Potholes: Traffic Calming Measures by Arti Manani

Nearly three months on and motorists are still feeling the effects of January’s cold snaps.

Last month, research from AA Insurance found that the cold snaps earlier this year had led to a significant rise in the number of potholes on Britain’s roads.

According to the insurance provider, the number of potholes in the UK increased to an estimated 1.5 million.

And as councils struggle to find enough funding to repair all of the potholes during the current financial crisis, motorists have instead been advised on the damage hitting a pothole could do to their pockets.

Repairing pothole damage

With the growing numbers of potholes on Britain’s roads, van insurance customers could find themselves forking out thousands of pounds for repairs.

According to the campaign group, Potholes.co.uk, motorists are spending approximately £1 million a day on repairing the damages made to their vehicle after hitting a pothole.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, warned that vehicles "with alloy wheels and low-profile tyres are particularly prone to damage while some potholes are so huge that they cause damage to valances and sills, rupture suspension and steering and even rip off exhaust systems."

However, it’s those further North who have the most to be worried about, according to research.

Research by Warranty Direct revealed that half of Britain’s pothole hotspots lie in Scotland and the north of England, while the least are in Oxfordshire.

Duncan McClure Fisher, spokesperson for the campaigning website, Potholes.co.uk said: "Either continuous driving over cracked or uneven road surfaces, or the sudden jolting of a deep pothole, can cause damage to shock absorbers, springs, upper and lower arms and stabiliser bars, and this appears to be happening more in Scotland than anywhere else.

Whether this is due to colder weather causing more Northern roads to crack or just poor maintenance, it seems to underline a clear difference in the condition of highways across the country."

AA President Edmund King added: "Once again the fabric of our local roads is a major cause for concern with surfaces crumbling and drivers and riders at risk of damage to their vehicles and even themselves. We did indeed suffer an unusually severe winter but the poor state of our local roads has visibly become worse.”

Council refusing to fix the problem

And to make matters worse, according to Potholes.co.uk, an Essex council believe that potholes can be used as a “traffic calming measure” and as a result, failed to repair a number of them.

Mr Fisher stated that the idea was “unbelievable” as these potholes cause risk to motorists and cyclists.

He said that refusing to fill the potholes would mean that "drivers in the area would be exposed to dangerous driving conditions.”

As a result of the growing number of potholes, more money has been spent on compensating those who have had their vehicles damaged by a pothole.

And with a growing number of insurance claims being made related to pothole, motorists are being advised to ensure they check their car insurance cover.

About The Author

Want to find the cheapest van insurance quotes? Don't hesitate, speak to one of our insurance experts today.

http://www.onlyinsurance.com