Potholes

team47b

There was an article on R4 this morning about how much compensation motorists are claiming for damage to their cars caused by potholes.

So you damage the road and then you can be compensated because of that damage and the compensation comes out of the council's budget that is already not big enough to repair the potholes in the first place

Do you think that cars should pay road tax?

bompington

team47b wrote:

Do you think that cars should pay road tax?

Well, they tried it a long time back but soon rejected the idea.

But seriously, what are you suggesting? That motor traffic should be banned from roads? I think the point is that roads are supposed to be designed and built for motor traffic, a pothole is essentially a failure in the road system

ben@31

Does all vehicle excise duty get spent on roads or is it syphoned off elsewhere?

From my trips abroad. All the worst roads I've seen are in the UK. And then some of the worst were along a national cycle route I frequently use or cycle lanes (the better road surface was to cycle out the cycle lane!!!) The other countries I've visited don't seem to have a problem with providing a good road surface.

If car drivers are claiming for damage. Can cyclists claim for damage wheels too ?

ballysmate

I've seen some shocking roads in USA. They are also concerned about their bridges.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/thousands-o ... -collapse/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati ... t/2358419/

arran77

ben@31 wrote:

Does all vehicle excise duty get spent on roads or is it syphoned off elsewhere?

Its a good job that our resident tax avoidance expert is away playing in the snow otherwise he'd be boring us again by explaining this subject

team47b

bompington wrote:

team47b wrote:

Do you think that cars should pay road tax?

But seriously, what are you suggesting?

...that roads are paid for out of central government funds and as you say a failure in the road is shoddy work and should be paid for out of central funds not local council or there are more vehicles now using the road than was originally envisaged so roads need to be built better to cope and this needs to be paid for out of increased taxation and it seems logical that these vehicles should pay this tax.

But I am not serious about this issue as YOU pay for our roads and they are very nice, thank you

bompington

team47b wrote:

But I am not serious about this issue as YOU pay for our roads and they are very nice, thank you

Whenever I travel on the continent and enjoy the beautifully-made roads there, it always gives me a nice warm feeling that my tax gets spent on something so worthwhile. :evil:

southdownswolf

team47b wrote:

...or there are more vehicles now using the road than was originally envisaged so roads need to be built better to cope

Disagree with this to a certain degree... more should be done to stop people driving needless journeys in their cars.

ai_1

If the state is providing roads for the use of cars they should be fit for purpose. Surely the reason (at least in theory) that motor vehicles pay motor tax and bikes, pedestrians, etc don't pay an equivalent is because motor vehicles require larger, stronger paved surfaces and regular maintenance. Motor vehicles damage roads, the heavier and more powerful the more damage they do. Pedestrians and bikes on the other hand, cause negligible wear and tear.
Most cyclists will have heard the standard motorist complaint that they have to share the road with cyclists who don't pay "road" tax. Well, this is the reason that argument is invalid if you ask me.

Ouija

And yet motorists don't pay road tax. They pay VED which isn't a tax for using the roads or is spent on maintaining the roads.

Pross

Cars don't cause potholes. Road pavement construction is designed (or should be) for a ife span of around 20 years (now up to 40 for trunk roads) based on how many million 'standard axles' it will carry. A car is so negligible in its damage factor that they aren't even used in the design process which is based on number of goods vehicles. Potholes are caused by a combination of poor initial construction, poor maintenance (not enough minor maintenance in the early part of the surafce's life) and too much heavy traffic. It always makes me laugh when you hear people say that cyclists should pay 'road tax' as they help wear the road out as well - even my vast bulk going back and forwards over a section for my whole life wouldn't make an impact!

mamba80

this is just my pet theory...

Surface water run off has increased dramatically, wetter winters, agricultural practices, drain and water ways are not kept clear and modern gardens are tarmacked over, combined with less road mtce means more pot holes, this is made worse by the repairs done, which are often very short term, last maybe a few months - our roads are literally being washed away.
there is also the issue of utilities digging up the roads, no matter what the subsequent repair is, it never lasts and is often the site of potholes.
Cornwall CC recently did some really good road repairs on a B road, resurfaced whole sections of tarmac, within 6 months BT have put in several miles of fibre, right through the new sections of road

markhewitt1978

Roads don't require cars to fall apart. It's notable on stretches of road which have been closed off and no longer used by cars just how quickly the surface deteriorates, often due to plant growth. There's a stretch on the C2C in Washington which was closed to cars just a few years ago and is now almost unridable as the surface is so bad.

ai_1

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Roads don't require cars to fall apart. It's notable on stretches of road which have been closed off and no longer used by cars just how quickly the surface deteriorates, often due to plant growth. There's a stretch on the C2C in Washington which was closed to cars just a few years ago and is now almost unridable as the surface is so bad.

Very true.
Vegetation, freeze/thaw cycles and flowing water are all huge factor in erosion of roads and other structures which can get worse when they're not in use.

team47b

A hole is dug in a British road on average every 10.5 seconds...FACT :shock:

briantrumpet

Before I go praising the state of French roads, I need to remind myself that I pay £120 in motorway tolls each time I do the Calais to Valence return run. That's a flat rate of 10 cents a kilometre. I'm sure we could reduce the pothole count in Britain if we were happy to pay 15 pence per mile in the UK to drive on motorways ... though I'm not sure we'd be happy.

Oh, and if you enjoy potholes, take a trip to Lazio ... I'm not sure where the money's going, but it's not going into the roads.

ballysmate

team47b wrote:

A hole is dug in a British road on average every 10.5 seconds...FACT :shock:

Not by the workmen around here there isn't. They don't work at anywhere near that rate.

Stevo_666

arran77 wrote:

ben@31 wrote:

Does all vehicle excise duty get spent on roads or is it syphoned off elsewhere?

Its a good job that our resident tax avoidance expert is away playing in the snow otherwise he'd be boring us again by explaining this subject

I wont do that to you arran Bit I am considering getting one of those little windscreen stickers that says 'Yes I've paid my road tax, now go fix some ****ing potholes'.

tlw1

Stevo 666 wrote:

arran77 wrote:

ben@31 wrote:

Does all vehicle excise duty get spent on roads or is it syphoned off elsewhere?

Its a good job that our resident tax avoidance expert is away playing in the snow otherwise he'd be boring us again by explaining this subject

I wont do that to you arran Bit I am considering getting one of those little windscreen stickers that says 'Yes I've paid my road tax, now go fix some ****ing potholes'.

for the hybrid?

Stevo_666

matthew h wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

I wont do that to you arran Bit I am considering getting one of those little windscreen stickers that says 'Yes I've paid my road tax, now go fix some ****ing potholes'.

for the hybrid?

Nope, one's a diesel and the other is petrol