Author Topic: Potholes  (Read 3181 times)

guest5079

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Potholes
« on: February 17, 2018, 11:15:10 AM »
As with the rest of the country our roads are pickled with potholes.
On Thursday, we followed a Devon Highways truck at about 25 mph with highways maintenance written on the back and something about 'road surface inspection unit'. Ididn't take much notice as I was concentrating on passing it and avoiding the potholes on the other carriageway. Friday, going the opposite way, around a bend nice big pothole in line of wheels, tried to brake and avoid it but traffic coming the opposite way so bang I hit it. On inspection I can see a nice big scuff on the side of the N/S/Front tyre, so another £25 to have the tracking checked.
What really makes me tick is the habit of the so called road men who fill in one pothole and leave the one immediately alongside it. Their excuse is they only have paperwork for one. Why oh Why cannot local authorities just get a grip and when sending these 'teams' out to repair the road use some common sense. After all if they filled BOTH in at the same time, it would save transport if nothing else.
On my patch I had a good working relationship with the local roadmen. One day I saw one without the other and on enquiring, I was told they had been split up for showing too much initiative.

MartinJG

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2018, 12:30:18 PM »
auntyneddy

Because we are in the grip of idiots. We have ourselves to blame for not putting our feet down. Meanwhile, more aid to the rest of the world, presumably to fix their potholes of one kind or another...

culzean

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2018, 12:54:19 PM »
On my patch I had a good working relationship with the local roadmen. One day I saw one without the other and on enquiring, I was told they had been split up for showing too much initiative.

Showing initiative as a local council / government employee is definitely frowned upon - they do not like initiative as it makes other employees and bosses look bad.  The waste of money even these days in local councils is staggering, they normally send one or two people out to mark the potholes and make a report and then another team with a lorry and a load of tarmac to patch up the holes.  on a dispatches or similar program a few months ago a reporter went round some councils asking why they had spent over £1million pounds (of ratepayers money) in some cases getting 'efficiency' report from people like Price-Waterhouse Cooper and other financial institutions when they came back full of buzzwords and were something a 5 year old could have written (I think they just copied and pasted from reports they had done for other councils and changed the name of the customer).  When he asked the head of one of the 'consultant' companies about it he simply said getting money out of private sector was hard these days as they are all clued up,  but getting money from county and city councils 'was like taking candy from a baby' - they were clueless.  Even the NHS regularly commissions these reports from people like PWC.   Considering heads of councils can easily be paid twice as much as our prime minister or chancellor of exchequer  I think it is scandalous that they need this kind of thing and are not clued up enough to figure savings out for themselves.  Anyone noticed local councils always cut the things people notice the most - like potholes, cleaning road signs, street cleaning, police patrols etc.

They have found in our area that a lot of dumped / fly tipped rubbish may well have been collected by council and handed over to dodgy contractors to dispose of - makes you wonder why council tax is so high.
Some people will only consider you an expert if they agree with your point of view or advice,  when you give them advice they don't like they consider you an idiot

MartinJG

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2018, 01:32:59 PM »

As always, politics and barmy bureacracy. The 'guvverment' employs a large chunk of the workforce in its various guises which is mainly funded by debt (someone else's problem). That's a lot of votes and Turkeys don't vote for Xmas.

As for the pothole procrastination in our area, I am assured the Highway Wotsits are looking into them. Well that's great but it would be a good idea if someone actually filled them. Soon. There is a stretch of road near me where the surface is so bad I have developed a series of manouevres to avoid testing the Jazz suspension.

 

Jocko

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2018, 02:38:33 PM »
We are not too bad for potholes round here, but then we don't have the traffic volumes. Fife Council has an online form for reporting potholes. The couple I have reported were repaired the next day and now the entire road has been relaid, and they have removed all the speed bumps too (20 mph zone)! It was the speed bumps that seemed to cause the potholes.

culzean

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2018, 02:56:36 PM »
We are not too bad for potholes round here, but then we don't have the traffic volumes. Fife Council has an online form for reporting potholes. The couple I have reported were repaired the next day and now the entire road has been relaid, and they have removed all the speed bumps too (20 mph zone)! It was the speed bumps that seemed to cause the potholes.

A load of speed bumps, chicanes and other 'traffic calming' (don't calm drivers though) have been taken out in our area and replaced by 20mph speed limits - seems like a fair exchange to me as we used to avoid some villages due to traffic calming, one place had 11 full width speed bumps in half a mile - not too bad on motorbike just lift your bum off the seat and put weight on foot pegs and you can go over them pretty fast,  but a nightmare in a car (not to mention patients in ambulances).
Some people will only consider you an expert if they agree with your point of view or advice,  when you give them advice they don't like they consider you an idiot

peteo48

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2018, 05:53:13 PM »
Culzean is right about management consultants. I worked for the Home Office for a number of years and absolute shedloads of money was spent on private sector consultants during one major re-organisation. The end result was more managers! Then there are the notorious PFI deals where numpties at senior management and political levels tied the NHS, Schools etc etc into ruinously expensive contracts. The effective interest rate is often 8% or more and they managed to tie themselves in to deals where all maintenance had to go through them. This led to the stories of £200 to change a lightbulb.

guest1372

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2018, 06:11:07 PM »
If they are bothering you then do something about it:
https://www.gov.uk/report-pothole

I've reported one on a Friday, it was fixed before I traveled the same way on Monday a.m.  I've phoned in a loose kerbstone in my street (zero traffic) which was inspected and fixed same day.

There are trials with Lidar road surface scanners on bin lorries etc. which may help automate the system somewhat.

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TG

guest5079

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2018, 08:18:47 AM »
I have asked questions re roads etc of Devon County Council and have NEVER even had a reply. This is the general response from authority to any complaint how ever justified.  I spoke to a Road Engineer about a hole outside my home that has been there for at least 15 yrs and the reply was' NOT MY DEPT'. Not even polite.
His van had Devon Highways written on the side. Had been seen previously supervising road resurfacing.
It still doesn't account for the crass stupidity of filling in one hole and leaving the one beside it.
Do you live in the London area TC? I suspect London is pretty good and up to the mark.  The reason I ask for a totally different reason is this.
Here, I live in a small village from dawn to dusk there is a dog barking somewhere. In London, when I queried my Sister in Law as I never heard a dog bark where she lived was, the council is down on it like a rocket. When I was rural bobby, much of my work was complaints re dogs barking which of course was a local authority matter. Usually addressed quickly. Here even the parish clerk is a perp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ColinS

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #9 on: February 18, 2018, 09:23:54 AM »
I live in rural Dorset.  No issues, that I know of, with potholes here.

peteo48

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #10 on: February 18, 2018, 09:46:36 AM »
Picking up on T.G's point, to be fair, our local council isn't that bad at repairing potholes when notified. Our neighbour notified one outside his house and it was repaired with impressive speed. I am a bit lazy on this preferring to moan!

MartinJG

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #11 on: February 18, 2018, 12:11:35 PM »
If they are bothering you then do something about it:
https://www.gov.uk/report-pothole

I've reported one on a Friday, it was fixed before I traveled the same way on Monday a.m.  I've phoned in a loose kerbstone in my street (zero traffic) which was inspected and fixed same day.

There are trials with Lidar road surface scanners on bin lorries etc. which may help automate the system somewhat.

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TG

TG

That's excellent. First time I have seen this. The idea of pinning a map is a great idea. However, I could not find a way of highlighting a stretch of road so I rang the Highways Helpline. Turns out they are not responsible for all roads. It seems small roads are the responsibility of the local council and that means contacting them by phone. Again. Fingers crossed.

Jocko

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #12 on: February 18, 2018, 12:27:51 PM »
My local council (Fife) has an online form for reporting potholes and another for defective streetlamps.

guest1372

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #13 on: February 18, 2018, 06:11:36 PM »
Both reports were in Yorkshire cities, although my oval wheel was caused on a North Circular slip road in London, an absolute breeze block sized hole with no time to manuouvre as it emerged from under the car in front. Had been quite proud that none of my wheels had lead weights, luckily this one was sorted with about 5 or 6 stuck on the back.
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guest5715

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Re: Potholes
« Reply #14 on: February 18, 2018, 08:07:10 PM »
Jeez, wish I lived in Fife! I live in West Sussex and it is truly scandalous. The county council use a contractor to fix holes, but are reluctant to fix anything but the worst because they'll go over the contracted quota. I reported a pothole in a pedestrian crossing last week, in-between the crossing lines. You'd think that warranted fixing so that an older bod didn't fall down, but no, needs to be deeper and wider first, then it will be fixed within one month.

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