3 weeks of freezing weather leaves many roads in poor condition
Now that the snow and ice has gone from many of the roads in England and Wales, they have left behind another potential hazard for motorists – potholes. With temperatures hovering around freezing for much of the past three weeks, the conditions have been just right to allow many potholes to form.
Potholes are caused when water gets into cracks in the road surface and then freezes and expands. Over many nights of freezing and thawing, these cracks become larger, and void spaces can form under the road surface, eventually shattering the tarmac and causing it to collapse. The material left behind is removed by vehicles that drive over it, creating a hole in the road surface that gets deeper and wider with time. The problem can be particularly bad on roads that have not been properly maintained and haven’t been resurfaced for some time, as older road surfaces tend to have more cracks to allow moisture in.
Potholes pose a danger to all road users. The sudden jolt you get from driving or riding over a pothole could be a distraction at just the wrong moment, or it could even mean you lose control of your vehicle.
It isn’t just concentration and control that can be affected by potholes; poorly maintained roads can cause damage to your vehicle, particularly the suspension. Estimates from motoring groups put the current number of potholes on UK roads at around 1.5 million. In early 2009, a report from the Asphalt Industry Alliance, the body which represents asphalt producers and contractor, said there was already a 13 year backlog of pothole repairs. With the recent cold weather, it is likely this backlog has increased.
Pothole accident compensation
Being involved in an accident as a result of someone else’s negligence can be hard to swallow. Here at Camps Solicitors we know that an accident caused by a badly maintained road surface could have very serious consequences for the people involved, both in terms of injuries and also damage to any vehicles that were involved.
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