Potholes are an increasing problem on Britain’s roads causing damage to vehicles and presenting a potential safety hazard. Initially, potholes are caused when moisture gets into the cracks in the road which expands when it freezes. Although it is simple to repair a pothole the person responsible for organising repairs has three options:

● Leave the hole.
(It does not take long for a small pothole to increase in size and become a hazard to all road users.)

● Fill the hole with a cheap bitumen based filler.
(A ‘quick-fix’ solution is to fill the hole with a cheap; bitumen based filler although this type of repair often fails in just a few weeks.)

● Fill the hole with Uretech RRS.
(Uretech RRS is a truly permanent repair system that is guaranteed to outlast the surrounding road surface. Unlike bitumen based products that fix the problem for just a matter of weeks Uretech RRS is a ‘one-fix’ solution that will not require additional repairs. It is not affected by frost heave, does not break up and is a permanent solution to the UKs pothole crisis.)

The RAC believes the rise in potholes across the UK has stemmed from many cash-strapped councils’ reactive ‘patch and dash’ approach which means rather than resurfacing roads properly, potholes are repaired individually in a hurry, and sometimes in wet weather, leading to them quickly breaking down and reappearing. Planned preventative road maintenance would, in the longer-term, be a more efficient and cost-effective way of dealing with the issue.


Click image to enlarge.

Damage caused by potholes.
According to ATS Euromaster, hitting a pothole can cause a number of wheel and tyre problems. Initial impact on a vehicle can cause buckled wheels, cracks, lumps in the tyre, cracked alloys and it can knock out the tracking and wheel balancing. A recent report found that a third of all recorded vehicle damage is as a result of potholes. In more severe cases, it could lead to drivers losing control of their vehicles and being involved in an accident.

Pothole Statistics.

● Potholes account for a third of vehicle mechanical issues on UK roads and costs British motorists an estimated £2.8 billion every year.

● Authorities currently pay out more than £30 million in compensation claims due to poor roads.

● Road maintenance in England and Wales is underfunded by around 55%, or £1 billion every year.

● At current maintenance levels, the average frequency for a road to be resurfaced in England is once every 54 years. In Wales it is once every 107 years.

● If all authorities were given the budgets they need to fix their roads, it would take English authorities 12 years to catch up with the current backlog, and Welsh authorities 14 years.

● The minimum depth for a hole to be defined as a pothole is 40mm.

● It costs an average of £58 to fill a pothole.

● In the UK, a car is damaged by a pothole every 11 minutes.

Summery:
The short term view of paying £58 to fix a pothole with material that will require replacing in just a matter of months results in the UK’s pothole crisis getting worse. A one time, permanent fix costing an extra £10 would see the number of potholes reducing and make vast full-life cost savings. Uretech RRS pothole repair is simple to install, guaranteed to outlast the road on which it is used and provides a truly permanent repair.

The Highways Agency, which is responsible for motorways and major trunk roads in England, gives advice on how to claim for damage sustained by potholes on its website.

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