Councils claim some potholes are unfixable because they’re too shallow

Every year dozens of cyclists are left injured by potholes in the road

It’s been revealed that dozens of cyclists in the UK are left injured because of potholes in the road, with a number of councils claiming that some of them are too shallow to fix.

According to data released by the Department of Transport, a staggering 467 cyclists were involved in an accident related to ‘poor or defective’ roads in the UK during the last five years and in 2016, 96 crashes were linked to broken road surfaces – up 12% compared to the previous year.

Last year, more than one million potholes were reported to councils and highways authorities, leading to campaigners accusing them of ignoring the dangers related to potholes.

Councils claim some potholes are unfixable because they’re too shallow © Copyright Derek Harper and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

One cyclist was thrown off his bike after striking a pothole, suffering from concussion and a deep cut as a result.

Iain Turnbull, aged 59, put a claim into North Yorkshire county council, however it was rejected because the authority said the road had recently passed an inspection.

His lawyer claimed the case was rejected because the pothole was 3cm deep and not classed as dangerous.

“We are giving councils record levels of capital funding – more than £7.1bn up to 2021 – to improve local roads and repair potholes,” said a spokeswoman for the Department of Transport.

“It is vital councils spend this to keep roads in good condition to keep all users safe, especially cyclists,” she added.

According to data revealed following a Freedom of Information request, 1,031,787 potholes were reported to councils and highways authorities last year.

A lot of the damage on our roads occurred during the cold months of February and March, which left local authorities with a repair bill totalling £3.1million.

The problem seems to be worst in Scotland, where it’s reported that their potholes equate to 6,364 metres.

Following a survey of 2,000 drivers carried out by Confused.com, it was discovered that one in three (33%) have suffered damage to their vehicles, such as suspension problems and issues with tyres because of faulty road surfaces.

According to the study, which used data from around 200 local authorities, 70% of motorists still believe that councils need to do more to tackle the pothole problem, even though over £100million is spent nationwide trying to deal with them.

Wiltshire Council is the local authority which has had to pay out the most because of damage claims made by motorists (£508,000) but repair costs seem to vary depending on the area, as Westminster City Council pays out the most for each pothole at £2,400.

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