Posted on: October 17, 2018

Councils with the Most Potholes Revealed

You think that the UK might have a problem with potholes? Potholes are responsible for causing £684 million in damage to cars in the UK annually.

It has been revealed that there over 1000,000 potholes in the UK that have not been repaired. Not to mention the number bicyclists that are injured and in some cases killed after colliding with a pothole.

Motorists submit claims for damage caused by potholes every 17 minutes. Britain follows behind Chile and Oman at 27th place in the world for road quality.

Five Of Britain’s Worst Counties For Potholes

  • Surrey has created the most local roads in the UK, the number of reported potholes are nearly twice that of any council in the country. There are 6,700 reported potholes in Surrey county.
  • Kent is next in line with 3,194 potholes to the county’s credit.
  • Hertfordshire county’s roads are littered with 3,124 ruts.
  • Essex comes in with 2,989 bone-jarring potholes for its council to ponder.
  • Lancashire county council is plagued with 2,703 axel breaking potholes littering its roads.

How Potholes Are Formed

Potholes form in cold weather from water that has seeped into the cracks in the asphalt road during wet weather. The weather freezes water turns to ice, the ice expands spreading the crack wider. Come the thaw, and the cracks that have been forced open by the frozen ice are now weak spots in the tarmac. Cars are driving over the weakened pavement cause it to break away, and eventually, potholes form in the roadway.

Why Repair Potholes

One benefit of repairing the potholes that infect the roads of the UK is to reduce accidents. Cars are not swerving to avoid the pothole, which is the cause of many head-on or sideswipe collisions.

Proper and timely pothole repair can allow for a smoother flow of traffic. Patching potholes can reduce the traffic congestion by allowing for less slowing to avoid the pothole. When cars are not slowing or stopping for potholes the chain reaction slows down is eliminated.

County councils are strapped with the cost of repairing the pothole. Repairing potholes cost an extra £8.5 billion on top of what is already spent on roads.

Potholes are a fact of driving on roads in the UK, as soon as one pothole is patched another one pops up. It is a never-ending battle, county councils may not break even in the war against potholes.

The Dangers Of Hitting A Pothole

Tyres:

When your car hits a pothole, the tyres are the first to make contact. The tyre impacting the pothole can create enough pressure to cause the tyre to lose air. If the impact is severe enough a sidewall can blow out. A blown tyre could jerk the steering to one side or the other and over correcting the steering wheel can result in an accident. At the least the tyre could end up with a bulge in the sidewall, requiring the tyre to be replaced.

Wheels:

A deep pothole with its hard angles can cause wheel damage. The wheel can bend or crack as a result of hitting a pothole.  Look for damage where the rim meets the tyre. A bent wheel will roll unevenly causing tyre wear and steering alignment problems.

A wheel showing severe damage, pieces have broken off, deep dents in the metal and the wheel should be replaced.

Steering And Suspension:

After a few collisions with potholes and the car is pulling right or left there is a good chance that the steering is out of alignment. An out of alignment suspension system can cause premature wear on the tyres. Have your car’s steering and suspension checked by a qualified mechanic. Sometimes auto shops run specials on alignments during pothole season.

 

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