Potholes

by Sampan

23 Mar 2007

When you’re out and driving/riding, YES! Riding, or did you forget, that motorcycles are a legal part of the traffic infrastructure; there’s nothing worse than having an accident. But what makes that accident worse is when it is partly the fault of the council, road maintenance division. I am talking about poorly maintained road surface, and ‘Pot-holes’.

A car can have an accident due to poorly maintained road surfaces, but in comparison to Powered Two Wheelers, they get away with it a percentage of the time. Motorcycle accidents too, are sometimes caused by poor maintenance—because a motorcycle only has two wheels, it is inherently more unstable than a car or a lorry etc, and requires more skill than a car to ride/drive, to ensure safety out on the road. A Pot hole in the road can, and does result in fatal crashes.

When a car hits a pot hole; on most occasions… the driver will hear a thump, coming from the wheel that hits the poorly maintained part of road, or pot hole. The steering can shake, and momentarily the driver looses control. In worse case scenarios the driver can loose control completely, becoming involved in a collision. But normally it is no worse than slight damage to the suspension and nothing more.

On a powered two wheeler this type of scenario completely changes. When a PTW hits a pot hole, over-banding, or an un-even surface. The bike will loose control, and can take the rider some time to regain that control. But that depends on what traffic is moving around him/her. He’s only has two wheels, as opposed to 4 or more, so the instability is far greater than in a car or lorry.

Lets take this a stage further: It’s now a wet day, raining, and the pot hole is full of lying water. The motorcyclist now cannot see that pot hole. Now when his/her wheel hits the hidden hole: It is the sudden shock which de-stabilises the motorcycle and its’ rider; and most probably it will mean the bike and rider sliding across the road. All due to a lack of council motivation, coupled with inadequate resources, and poor house-keeping, to make our roads safer for all! road users.

Bad roads can, and do lead to fatal motorcycle accidents as well. The government can only repair so many roads at a time, and some roads go for years without ever seeing the attention of a road crew. These roads can be treacherous enough to normal cars and trucks, with loose gravel and big potholes that can swallow a tyre whole. If you’re on a motorcycle, that pothole can flip your motorcycle over and throw you onto the street, so you have to be a lot more observant on a motorcycle.

So now I carry a cheap disposal camera, and I will challenge any accident that I believe was caused by poor road maintenance. At the very least it will high-light the councils poor house-keeping, and if they want to pay me compensation, then so be it. But you can bet the compensation and litigation costs will far out-weigh the cost of repairing the road!

If they do not want to spend the cost of sending workers out regularly, to check the state of the roads in there are. Let me give them a bit of sound advice, which would save them some tax payers’ money.

They should get involved, or at least in-touch regularly with they're local Advanced motorcycle group. I.A.M. or Rospa. (There’s one in every area of the U.K.) They ride all the roads in the council area, and will know the areas that have poor surfaces. They are only to glad to assist in Road Safety. Even though it seems that they are the ignored part of the Road traffic infrastructure.

They take pride in what they do. And know that excuses only lead to more problems. Just wish the Government or councils would show the same dedication.

I am ex Police, and also a past government CBT motorcycle istructor. Now an advanced observer with the Institute or Advanced Motoring.