A selection of your comments and experiences of potholes, (and speed bumps) across Scotland.
David Elder in Haddington  David Elder could not avoid this set of holes in East Lothian |
"Here is one of the photos I took the day after I burst a tyre and buckled an alloy wheel. "In my photo the yellow line is a 2m folding measure and the pothole I hit (the centre one) was 3ft long X 1ft long X 6ins deep. "The Council filled in the potholes at this location after I reported it to them." Katrina Halsey from Rosneath "The whole of Argyll and Bute is horrendous. "Where we live, Rosneath, used to be part of West Dunbartonshire until a few years ago but A & B took over and as you drive out of Dumbarton town and past the sign 'welcoming' you to A & B your car begins to shake. "The only good roads we have here in Helensburgh and Lomond are the part by Faslane Naval base - all built by the military but with public use allowed!" Ronald Stewart from Invergordon "There can be no more tight-fisted miserable group in British society than the motor vehicle owner/driver. "They complain vociferously about having to pay fuel tax, vehicle excise duty, road tolling, and now surprise, surprise there are insufficient funds to maintain our road network. "The answer is simple, double fuel tax immediately in order that those wearing out our roads are paying for maintenance of these roads." Iain Berry from Thornhill in Stirlingshire "Two years ago I damaged a tyre on a pothole outside the village of Thornhill which was unavoidable as there was oncoming traffic. "I contacted Central Region roads who told me to put my complaint in writing. "It took five letters and almost a year before the council insurers stumped up a percentage of the cost of the new tyre. "The effort they put in to not paying far outweighed the actual cost if they had paid up at the time." Paul Lancaster in Aberdeen "For the past 12 months I have travelled from Cumbria to Aberdeen and in this time I have had all the springs on my Vauxhall Vectra replaced due to driving over potholes on the A90 and on local roads in Aberdeenshire. "Unfortunately I do a lot of night driving so I do not see the potholes in time to steer around them. "I think the roads in Scotland have some of the worst surfaces I have seen anywhere and although the cold weather affects the tarmac - I think it is a lack of maintenance that is the main cause. "Countries such as Canada have far more cold weather but their roads are in a much better condition." Mark Sinclair of Kirkintilloch "Some holes here are approx 20ins wide and 6ins deep, more like craters. "East Dunbartonshire council must be spending the money elsewhere. "My car is simply taking a beating every time I drive it. "P.S. the pavements are not any safer either." Kate Kirkwood "I suffered damage to my car after I hit a major pothole on the M8 heading Eastbound to Edinburgh. "After my car hit the pothole I pulled onto the hard shoulder and realised that there was around another 6 or 7 cars sitting on the hard shoulder who had also hit it. "It was so bad that it appeared on the news and the motorway lane had to be closed!!" Fiona Gillespie "The problems with potholes in Scotland are due to a combination of poor maintenance, exacerbated by the bad weather (freezing & flooding), but most of all due to the use of non-trunk roads by HGV vehicles. "For example, the main route south west from Edinburgh is the A702/A74, but many huge lorries insist on using the A701 despite it not being wide enough - they drive down the middle of the road forcing cars off the road into the ditches caused by other lorries falling off the road. "The sides of the road disappear and the tarmac is crumbling with huge potholes. Is it the use of GPS/SatNav that is encouraging vehicles to use roads inappropriately?" Linda Gemmell from Renfrewshire  Colder weather may explain the higher rate of pothole damage in Scotland |
"Can you tell me if anything is being done to repair these potholes? "I have just had two new tyres and my car re-aligned and I was told this was caused by potholes and road calming humps in the road. "I felt it was an incomplete report. What was the point of telling us about this and not following this up with some comments from the people responsible for repairing these potholes." Brian Morton from Galston "If Ayrshire roads department dug up the unneccesary road humps and filled in the potholes with that material, we would not have any potholes. "One of the reasons for these humps was to slow down the trucks carrying trees from the Whitelee Forest. "But do they slow down? - do they nothing. "Cars have to slow down to 20mph to negotiate the humps, the trucks carry on at 50mph and have on occassion overtaken cars on the humps!! What do the roads authorities do? Put in more humps - or as we call them in Ayrshire - upside down potholes." John Graham "Should we not be looking to see if it is more potholes in the north or is it more traffic calming road bumps. "Just to get out of my estate I have to travel over 9 speed bumps, but there are no potholes. "I have seen a car go over a speed bump at 20mph and the front wheel and suspension collapsed, bringing the car to a metal grinding halt." Linda Paterson from Stranraer "I have to travel the southern part of the A77 daily from Stranraer to Ayr for work. "The condition of the road is totally unacceptable. "I have been in constant contact with Amey over the following (1) roads not been gritted when temperatures dip below freezing (which happened quite regularly this winter) and (2) the amount of surface damage and (3) flooding caused by drains/ditches not being kept clear (this becomes an ice rink when temperatures dip). "In connection with the surface damage I was told by an Amey representative that someone drives the road every Wednesday - they must drive with their eyes closed! "When will the powers that be hold Amey responsible for the contract they awarded to them and ensure that the roads are kept in a safe manner." Jo Parker-Morgan from East Dunbartonshire  Jo Morgan was thrown from her bicycle when she hit a pothole |
"Unfortunately, it's not just cars that suffer from pothole damage. "A year ago I was unfortunate enough to hit one whilst out on my road bike in East Dunbartonshire, causing me to be flung over the handle bars, landing on the side of my face. "I suffered concussion, 13 stitches to my head, lacerations and serious grazes to my face, hand and wrist, a chipped tooth and numerous bruises. "I now have permanent facial scaring but actually consider myself to be lucky, as my helmet took the majority of the impact. "Without it, the consequences would have been much more serious, perhaps even fatal." A.J. Souter from Aberdeenshire "We pay road tax to keep these roads in a decent condition and clearly the money isn't spent correctly. "I am continuously dodging potholes and very bad/rough parts on the road - not only does this damage your car it could also cause a serious accident!! "I'm sick to the back teeth of having to do this and I'm sick of my car having to trail over these bad roads!!!" Ruth Thomson from Helensburgh "West King Street has to be the worst road I've ever been on. "It's like being off-road. "If you have to travel by bus, you spend the journey with every internal organ, as well as your spine enduring similar forces to a fairground ride. "Could someone remind me why we pay loads of council tax please?" Gordon McAllan from South Lanarkshire  Gordon McAllan says this may be a local road, but is still an essential link |
"Our roads infrastructure is indeed weakening ..... "The attached shots of a two-mile stretch of local road show longstanding damage which remained unrepaired until a few months ago, when (after two attempts), the carriageway was made safe by the local authority. "To be fair, the council (South Lanarkshire) is carrying out such remedial measures and renewal of solum and surface materials as it can, on a very limited budget (I understand that the UK now spends much less per road mile than in the 1960s). "Sadly, such repairs are sometimes of very short term efficacy." Dave McGregor from Aberdeen "Frankly I am astounded that there seem to be worse places for potholes than Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. "Twice in recent months I have been the victim of potholes losing two alloy wheels and almost new tyres. "What is happening to the billions of pounds in road tax and fuel duty raised annually? "Bailing out banks I guess." Neil Smith from Portree "If you want to see the worst trunk road for potholes in Britain, drive from Kyleakin to Uig on the A87. "It is in a scandalous condition and more like a farm track than a major road." Barry Berlow-Jackson from Glasgow "Potholes are positively dangerous for bikers. "You won't just damage a wheel - if you come off it could be fatal. There's one in the centre of Glasgow that I avoid daily. "It's at a junction - the council filled it with loose grit. The grit has become dislodged and the whole junction is slippery!" Stephen Moffat "Uplawmoor Road in Neilston was road planed and resurfaced three years ago by East Renfrewshire Council. "The top surface is badly rutted and potholed for half a mile from Brig O'Lea to the Levern Burn. "The road has been like this for more than six months with additional severe deterioration over the winter. "The ruts in the middle of the road are so bad that if you catch them they throw you into the path of opposite travelling vehicles." James Kaye "On the subject of the dreadful state of our roads, it should be noted that while the government/councils neglect to keep our roads in a good state of repair they are of course raking in the VAT on the millions of pounds that we have to pay out on repairing our damaged vehicles!!" John O'Shea in Strasbourg in France "I recently damaged my car in a pot hole. "The cost of replacing one aluminium wheel and 2 tyres, (€ 795), was refunded by Strasbourg council, no questions asked. "Are not UK local councils liable for damage to vehicles caused by bad roads?" Alec Gull in Inverclyde "The roads here are allegedly the worst in the UK. To be honest I'm unsure if there's a single stretch of unspoiled tarmac in the entire region. "Driving out of this area and into Glasgow, the difference in the car ride quality is notable, doubly so when driving further afield... and it's bliss when driving in England - your brain wonders where all the bumping, thumping and cajoling has gone." Lawrence Etchells  It is claimed that potholes cost British motorists �413m a year |
"I have to say that the maintenance in Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and Inverclyde is absolutely terrible. "A few years ago I suffered three blown-out tyres within the space of 14 months, all of which were due to pothole damage in Renfrewshire. "In the third case, I claimed from the council for a new tyre. "Their insurers refused to pay out because, they said, the council told them the road was "inspected regularly". "As anyone who drives the B789 from Houston to Langbank will tell you, the road cannot possibly be inspected at all, let alone regularly." Alan Godsman from Houston "What is worrying is the fact that it is not just the minor roads but also our major roads: the M8 in particular. "The section between Euro central and junction 4 is particularly bad . "I had an incident with a pothole going east in the inside lane near junction 5. "I then proceeded to pass a number of vehicles with punctures. I at least made it Harthill services unlike a large number of my fellow motorists." John Sim in Kilmarnock "Just recently I hit a pothole and it cost £180 for a new tyre. "Worse still is the stupid councils who are more interested in putting in humps and bumps everywhere! Where I stay they've put in ten bumps in less than a mile - every time you enter and leave that's twenty times you've got to hit these bumps! "If you decide to cycle the news isn't good either. They've splashed bumpy and rough red paint over the worst parts of the road and called it a cycle lane!" Fraser McMillan from Dundonald "The main road used by people living in Dundonald who wish to access the A77 leading to Ayr or Glasgow is the B730. "The B730 is now so badly damaged by surface cracking and potholing that motorists are forced to negotiate blind bends on the wrong side of the road to avoid otherwise inevitable damage to their vehicles." Drew Fisher from Strathaven "My wife now takes a mile long detour to work to avoid a certain road and is even considering extending that even further to avoid the Strathaven to Kirkmuirhill road, surely one of the worst in Scotland. "Already this year I have had to replace two tyres due to pothole damage - on the one day!" David Anderson from Cambridge "It amazes me how bad the roads in Glasgow are every time we come up to visit my family. "I always say that a blind man who loses his way will know when he has reached Glasgow as soon as he comes off the M8 at Cowcaddens at he hits the first pothole." John Blair in Montrose "There are more potholes now as when they appear they are being repaired so poorly. "By not removing the damaged section around the pothole and just putting tarmac straight into it, as a filler, this allows water to seep in which freezes destroying the repair. "The pot hole then needs fixed again."
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My car is simply taking a beating every time I drive it
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