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I know we all like to piss 'n' moan ( piss 'n' moan blues by the Gourds - great ) about driving in London, but it seems like every other street has a burst water main and temp traffic lights. What on earth would it be like if we had a winter like '47 or '63 ? What's it like where you are ?
The main cause of potholes is the sh1tbox way they fix them. This country is reaping the rewards of decades of under investment in key infrastructure.
It's years and years of low hanging fruit decisions coming to bear. We could resurface the road, or we could just patch it? Do that enough times and our roads look like Beruit.
Having driven in Europe I can testify the UK's road system is very poor.
It's not just the council. Since we privatised all our services, the Gas, Sewerage, Water and Power all do the bare minimum, getting away with sometimes Victorian infrastructure.
While heavier cars don't help, lets not lose sight of the real cause.
And no, the answer is not to vote for Farage! ;D
Councils used to have budgets to undertake preventative action on roads. The road gangs used to go round the streets tarring the joints in the road surfaces during the summer months, so when the weather got worse, ice, water and salt could not work there way into gaps that would otherwise grow and grow into pot holes and require a PROPER repair.
There is now a specialised JCB that has all the attachments incorporated into it to undertake a proper repair of potholes easily and quickly.
Apparently there is 230,000 miles of road in the UK and probably 6 potholes for every 50 metres of road. That is a national road network that looks like a huge slice of Swiss cheese
Councils used to have budgets to undertake preventative action on roads. The road gangs used to go round the streets tarring the joints in the road surfaces during the summer months, so when the weather got worse, ice, water and salt could not work there way into gaps that would otherwise grow and grow into pot holes and require a PROPER repair.
There is now a specialised JCB that has all the attachments incorporated into it to undertake a proper repair of potholes easily and quickly.
Apparently there is 230,000 miles of road in the UK and probably 6 potholes for every 50 metres of road. That is a national road network that looks like a huge slice of Swiss cheese
[Post edited 29 Jan 15:14]
Ironically driving on Swiss cheese would be a lot smoother.
It seems they've decided to do all London roadworks right now with no kind of plan of action or coordination.
Even without the roadworks, London roads in general are in a terrible state with potholes etc. I doubt all these extra heavy EVs are helping much...or overpriced and unreliable public transport.
It just feels like managed decline everywhere.
"I doubt all these extra heavy EVs are helping much".
The physics actually reveals that it's HGVs which do the real damage:
"Engineers measure road damage using something called the “fourth power law“—a fancy way of saying damage increases exponentially with weight, but only becomes significant when you’re talking about truly heavy vehicles. Your Prius-to-EV upgrade? Barely a blip on the infrastructure radar.
What Actually Damages Roads: The Physics vs. Perception
Picture this: you’re arguing about who ate the last slice of pizza while an entire buffet sits untouched in the next room. That’s essentially the EV weight debate when trucks are involved.
“Load-related damage to pavement and bridges is caused almost exclusively by heavy trucks,” explains Mark Gottlieb, a civil engineer who studies infrastructure wear. “The contribution from autos and light trucks is insignificant. It makes no difference if they are EV or internal combustion.”
The numbers are staggering: a single 80,000-pound semitruck causes roughly 2,500 times more road damage than your 4,000-pound sedan. Academic studies suggest complete EV adoption could increase passenger vehicle road wear by 20-40%, but that’s still drops in an ocean compared to commercial truck damage. Small electric cars make what researchers call “a negligible contribution” to overall infrastructure deterioration".
Do bear in mind also that some non-electric SUVs and 4x4s weigh a hell of a lot; a Range Rover weighs two and a half tonnes, whereas a Tesla Model Y weighs two tonnes.
"Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1."
"I doubt all these extra heavy EVs are helping much".
The physics actually reveals that it's HGVs which do the real damage:
"Engineers measure road damage using something called the “fourth power law“—a fancy way of saying damage increases exponentially with weight, but only becomes significant when you’re talking about truly heavy vehicles. Your Prius-to-EV upgrade? Barely a blip on the infrastructure radar.
What Actually Damages Roads: The Physics vs. Perception
Picture this: you’re arguing about who ate the last slice of pizza while an entire buffet sits untouched in the next room. That’s essentially the EV weight debate when trucks are involved.
“Load-related damage to pavement and bridges is caused almost exclusively by heavy trucks,” explains Mark Gottlieb, a civil engineer who studies infrastructure wear. “The contribution from autos and light trucks is insignificant. It makes no difference if they are EV or internal combustion.”
The numbers are staggering: a single 80,000-pound semitruck causes roughly 2,500 times more road damage than your 4,000-pound sedan. Academic studies suggest complete EV adoption could increase passenger vehicle road wear by 20-40%, but that’s still drops in an ocean compared to commercial truck damage. Small electric cars make what researchers call “a negligible contribution” to overall infrastructure deterioration".
Do bear in mind also that some non-electric SUVs and 4x4s weigh a hell of a lot; a Range Rover weighs two and a half tonnes, whereas a Tesla Model Y weighs two tonnes.
I live on the outskirts of london , combination of country roads and normal roads we can go 100 yars without having to navigate a pot hole , theres one near me which in one week has detroyed 15 wheels and tyres in under a week not just flat tyres but cracked rims , the council leave the cracks in the road for to long and the small hole becomes a small swimming pool in a year or two combination of water and cold weather .
Also it feels like road conditions have got a lot worse in just a few weeks, with the cold and wet weather. Pot holes growing and roads peeling away everywhere. Dreadful.
Rural France. The roads are well maintained and, other than the N (A would be UK equivalent) roads limited traffic.
Something to be said for emigration.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop and now on Bluesky
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