled a wheel hitting a pot hole which i coudnt avoid due to an overtaking car . 2 months later after I said I didnt want the bike back due to the problems am still trying to sort a solution.

 

[tillson]

Some of the A roads that I cycle along on my way to work are so rutted that I have to stand on the pedals to get over them. The B roads are just downright dangerous. There is one quite steep downhill stretch with a sharp 90 degree bend at the bottom. There are so many potholes that it is almost impossible to brake properly to get around the corner.

But I suppose that in countries like Niger, Ethiopia, Britain, Malawi and Somalia this is all that we can afford to spend on our roads. In Britain’s case, not through poverty though. Oh no no no, but because the government shovels all the money into the pockets of the unworthy and pisses the rest away on shite.

That's my little rant over. I feel a bit better now. Thank you.

 

[WALKERMAN]

Some years ago I went to Sri Lanka for a holiday. The roads there are bad and very congested with all sorts of traffic including elephants, ox-carts. The coach we were on took 3 hours to do 50 miles.

I think we in the UK will be doing similar times the way the roads are being allowed to deteriorate and where obstacles have been placed in the roads such as speed humps, etc.

 

[the_killjoy]

People buy 4X4 because of the poor roads ~ and it means you don't have to slow down for the speed bumps.

 

[frank9755]

How true that is. Modern small vibrating rollers rarely seem to achieve the same smoothness of surface that the old 7 ton large road rollers did. I suspect the skill of the operator comes in to it as well though, the roller drivers of old probably doing the job continuously over years.
.

Agree with that - the surface of the new ones is not up to the standards they used to be.
The other thing that is not done well is accomodating the ironmongery in the road. In my area there are lots of gratings and manholes which are usually below the surface and often at an angle.

 

[flecc]

The other thing that is not done well is accomodating the ironmongery in the road. In my area there are lots of gratings and manholes which are usually below the surface and often at an angle.

A menace round here too. Continuous streams of cars keeping one in the narrow cycle lane only to get presented with a crater where the drain grid is up to two inches below the surface.
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