Inside Line
One for the pot... hole, that is...
Thankfully it hasn’t happened a lot in my motorcycling life, but when I have fallen off a bike (providing I haven’t been hurt) the first thing I try to do is find out exactly why I’ve fallen off. I like to be able to make sense of why I fell. Now, if I’m being honest here there’s a very high percentage where the fault lies absolutely with me.
I’ve tried to take a corner too fast for the conditions, I’ve hit the brakes too hard, I’ve been a bit of a knob.
But as long as nobody is hurt then it all comes down to a learning experience and I try to understand what happened so I can make sure it doesn’t happen again.
When it’s because I’ve ridden like a wally then that’s something that can be worked on. Don’t do that again, TC. Look at the mess you’ve made of that, TC. You fool, TC.
So, a simple rule. But yesterday I nearly ended up stacking a bike because of something that wasn’t my fault at all. Not a dozy car driving company rep talking to Marcus in sales about a deal to import a new range of paper punches, not a distracted mum driving around in a four-wheeled equivalent of a crèche, none of those worries. This was a series of deep holes that have sprang up from the middle of the road.
There’s been quite a run of stories in the local and national news recently about the crumbing state of Britain’s roads.
Following the big freeze, a lot of our roads have been left littered with potholes. With the cold winter we had, the water worked its way into small cracks in the surface and then froze as ice. The ice expands and contracts as the temperatures rise and fall in the natural course of the day. As it does then, like a crowbar on a door frame being rocked back and forth, it causes cracks and corroding of the surface.
And then, as traffic uses the road it opens up and gives birth to a pothole which can quickly get bigger.
In February 2009 the AA estimated that there were 1.5 million extra potholes created because of that patch of very cold weather. Now the AA Head of Roads policy Paul Watters has said that the recent cold snap could mean figures that are much worse. Much worse than 1.5 million more potholes!
Watters has been very vocal about councils being too focussed on ‘patching up’ surfaces rather than rebuilding highways and while I agree with him, we as bikers really need that ‘patching up’ as well as better roads.
Insurance claims have rocketed because of potholes too. According to the Association of British Insurers, by up to three times.
Last April the Asphalt Industry Alliance (a great name, I expect they all fly around the skies together in costumes and capes putting right the wrongs of the road surface with their lazer vision) said that there was a pothole for every 120 yards of road in England and Wales.
They added that, as of the report 11 months ago, it would take 13 years to clear the backlog.
13 years!
Director of the RAC Foundation, Professor Stephen Glaister said: “Potholes are not just about inconvenience. They damage vehicles and cause accidents. It is wrong to think doing nothing is the easy option. In previous years councils have spent almost as much money dealing with compensation claims as fixing the problem.”
Which is a very succinct way of identifying the problem here, or at least the very nub of the problem as I see it. Money.
We all know that money’s tight. With the state of finances all over the country in the position they are then every penny must be accounted for.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, has said that its members spent more than £60m filling in around 970,000 potholes last year, which is a lot of money, no matter how you slice it.
But let me ask them this, what price is right to save lives?
As motorcyclists we are far more susceptible to potholes and the very big problems they can cause for us. Yes, it might take money to sort the issue out short-term and more money to make the matter longer-lasting but the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.
This is a very real danger that motorcyclists face right now and we want our councils to sort this out, pronto.
Like I said at the beginning, I want to know why I fall off a bike when I do. If it’s my fault then I’ll try to understand what I did wrong and ensure that I don’t do it again.
But if I’m brought down by a hole in the road that’s not been fixed because some bean-counter says it’s too expensive then he’d better not wish I actually get my hands on him.
We’d like to know what the roads are like around your way, if there’s a pothole that beggars belief then take a photo and send it to me at: tcarter@mortons.co.uk and we’ll see what the councils have to say for themselves when presented with the evidence.
Have a safe ride.
Tony Carter
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