Pot Hole Regulations

Remember the pothole in Ralph Allen Drive that Cherry and I took our lives in our hands to get a photograph of last year - it's in the blog archive for October? I asked the Council's Highways department about how deep potholes had to be before they were treated as urgent, because the Ralph Allen Drive potholes had been around for some time and I considered that they were especially dangerous for two wheeled vehicles and for cyclists.

The reply I received from Steve Jones is reproduced below - thank you Steve for the information.

"A dangerous pothole (24 hour repair) is one that is 40mm deep and over, having a vertical edge and is 300mm in length on a busy principle road, 7 days on lesser used roads. (this is national guidance and case law proven, not just a local policy - however our response and intervention is better than other Authorities in the SW). Depending on location and class of road a pothole 60mm deep would be repaired in 24hrs or seven days. The one on the photo you sent was wearing course only and thus could not be more than 40mm".

I still think that a pothole much less than 40mm is dangerous to two wheeled vehicles and of course on the downward slope of Ralph Allen Drive where motorcycles and bikes travel faster, the potential for an accident is much greater.

A pothole meeting the specificaions Steve mentions above - 40mm x 300mm is a veritable chasm in the road and would spell disaster for four and two wheeled vehicles alike! I wonder how many accidents are caused to 2 wheeled vehicles and bikes by potholes nation wide?

We are still trying to get some potholes filled in Exmoor Road after 2 years - we will be there soon with a ruler!