Potholes are a scourge to road users, especially those on two wheels. A while ago I was chatting with a Mitre during a Saturday ride and he was telling me that his car was written off after hitting a pothole, but since the pothole hadn’t been reported to the council he wasn’t entitled to any compensation. This made me think we should help the council maintain the roads by reporting defects. Over recent weeks I’ve been testing to see what happens when I report them to the relevant authority. I haven’t tested East Sussex district council, but Brighton and Hove City Council and West Sussex have swiftly dealt with the potholes I’ve reported. So, I’d like to encourage you to get involved and report potholes etc.
It’s a pretty quick and simple process. Only if you are able to safely stop, please take a photograph of the offending bit of road (maybe with something in the picture to add scale such as your foot) and use what3words to log the location. When you return home you can report the pothole to :-
Links above will also be added the the club website for future reference.. Hopefully we can make the roads safer for everyone.
For reference, Brighton & Hove City Council defines a pothole as a road defect where the surface has broken up and fallen out, leaving a hole deep or wide enough to cause a significant hazard. Generally, this means a hole must be at least 40 mm deep and 300 mm wide (about the size of a dinner plate) to meet the criteria for a reactive safety repair.